It really saddens me to see so many schools having budget problems. We are seeing many families leave their local school districts and move to other states in search of jobs. We read about many schools looking for ways to cut millions of dollars out of their budgets. On March 11, 2009 the Pontiac School District gave pink slip notices to all 622 teachers in their district because of a 11.6 million dollar deficit. Almost every school district in Michigan is facing looming budget deficits.
I hate to see our children getting a second class education because of these budget problems. Will we start to see private schools springing up for those wealthier families that can afford it? Who's to blame?
Proposal A was only a stop-gap measure. It helped out the educational budget for a short time and I must admit that it wasn't fun to always try to get a local millage vote passed. I believe that in time Proposal A will be changed but will our state representatives get it right?
“Some parents, worried about the quality of their children's educations being threatened by the looming cuts, sometimes blame hard-working teachers and their union contracts, which usually guarantee the enviable health care benefits and pension packages all working people deserve. There's the source of our financial troubles, the parents say. Teachers point at the fat salaries and benefits of administrators and say that is where the cuts should come from.”http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/5342/1/264/
What can be done to help schools provide a good educational program for our students? For years I have mulled over possible solutions. Any solutions will not be simple and it will be hard to get a majority of voters to agree on a plan. What do you think? What should be done?
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Larry, This is a topic that going to take sometime and alot of effort to be resolved. I'm not a big fan of proposal A, never have been. I just don't understand how on a student in district A is worth less than a student in district B, who much less then a student from District C. I would like to think that all students regardless of race, religion or social economical background would be worth the some amount when it comes down to what we spend per student.
ReplyDeleteMost people who point to the fact that teacher's salaries are the problem, don't or won't take the time to actually see how much work a teacher but into their classrooms and students. Not to menton the fact that not many other professions have to constantly go back to school and pay for more classes just to keep certified. Plus the fact that most teachers provide their own money to provide needed supplies in their classrooms, because districts budgets are so tight. I never went into teaching for the money, but I'll be darn if I didn't think I or my colleagues were worth our pay. I don't know what the solution is, but I hope we fine one soon.
In our district, we are making a number of program cuts, but the biggest thing is the consolidation of schools. If the current plan is approved by the board and carried out, then by the end of three years we will have gone from 3 middle schools down to 2, and will have closed the 3 Title 1 elementary schools (and possibly a 4th non-Title 1 school) by creating one large Title 1 elementary in the old middle school building with potentially over 600 K-5 students.
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of this plan for a variety of reasons, but probably the biggest reason is that the school our kids attend is one of the elementaries slated to be consolidated.