Well It Is Done, For Now
According to the Scott County website, the Prior Lake/Savage ISD 719 levy referendum will go down to defeat. Because the levy did not pass, the bonding referendum will also not pass. Now that the taxpayers of the district have spoken, it is my fervent hope that they a) open the books for the residents to see and b) they go back to the budget with a sharper pencil so that the next time they come to us (and trust me, they will be back) it will be a more realistic number that the citizens of the district will be comfortable with. In addition, it appears (according to Channel 9 News) that the Lakeville, Stillwater, Inver Grove and Robbinsdale levy referendums will go down to defeat as well.
While this is a victory for the beleaguered taxpayer, we should not celebrate. The school districts ARE facing challenges - rising fuel prices, growing unfunded state and federal mandates are just the tip of the iceberg. However, if the school boards want the taxpayer to pony up for the rising costs, they boards are going to have to start showing a good faith effort to do what the average Joe and Jane Taxpayer are doing...they need to start making serious cuts in overhead. Cutting teaching staff is not cutting overhead! Cutting administrative budgets is! Cutting paraprofessional staff is not responsible budgeting...turning down the thermostat and turning off lights is!
Show us that you are sharing the pain and we will be more than happy to work with you. Threatening our children is a sure fire way to alienate the parents!
Time for the school boards to wake up and realize that the taxpayer is not an endless ATM that they can tap at will.
While this is a victory for the beleaguered taxpayer, we should not celebrate. The school districts ARE facing challenges - rising fuel prices, growing unfunded state and federal mandates are just the tip of the iceberg. However, if the school boards want the taxpayer to pony up for the rising costs, they boards are going to have to start showing a good faith effort to do what the average Joe and Jane Taxpayer are doing...they need to start making serious cuts in overhead. Cutting teaching staff is not cutting overhead! Cutting administrative budgets is! Cutting paraprofessional staff is not responsible budgeting...turning down the thermostat and turning off lights is!
Show us that you are sharing the pain and we will be more than happy to work with you. Threatening our children is a sure fire way to alienate the parents!
Time for the school boards to wake up and realize that the taxpayer is not an endless ATM that they can tap at will.
Labels: School Funding
posted by The Lady Logician at
10:36 PM
2 Comments:
Both sides of the battle now need to step up and help out, rather than just gathering more rocks to throw each other, waiting for the next referendum and the nastier tactics it will bring. The time to change the climate of that next vote is now. And it is hard work, but not difficult. I propose two things that would make all the difference.
1. Do a complete "class size audit." For every classroom in the district, define it as single or multi-purpose, and establish the "specific room capacity," that is the number of kids you can put in that room before it becomes overcrowded. The number will vary depending on the class. For example, a chemistry lab has a very specific capacity of 1 per bench, 2 per bench, maybe 3 per bench; a 2nd grade classroom should not have more than 22 (or some such number) (per teacher), regardless of space. Then you have to take the number of classes at the school, assign them to rooms AT CAPACITY, and see how many teachers you need in each subject, and whether you have excess or insufficient physical plant capacity. If you need to build, here is how you objectively and dispassionately prove it. If you need to re-align boundaries or change class offerings, here is where you see it. Simple in concept, but a lot of detail work.
2. Take all of the money spent and divide it up by "program," including every detailed state and federal requirement, plus every other program in the district. For example, what do we spend to offer Spanish I? Spanish II? Girl's Middle School Gymnastics. Tabulate every program according to total cost and cost per participant. Categorize them as education, arts, sports, trasnportation, etc. for simpler management. You then PRIORITIZE each program using four factors: 1) highest priority goes to a legal requirement, 2) A lower priority for that portion of a legally mandated program that goes BEYOND the mandate. For example, bussing is a state requirement, outside certain limits. But bussing with lower limits is a "luxury" that does not have as high a priority, 3) The cost per participant, particularly within a given category. Example: Spanish may cost $200/student, Russian may cost $2000. Russian gets the lower priority, 4) What people want. The above three items establish an objective priority that must then be offered to the community, who may have a different idea. They may WANT Russian taught and willing to sacrifice Girl's gymnastics to get it. If they want both, they have to raise their taxes. If they can do girls gymnastics as a community activity, or combine the two middle schools into one team, we have a third alternative.
In short, they need to start taking a simple, rational process rather than a scattergun emotional one. PUblically done, the decisions (and future votes) will be obvious, clean, and accepted by all sides.
By
Anonymous, at 12:22 PM
Very good thoughts friend. I agree that we need to get both sides to step up and work on a solution.
One of the things I would love to see is for the school district to have a meeting for residents that just addresses budget. Put the budget out there for everyone to see and ask questions on. The public's perception (based in some reality) is that the board does not take public input at all. This would go a long way toward changing that perception.
I don't think that class size is the be all and end all. There are districts that are doing better on less money and bigger class sizes. Maybe we should go to those districts and see what it is that they are doing differently?
There is a lot of work that needs to be done here. If the school district can show some accountability to the voting public, the next referendum (November 2008) will probably have a different outcome.
LL
By
The Lady Logician, at 1:54 PM
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