Alumnus forms PAC to help school funding in Southeastern Arizona
I have recently formed a Political Action Committee, the Sierra Vista Community of Excellence Committee, in Sierra Vista, AZ (70 miles south of Tucson) to help get a proposed budget override (required to fund almost 60 teaching positions) approved.
This is a continuation of the current override - at a reduced rate. Yet community opinion remains decidedly negative, and we face an uphill battle in getting this approved.
This is about as bare-bones as it gets. The current override funds 6 art teachers, 6 music teachers, 5 PE teachers, 4 all-day kindergarten teachers, 9 all-day kind. aides, 2 "kinder-step" teachers, 1 1st grade and one fourth grade teacher, 3 librarians, and 3 counselors - and that is only at the Elementary level. Middle and High schools stand to lose more, including Math and reading teachers. All of these positions will be cut if the override is not approved.
School finance issues in Texas
Kathleen_Reynolds | | 
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Another article highlighting issues districts across the state of Texas are facing with regards to school finance and their budgets. I'd love to hear thoughts from alums in Texas on solutions to school finance problems in the state...
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School board counts chickens before hatched
The Monitor
August 26, 2008 - 11:23PM
Jackie Leatherman
http://www.themonitor.com/articles/board_16514___article.html/budget_school.html?orderby=TimeStampAscending&oncommentsPage=1&showRecommendedOnly=0#slComments
EDCOUCH -- The school board that had to get a loan to pay its bills this summer approved a new budget Tuesday night that counts on money it may not get.
The Edcouch-Elsa school district accepted a $64.4 million annual budget that includes an anticipated $3 million generated from a tax increase that voters won't decide on until November. The plan calls for raising the district's property tax rate by 13 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
Three trustees on the seven-member board voted against the budget and the upcoming ballot referendum.
"I don't believe the community should pay for what the majority of the board is doing," said Felix Garza Jr., a board member and one of the dissenting voters.
The new budget also doesn't reflect the $4.5 million loan the school board approved in June to cover summer operating expenses until state funding is handed out this fall, according to the district's business manager Leo Peña.
He said the loan will be paid once the district receives the state funding, but he didn't provide an explanation for why that wasn't reflected in the new budget.
District Superintendent Michael Sandroussi said he recommended that the board reduce staff now and adopt a budget that doesn't include the $3 million expected to be generated by the tax increase.
"If it does not pass in November, the board will have to make some hard decisions on where to cut the $3 million," he said.
Out of 19 spending areas, curriculum and staff development is getting the sharpest spending cut this year compared to last year. Almost 47 percent of the funding was slashed.
The largest increase was in data processing, which district officials said includes spending for computers and technology.
One year ago, an internal school board investigation found excessive, unbudgeted payroll spending for substitute teachers and part-time and temporary employees during the 2006-07 fiscal year.
The report from that probe notes the district spent $1.3 million more than it had budgeted for substitute teachers and part-time and temporary employees during that fiscal year.
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Jackie Leatherman covers Hidalgo County government and general assignments at The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4424.
Say No To Negotiating the Budget Without Investing in Young Children
asheinbaum | | 0
Please contact your legislator today to say:
Vote NO on SB1389, which would cut the Governor's education budget by over 40%.
Ask them to instead endorse a legislative study on school funding and fund a six year education formula for PA schools based on enrollment and need.
We Think We Have It Hard
The following is my blog entry on 05.27.08 for the AZ School Works website (http://www.azschoolworks.org).
Each day as I travel all over the valley and state for work, I watch the odometer climb and climb. Then at the gas pump when I fill up my vehicle, like many other Arizonans, I watch the dollar figures climb and climb. We've all personally experienced the pain at the gas pump, the grocery store, and several other places, as we try to adjust to these difficult economic times. The strain on our household budgets is both real and significant.
Not surprisingly, as an educator, I began reflecting on how challenging these current realities must be for our school districts. Imagine the impact of these high gas prices if you had not just one vehicle to gas up, but an entire flight of buses; the impact of high food costs if you had not just one mouth to feed, but thousands; or the impact of high utility costs if you had not just one home to cool, but several buildings. I know how hard we have it. Imagine how hard it is for our school districts.
Baltimore City Schools - Fair Student Funding
billferguson | | 1
There are some pretty incredible reforms happening here in the Baltimore City School System. For those unfamiliar with the system, we have a new CEO (a.k.a. School Superintendent), Dr. Andres Alonso, who came down from New York City Schools where he was 2nd in command. He's brought some pretty interesting ideas, and he's made quite a few waves across the system.
Right now the school system is debating an entirely new funding model titled the Fair Student Funding strategy. Broad debate and approval is schedule for April 9th. Essentially, principals used to have $90 per student for discretionary spending. The FSF model will devolve nearly 60% of the budget previously managed at the Central level and will allow principals to control the funding. So, from $90 per student, principals will soon have upwards of $6,500 per student. Should be pretty incredible, but there's going to be a lot of backlash along the way. Below is a link to the overview of the system.
http://www.baltimorecityschools.org/News/Fair_student_funding.asp
What do you all think?
School Funding, Reform, Budget, School-Based Funding (all tags)
