[school-discuss] an etc.. customer takes a really bad hit - 200 teachers lose their jobs

[mike eschman <meschman@engima.com>]

hello,

i been quite upset for the last couple of weeks, because our local school 
district is really taking a beating.  Last night, 200 teachers lost their 
jobs and the average classroom will now have 33 students instead of 28 (the 
official number is 30, but it doesn't add up - everyone is too upset to
look 33 students in the eye.]

for our part, we're doing the technology for a telethon and exchanging 
services with them instead of cash (effective 75% discount).  but
that's just a drop in the bucket.

health insurance costs and a poorer state government are the culprits this 
time.  voters turned down an increase in property taxes to cover the 
shortfall.

so kids take a beating again.

the special ed and english as a second language programs are going to double 
class sizes. se goes from 6 to 12 and esl goes from 12 to 24.

the general fund for the school district has enough money to run for 3 to 4 
days only.  they spent $300K of that to keep nurses for the special ed 
students.

if you want to know why i obsess over sea level rise, any schools that flood 
this huriccane season will stay closed - all janitorial O.T. and all emergncy 
repair fund are gone.

some of the tougher school board members railed against mandates from the 
state and federal government - which comme unfunded.

if anyone on the list has been here and gotten out alive, i could really use
an inspirational story right about now.   The newspaper story that ran this 
morning follows.

mike eschman, etc ...
"Not just an afterthought ...
http://www.etc-edu.com




School budget will make classes larger

$8.3 million saved in controversial cuts

08/08/02

By Mark Waller and Rob Nelson
Staff writers/The Times-Picayune

Under a budget approved Wednesday night, Jefferson Parish class sizes will 
increase and special education classes will merge so the board can avoid a 
more than $8 million shortfall.

By a 7-2 vote, the School Board approved a $287 million, 2002-03 budget that 
makes $8.3 million in controversial cuts.

The cuts include moving emotionally disturbed children into classes with other 
special education students, increasing class sizes in upper grades and 
reducing English teacher jobs for students who speak other languages.

The board avoided some other cuts, such as elementary school librarians and 
school-based administrator jobs by raiding supplementary budgets for the 
cafeterias, adult education, community education and alternative schools. But 
those moves, which amount to paying for recurring expenses with nonrecurring 
money sources, will place the system in a fragile state, Superintendent Elton 
Lagasse said.

"I'm scared," Lagasse said after the vote. "I'm really scared. We are walking 
on thin ice."

Board members Gene Katsanis and Julie Quinn voted against the budget. Katsanis 
said he opposes the cuts and would prefer to continue studying other ways to 
raise and save money. Quinn said she could not vote for increasing class 
sizes, which she said hurts learning.

Other cost-saving moves the board approved include cutting central office jobs 
and expenses, canceling annual pay raises for school system executives, 
reducing the number of teacher assistants, raising summer school fees, 
cutting jobs for student workers, making prospective employees pay for their 
own drug tests and background checks, cutting bus costs, cutting a clerical 
job and cutting a custodial job.

The budget leaves a cash reserve of $5 million, which school officials say 
would let the system operate only a few days in an emergency. It also makes 
it difficult for the system to keep up ongoing cash payments it must make, 
such as the payroll. A preferred reserve, about 5 percent of the budget, 
would total than $14 million.

More than 250 people packed the board meeting room at the system's 
administration building in Harvey to watch the budget-cutting decision. 
Twenty-nine of them addressed the board. The meeting lasted almost four 
hours.

Many audience members spoke against cutting English teachers for children who 
speak other languages, which was included in the final plan.

"These are the means these children have to achieve an education," said 
Consuelo Hussell, a former teacher for students learning English.

Speakers said cuts to the program would further jeopardize the academic 
success of the system's foreign students, some of whom already struggle to 
stay in school.

"They need intense English instruction in small classes," teacher Tammy Totten 
said.

Other speakers criticized previously proposed librarian cuts, the special 
education cuts and increasing class sizes.

The cuts the board approved represent about 3 percent of the budget and an 
increase of about 1 percent over last year.

Wednesday night was the second public hearing about the budget.

Lagasse has said the savings are needed to cover escalating health insurance 
costs and other growing expenses. Last month, voters rejected a half-cent 
sales tax to help alleviate the shortfall and pay for improvements.

Although the board approved the budget Wednesday, board members said they want 
to revisit it soon and possibly make adjustments that would reduce the amount 
of the class size increases in middle, junior high and high schools. They 
directed the superintendent to investigate ways to pay for such a move.