|
|
||
Spotsylvania's School Board takes a closer look at proposed budget cuts Date published: 1/23/2010
BY PAMELA GOULD Two members of the Spotsylvania School Board hope to find ways to avoid the superintendent's proposal to eliminate some freshman and middle school sports to balance next year's budget. However, the board expressed little distress yesterday over the proposed elimination of the elementary level Spanish program for the coming school year. Board member Ray Lora asked the school division Board member Amanda Blalock agreed with that idea and asked for further study into keeping middle school sports. She asked Superintendent Jerry Hill whether his staff had looked into a "pay-for-play" plan at the middle school level just as it is being considered at high schools where students may be asked to pay a $25 fee per activity next school year. Hill said he had not considered a pay-for-play plan at middle schools but "anything is possible." The School Board held an all-day work session yesterday at which members began a detailed look at Hill's budget proposal for fiscal 2011, which begins July 1. A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the start of the board's regular meeting. Late yesterday, Hill received an opinion from the School Board's attorney that he could implement divisionwide daylong furloughs that would close all schools for a time as a cost-saving measure. That's not part of his current budget proposal. Hill presented his fiscal 2011 budget proposal Tuesday night. His $216 million operating budget eliminates 131 positions. It includes $14.7 million in cuts, based on level funding from the county. Yesterday, however, Hill said he expects additional cuts before a final budget is crafted. "We most likely are going to be forced to cut more," Hill told the board. "It would be wonderful if we don't, but I think the chances are better than 50 percent that we will." County Administrator Doug Barnes is expected to announce his county funding recommendations Feb. 2. Of the 131 school positions being cut, 32 will be from people taking part in the division's early retirement program and 16.5 are currently vacant, said Chief Financial Officer LaShahn Gaines.
Read more stories about Fredericksburg Date published: 1/23/2010
We all like to get together and post our complaints. Now is the time to get together and try to find solutions. Too often people make valid suggestions only to be told - we cannot do that (by Dr Hill and the SB members). Why can't we do that? Because it has not been done before? Or that it will make some part of the community upset because their "pet" project will be affected? In desperate times, we need to make difficult decisions - let's help the school board and Dr Hill out with valid suggestions.
1. The state underfunds schools through SOQs and unfunded mandates, which makes the local job harder. Tell our new governor, Bobby Orrock and Mark Cole to get with it. 2. It's possbile to make more cuts in central office, stipends, and such and not have to touch as many classroom positions. 3. Chinese might be a useful language; they're gonna own us lock stock and barrel before much longer. In a more complex world, preparing kids is harder than ever. Finally, be suspicious of sound byte solutions
but we have to put a stop to our continued promotion of students who cannot read or write. When teachers in the 8th grade are working with students on a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th grade reading level, something is really wrong. The pressure on that grade level in particular with 2 SOLs, HS looming, and limited time to teach (the writing is given the first week of March) is absurd. And many of these non-readers are athletes. There is no connection between academic success and sports participation at this point.
Maybe it is time to focus on the three Rs anyway. We spend a lot of money on things at school that have nothing to do with learning reading, writing, and arithmatic! This should be the focus!
Every college asks about extra curricular participation.The
service academies practically require it. There are good
reasons to keep sport as part of the educational
environment. This board does not care about providing
every opportunity possible for student who have some
athletic ability or just want to compete outside of the
classroom as well. The school board cancelled the winter
track program for the five high schools, to save $5K, and
then discouraged the kids from competing as unattached
runners.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
