Tag Archive for ‘school budget’ at The Core Knowledge Blog

Tag Archive for 'school budget'

Starting School Under a Cloud

Published by Robert Pondiscio on September 2, 2008 in Education News. 0 Comments

Many of the nation’s school districts start the new school year under financial stress, with budget cuts, higher fuel and food costs. The New York Times leads a bleak school year curtain-raiser from Louisville, Kentucky where school officials say record numbers of students turning up for classes this fall are homeless or poor enough to qualify for free meals.

As 50 million children return to classes across the nation, crippling increases in the price of fuel and food, coupled with the economic downturn, have left schools from California to Florida to Maine cutting costs. Some are trimming bus service, others are restricting travel, and a few are shortening the school week. And as many districts are forced to cut back, the number of poor and homeless students is rising.

“The big national picture is that food and fuel costs are going up and school revenues are not,” Anne L. Bryant, executive director of the National School Boards Association, tells the Times. “We’re in a recession, and it’s having a dramatic impact on schools.”

Detroit has laid off at least 700 teachers, the Times notes, Los Angeles 500 administrators and Miami-Dade County hundreds of school psychologists, maintenance workers and custodians. And all across the country field trips are being cut to save gas, while many schools have adopted four-day weeks.

Budget Woes: How Bad?

Published by Robert Pondiscio on July 30, 2008 in Education News. 2 Comments

How big is the impact of rising fuel and energy costs on schools? USA Today puts it in sharp relief: one in seven school districts is considering cutting back to four-day weeks this fall. One in four is considering limits on athletics and other extracurricular activities. One in three is eliminating teaching jobs.

“In the first detailed look at how fuel costs are affecting schools, a survey by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) finds 99% of superintendents contacted say they’re feeling the pinch — and 77% say they’re not getting any help from their state,” reports USAT’s Greg Toppo.

Scary.

Update: See that little link up top for comments? Click it to read John Thompson’s view of the tensions budget troubles create between policy types and those who go to work in schools every day. “In the real world vs. the theory of policy reform, administrators in most of the country spend a lot more time dealing with sports than student achievement,” he writes. ”And no national mandate is going to change that in the short run. Paying for gas for field trips will not only divert money but attention.” Good, clear-eyed stuff.

Is Less More?

Published by Robert Pondiscio on July 25, 2008 in School News. 0 Comments

About 100 schools in as many as 16 states have already moved to a four-day school week, many to save money on transportation, heating and cooling, Reuters reports.

Webster County School District in Kentucky switched to a four-day week four years ago during a budget crisis, choosing to drop school days rather than cut staff and programs. Not only did Webster save money, but attendance and student performance went up. ”If we were to go back to a five-day week, the school board and I would be run out of town,” says superintendent James Kemp.

Camp Greene Lake

Published by Robert Pondiscio on July 22, 2008 in Education Practice. 2 Comments

Jay Greene wonders if school should be more like camp. At camp, Jay’s kids learn an enormous amount, including a large amount of traditional academic content. “But unlike school, the kids love it,” he notes. “Don’t get me wrong, they like school quite a bit — but they love camp. They love it even though they are made to do all sorts of challenging or sometimes unpleasant things that they rarely do at home. They have to do all of the cleaning, they serve and clear all of the meals, and they fold their own clothes. It can be broiling during the day and freezing at night. They help tend farm animals. They climb to the top of a high tower. They go for long hikes.”

How are these camps able to teach kids a lot, get them to work hard, and get the kids to love it, while schools struggle to do any of these things, Greene wonders, at a lower cost than the average public school? For starters, it’s all those young energetic counselors.

They don’t get paid very much but tend to be enthusiastic, bright, and energetic. Some will later be doctors or lawyers, but they are happy to be counselors for a few summers in the meantime. It’s easier to get talented people for low pay for a short time than for an entire career.

Hmmmm..