Even magnet school transport and pre-k on chopping block as DeKalb addresses $70 million shortfall
DeKalb is even considering eliminating pre-k to address its $70 million deficit. (AJC file)
More depressing school news today in the AJC about DeKalb’s efforts to address its $70 million deficit:
The DeKalb County School District is facing its worst budget in recent memory, so officials are weighing wholesale elimination of programs, including pre-kindergarten, magnet school transportation and Montessori schools.
“We’re putting everything on the table,” said Jesse “Jay” Cunningham, a school board member who serves on the board’s budget committee. The committee got a long list of possible cuts at a meeting Monday, along with a picture of the potential for new revenue — $29 million — if the board raises the property tax rate by two mills.
Last week, Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson revealed that the school district faces a $73 million deficit. Chief Financial Officer Michael Perrone said about $24 million of it was due to collapsing real estate values, which reduce the amount that property owners pay in taxes. The rest is due to increasing costs, such as healthcare and retirement benefits.
Perrone also revealed this: while most school systems strive to keep at least a month’s worth of operating expenses in the bank, DeKalb has nothing in reserves. Indeed, the district is on a path to finish this fiscal year with a $6 million deficit. Those bills would have to be pushed into the next fiscal year, pushing the budget gap to as much as $79 million, Perrone told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Monday.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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102 comments Add your comment
The Deal
May 22nd, 2012
4:22 pm
Just for comparison, the audit report released in March recommended a central office cut of 336 positions, not 73. At an average of $60K/position, following the audit recommendation would have saved over $20 million. The $5 million Atkison is patting herself on the back for is rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Why does no one have the guts to rip the bandaid off this jobs program and get us on the right track?
@Teacher Reader
May 22nd, 2012
4:43 pm
Fernbank Science Center costs close to $7,000,000 a year to operate while they have one admin and support employee for every science teacher.
http://dekalbschoolwatch.blogspot.com/2010/03/are-proposed-dcss-budget-cuts-going-to.html
http://fsc.fernbank.edu/faculty.htm
Look at what the 5 Fernbank Science Center Designers alone cost taxpayers in salary and benefits (they maintain the exhibits at the Science Center).
DCSS can afford to spend over $400,000 a year to maintain science exhibits, but we can’t afford teachers, and we can’t afford over 50 cents a student a year for science equipment and supplies for science instruction in our schools:
Designer $77,381
Designer $63,360
Designer $84,073
Designer $65,827
Designer $69,178
Total: $359,819
With benefits – $431,782 for 5 Fernbank Designers.
Look at the 2011 science scores for DeKalb:
Science % FAILED by Grade Level
3rd grade – 30.9%
4th grade – 33.6%
5th grade – 35.2%
6th grade – 42.2%
7th grade – 31.9%
8th grade – 49.9%
Almost half of our 8th graders do not know the most basic concepts in science.
Protected by the powerful Fernbank community, the last time Fernbank Science Center was looked for even some modest cuts, the Fernbank Elementary School Council penned an Open Letter to the DeKalb Board of Education urging the closure of neighborhood schools while exempting the science center.
Marshall Orson who is running for the DeKalb Board of Education signed the letter:
http://dekalbschoolwatch.blogspot.com/2010/03/letter-from-fernbank-elementary-school.html
Not one word has been said by Dr. Atkinson and the BOE about the millions spent on Fernbank Science Center.
Fernbank Science Center has some very worthwhile programs for a select group of students (e.g. STT, SEEMA), but the school system can no longer afford this 1950s model of a science center as an enrichment tool for students that have already have mastered the basics.
Fernbank Science Center should be a non profit organization similar to the Fernbank Museum at best or it should be scaled back or closed. If it does not become self sustaining, the 28 excellent Fernbank Science Center teachers could be placed in the schools and these special programs could be run at a fraction of the cost we spend for the center.
The other metro schools systems including the demographically comparable ones have higher science achievement than DeKalb, and they have no science centers. This is definitely NOT about science achievement for ALL students in DeKalb.
Double Zero Eight
May 22nd, 2012
4:43 pm
Once upon a time, the age of a school was not as
important as the teaching that was going on inside
that school. Millions have been wasted on new
schools, with no measurable improvements in the
results.
We would probably be shocked if we knew the
ratio of students to central office employees in
1991, as compared to 2011 (before there were
any significant cuts) for Dekalb and APS.
.
Understanding Atlanta
May 22nd, 2012
4:54 pm
Reading that alert closely, it appears the roles were realigned to where they are doing their work. I can understand how some jobs that aren’t being paid from the budget of the local school, but being managed centrally. I think it gives us a better idea of the people the truly work at central office, instead of being paid from central office.
That said, there is still work to be done. Dr. A has to show that she has the muscle to do the heavy lifting and not be afraid to tell the BOE – leave this to the professionals.
Teacher Reader
May 22nd, 2012
5:00 pm
Dunwoody Mom, I really don’t care if kids/parents can’t afford to have their kids in sports other than schools. Frankly, I can’t afford any more in taxes in a system that is failing the majority of the kids attending, and that I cannot send my child to but must pay taxes to. Sports need to go, before more kids are placed in the classes. Fancy schools where some kids have small sizes and extra classes need to go, before more kids are placed in classes and taxes are raised.
DeKalb already is not an attractive place to buy a house. I’d get rid of mine in a heart beat, if I could sell it for what I owe on it. Not going to happen, and the values keep going down, as people give their homes away to get out of the county.
Focus needs to be on giving our children a BASIC QUALITY EDUCATION, and if we can afford anything else, great, but right now we cannot.
Atlanta Media Guy
May 22nd, 2012
5:32 pm
It’s amazing, a simple headline could lead to a much better perception of this mess named DCSS(D?)! Walker, Cuningham, Womack and SCW (by election). Then Ramsey, Tyson, Berry, Turk, Mitchell-Mayfield, Calloway, Segovis, the Guilroys, any other Francis Edward’s kin, Moseley, Thompson must be shown the front door, the real door… to leave the system completely! Not to the Bryant Warehouse, aka the money pit.. or to a school. It’s time for change, any former Clew Confidant, must be shown the door!
It’s perception and as long as the folks who got us in this mess are still around, the stakeholders have nothing to gain confidence from that change is really coming. Ernest and Dunwoody Mom, I couldn’t agree with you two more. EVERYTHING must be on the table. Atkinson must insist on a total Palace cleaning. The folks mentioned above led DCSS into a ditch. It’s time to clean house! Completely. I can’t wait for that August HR report. That will show the true direction OUR schools are headed.
tony
May 22nd, 2012
5:36 pm
lets look at a couple of l the great ideas dekalb county has come up with over the years
BUSING = TOTAL FAILURE , took good schools and ruined them, some of the best schools in the state were destroyed
middle school program= another one of the biggest failures. the middles schools are by far the biggest problem in public education. this entire idea created the mass exodus of good kids and good families out of public schools and into private schools
whatever DBOE decides to do im sure it will result in eliminating things that work and bringing down high achieving schools to the level of failing schools all in the idea of fairness
How Could It Be
May 22nd, 2012
5:43 pm
From what I understand, the only positions being eliminated from MIS are the CTSSs. I was told all of those guys had to reapply and interview for their positions. I hear there are currently 92 of them for the entire District but they are only going to rehire 62 of them.
The CTSSs are the lowest paid staff members assigned to MIS. What about all the folks over at the Bryant Center making much more money. From what I’ve been told, none of them had to reapply for their jobs and all of them will still be on payroll. SMH
HSTeach
May 22nd, 2012
5:46 pm
The class size is currently 37 in some high school classes, and the budget calls for an increase of 3 across the board. That means possible 40 person classes for core subjects. Let’s not talk about the PE classes, which are almost double that size. I’m sorry, but with a class of 34 this year, I was simply there for crowd control. The differentiated small group instruction mandated was impossible as desks could not be moved due to space. In fact, I had to put some at tables and even at my own desk. I’m not sure what I could do with three more except perhaps swing a trapeze from the ceiling. Now comes the rigorous Common Core standards…perhaps they will learn by osmosis in the back as I can’t squeeze through the crowd to get to them.
Teacher2
May 22nd, 2012
5:50 pm
We need to get back to the basics, plain and simple. Cut the bloat at the central office, eliminate middle management district area supers, psychologists, “coaches”, extra testing expenses, etc …Keep the utility expenses in line by giving control back to the classroom teachers. Central office cannot and should not control heat and air in the classrooms. DCSD just got to big for their britches and they burst the seams; a diet won’t work, its time for a lifestyle change.
Marney
May 22nd, 2012
5:55 pm
The new head if IT hasn’t had enough time to figure out which way to shovel…but he looked like he knew he needed to ASAP. when he spoke at the subcommittee mtg Monday (I was the only parent that was not also a board candidate there). Likewise on the new operations guy. The outsoucing of maintence, groundskeeping, HVAC repair, custodian is to be looked at. There are timing issues on how fast all this can be accomplished but there was a different demeanor by the new COO than I have ever seen out of the old “guards of the palace.”. Been here since Feb. –let’s let him work.
Dekalbite
May 22nd, 2012
5:55 pm
“That means possible 40 person classes for core subjects.”
Parents need to camp out in the classrooms until they rectify this.
Dunwoody Mom
May 22nd, 2012
6:11 pm
Marney is right in that we need some patience with these new individuals. I mean, just look at the mess they have to sort out and clean up. I know we want everything “fixed” overnight – but that’s just not practical.
redweather
May 22nd, 2012
6:43 pm
That 5.1 million in savings looks like a paper shuffle. I don’t buy it.
Donaldo
May 22nd, 2012
6:55 pm
I suggest a Parent Group collectively research the top performing school systems in the nation. Then, go visit them to find out what they are doing and how they achieved success. Until parents and businesses put their money where their mouth is, aside from taxes, you will continue to fight a never ending battle. Remember folks, the ship is sinking, so lets fix the hole with practical, real solutions…organize, identify the problem, then offer solutions with your voice and vote.
disingenuous
May 22nd, 2012
7:06 pm
Why do you say Even magnet school transportation consider being cut? 95 percent of the students in DeKalb are not in any choice program. These types of cuts are logical. Don’t increase my child’s class to 40 and expect me to fund transportation for the lucky few.
N. GA Teacher
May 22nd, 2012
7:16 pm
I fell sorry for the new DeKalb Super. We have to remember that she is beholden to the BOARD. She cannot just “cut the fat” because I suspect a lot of central office cronies are cozy pals of Board members. Board members would block the firing AND then fire HER. Second, some other bloggers mentioned the low standardized test scores. Unfortunately, no matter how good the teachers or the Fernbank Science Center, it is VERY hard to raise the average score of poverty kids from broken homes and bad neighborhoods. On average, these kids start out two years behind and stay even at best the rest of the way. Pre-K should stay, but only if it involves rigorous reading and some kind of development of a set of beliefs and attitudes (good work ethic, respect for authority, etc.) that will improve the general attitudes and discipline in years to come.
Teacher Reader
May 22nd, 2012
7:22 pm
@ N. GA Teacher, She is not just beholden to the board, but to the tax payers and the children. If she is going to turn this ship around and have the public on her side, she needs to cut deeply and make the district a well oiled machine. We are paying her top dollar to run our system in a more efficient manner. So far, I am not seeing that we are getting our money’s worth.
Pre-K costs too much money to stay. The state does not pay a teacher salary nor give money towards benefits. As a county pre-K in our schools is nice to have, but not something that we can currently afford, making it a want rather than a need.
We can only afford to fund true needs. All wants have to go. As Dave Ramsey would say, it’s rice and beans and beans and rice until the district can get its financial act together.
Same old, same old...
May 22nd, 2012
7:28 pm
Has anyone realized that Atkinson didn’t start working on the budget until late in the spring? The district typically started in late fall and really kicked into gear in January to have a completed budget before the board in April/May and voted on often before June. This crew started in April. Almost 4 months late. Is it any wonder they’re scrambling and cutting blindly? That the only option was class size increases and a millage increase to boot? She’s putting out the worst possible options (and the easiest) so that the board has to take the fall and make the tough cuts. Isn’t that her job?
This is a management issue, people. She changed the entire budget process without training anyone, waited until the 11th hour, put out 4 pages of nonsense that didn’t even add up properly, and expected the board to blindly vote yes. She ran Lorain’s budget into the ground and got out of town as quickly as she could. The State of Ohio is in the process of taking over that district because of a financial deficit…but she ADDED programs the entire time she was there.
Everyone’s happy about slicing and dicing the central office. Some of it definitely needed to be done. But what cost/benefit analysis was done to determine services to the schools that will no longer exist? None. Because it’s so late in the year, it’s all about cutting now. Just to look good for the board and the public. Just to win supporters. By the time the real effects of this woman’s slash and burn tactics are realized, she’ll be on to her next district…and we’ll be left to pick up the pieces. Just like Lorain.
Old timer
May 22nd, 2012
8:01 pm
Dekalb….friends and family need to be cut.
As with all the schools…none of us will believe they mean business till they cut from the county office…big time…..
bu2
May 22nd, 2012
8:01 pm
Only $24 million of the projected deficit is due to lower assessments. Medical is blamed for much of the rest. But I haven’t seen any detail numbers on that. It is really late to be in this position on the budget. They have already sent out contracts which seems like something you would do after a budget, not before.
Same old, same old...
May 22nd, 2012
8:14 pm
@bu2…
You’re exactly right. What good does it do to raise class sizes when all of the teachers have contracts now? Maybe this would have been a good budget strategy in February…Oh, but it looks good when you present it to the board and to the public. You mean business!!! And the deficit will be even larger next year (because you never really addressed it to begin with it this year).
Name One
May 22nd, 2012
8:15 pm
Dr. Atkinson, you are lying to us. There are millions to be saved by dramatically downsizing the Central Office. These are just some of the endless number of pencil pushing jobs available on the DCSS PATS jobs website:
JOBS on PATS:
Chief of Staff 1
Coordinator II, Research, Gran 1
Director – Ed Media 1
Director – Leadership Development 1
Director, C/I-Core Instruction 1
Director, C/I-Electives & Spec 1
Director, Federal Programs 1
Director, Research Assessment 1
Director, Staff Services 1
Exec. Director – Curr. & Instruction 1
Exec. Director – Special Prgrms 1
Exec. Director, Diverse Learni 1
Exec. Director, Federal Progra 1
Exec. Director, Research, Asse 1
Executive Legal Officer 1
Regional Superintendent 5
Director – Operations/StudentTransportation 1
Director, Facilities Adm Svcs 1
Analyst I, Insurance Report 1
Coordinator III – Athletics 1
Coordinator II – K-12 Music 1
Coord. II-Secondary Curriculum 5
Coord. II, Elem. Curriculum 5
Coordinator/School Leadership 2
Coordinator II, Aspiring Lead 1
Coordinator II, Charter School 1
Coordinator/Secondary 6
Coordinator II – Safe Schools 1
Coordinator III, Federal Prgms 1
Coordinator III, Research/Asse 1
Coordinator II, Career Tech/In 1
Coordinator II, Federal Prgms. 1
Coordinator II, Inst. Material 1
Coordinator II – Gifted & Talen 1
Coordinator II – School Psychol 1
Secretary – Onboarding 1
Secretary – Tech Support 1
Specialist, FMLA Leaves 1
Technician I, Insurance 1
Technician I, Staffing 1
Instructional 3
Director of Accounting 1
Director of Treasury Services 1
Instructional/Elementary 4
Liaison, Academic Enrich Elem 3
Facilitator – SFA 4
Facilitator, SFA 23
Coach, Academic Data 1
The Deal
May 22nd, 2012
8:19 pm
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Dr. Atkinson may be new, but, in under a year, she has a full system audit and a round of contracts under her belt. She is officially out of the honeymoon period. If she wanted to do something bold, she could and should have already done it with the backing of the audit and the timing of the contracts. That ship has now sailed, and we are stuck with the contracts until next year. If 336 people were gone from the central office, we would be in much better shape. Fire our two law firms, hire the one that the grand jury revealed has all of the proper school system experience, settle the lawsuits, and get that expense down. Suspend Fernbank Science Center until further investigation can be done.
big picture
May 22nd, 2012
8:44 pm
To everyone screaming for magnet cuts (not transportation but program – transportation shouldn’t be funded) – you are crazy. If the regular neighborhood schools were actually spending the money received from the state for gifted FTE on gifted students and TRUE differentiated curriculum, then you would potentially have a beef. But as long as principals choose to throw a gifted certified teacher into a classroom with 35 students in an inclusion classroom (with a range of skill from special ed to gifted) and pocket the gifted monies for whole school initiatives, then you don’t understand the needs of these kids. The state provides additional funding for these students and the county and schools are more than willing to accept it, BUT, believe me, at most neighborhood schools, these kids are expected to simply teach themselves – they are getting no benefits from this funding. State law obligates the system to provide services for gifted kids, even if you don’t think they have different needs.
Moreover, when there are only 3-6 gifted students in a school of 700, these students are losing out even more – part of what drives these kids is interacting with others like them. I’d rather see the model for eligibility for the magnet programs changed – if your kids are receiving TRUE gifted services at a neighborhood school (Vanderlyn for example) because there is a large enough gifted population to provide such services, then students from your school shouldn’t be eligible for the gifted schools’ lottery. This would allow those students from schools where they don’t have enough funding for a discovery teacher to receive services. Why do we need a lottery for gifted services? All gifted students should be receiving appropriate services – IT IS THE LAW!
I agree with getting down to basics. Do we really need active boards? what’s wrong with chalk boards – aren’t they much cheaper to fix? Do teachers need training on how to use them? Do students need technology when they cannot compute a percent in high school? Really? Technology may be sexy, but it is expensive.
Are we going to stop paying double salaries at the top?
PLEASE CUT THE ATTORNEY EXPENDITURES! As a taxpayer the irony is not lost on me. I’m paying the Prosecutor to bring the case against the school district employees, and I’m paying the defense bills for same employees (as well as the retirement and medical expenditures for those we want to testify).
Disgusted in DeKalb
May 22nd, 2012
8:53 pm
No, No, No to a 2 mil tax increase after the 26% tax increase imposed last year.
No, No, No to a tax increase until hundreds of jobs are permanently eliminated in the Central Office. Simply moving hundreds of jobs on paper to the schools is RIDICULOUS. Does the Superintendent think we are that dumb? Is she making the principals do her hatchet work to eliminate the unneeded graduation coaches and coordinators and specialists?
I work in a government office with over 30 professionals (attorneys and accountants). We have ONE secretary. Yep, just one. With computerization we do our own typing, faxing, scanning, copying.
And flatten the management structure to only two levels. Supervisor and Director. More is redundant.
I am still waiting to see the new organization chart. It has been “under construction” for 6 months.
Well . . .
May 22nd, 2012
8:55 pm
Same old commented: “She changed the entire budget process without training anyone, waited until the 11th hour, put out 4 pages of nonsense that didn’t even add up properly, and expected the board to blindly vote yes. She ran Lorain’s budget into the ground and got out of town as quickly as she could. The State of Ohio is in the process of taking over that district because of a financial deficit…but she ADDED programs the entire time she was there. . . .By the time the real effects of this woman’s slash and burn tactics are realized, she’ll be on to her next district…and we’ll be left to pick up the pieces.”
Given that demonstrated competence was not the primary criterion the Board used in their hiring decision, would this be a complete shock? I want Dr. A to succeed too, and I know she’s up against some seriously entrenched corruption and idiocy, but the BOE didn’t even give better candidates a chance for reasons that should still embarass them.
yes i am worried
May 22nd, 2012
9:05 pm
Big Picture
You can report schools that don’t follow the state rules, but please know that the rules have changed.
The magnets can still exist just without the extra funding.
d
May 22nd, 2012
9:26 pm
@Disgusted – the Board of Education has not increased your taxes in nearly a decade. Please separate the Board of Commissioners and Board of Education….. separate pots of money for separate things.
Teacher and Tax Payer
May 22nd, 2012
9:43 pm
As a teacher and taxpayer I say, No mil rate increase, cut the central office as suggested, send everyone back to their home schools, if you are in middle school or higher and you live .5 mile from the school WALK. Raise the income level for free and reduced lunch and breakfast( the children through the fruit in the trash) and by all means cut the superintendent’s salary by at least 6.25%. What these people tend to forget is that many of the Dekalb County teachers are residents. As a resident I refuse to give you more money to throw away to pay for legal fees to two law firms to defend a racketeer and his cronies while I haven’t received a raise in close to a decade!!!!
bloodbike
May 22nd, 2012
10:11 pm
I like what Teacher & Tax payer said above. I would go with a blanket 5% salary slash for the superintendent pay. Cut Pre-K altogether, make the central ofice cuts as suggested, drop athletics after school on the middle school level, you will have to both cut some teacher positions (sorry) and increase class size. Increasing the tax rate should not happen, but hiring out the sanitation department to a outsourcing company should be implemented. Also making the little ones walk to school who are .5 miles away from the school is a good thing. Save on trasportation costs.
billyBobjacket
May 22nd, 2012
11:13 pm
Highest millage rate in the metro, consistently crappy schools/results, and a $70 million deficit. Hope all you suckers that voted for the latest SPLOST are happy to see more of your money going down this rat hole. Of course half of the new SPLOST is going for stuff they promised in the previous one, but “oops, we did it again…we made a $40 million math error and now we spend the new money on the old promises. I guess the new promises will be paid for by the next SPLOST, and you idiots keep voting for these people and their tax increases because you feel guilty about not doing anything yourselves about educating your kids.
Newton County Parents
May 22nd, 2012
11:21 pm
Why has the AJC not looked into this? http://www.newtoncitizen.com/news/2012/apr/26/alcovy-principal-sues-over-website-comments/
billyBobjacket
May 22nd, 2012
11:23 pm
Over in Chamblee they are spending tens of millions of $ tearing down a perfectly fine brick school to build a new one, enough to close much of the budget gap. It’s not the building , people, it is what goes on inside! Gutless administrators and the lazy entrenched teachers union seniority system stifle any efforts to change the status quo in the actual education process, so the answer is to throw money at buildings and change a few fake test scores and the masses will be placated for another election cycle. If the building looks nicer than the private school down the street, then we dont have to feel guilty about sending our kids there when we could either afford the private school by driving an older/cheaper car and not having five iPhones and data plans in the family, or – heaven forbid – we actualy spend a little time with our kids trying to teach them stuff ourselves.
My2Cents
May 22nd, 2012
11:30 pm
It’s time to petition the governor to appoint a new replacement board. Published audits, cost benefit analysis, following standard best practices and critical evaluation all need to become a part of the process of running DCSS. Absent a replacement board I can see no alternative to suing for malfeasance – this couldn’t be much worse if they tried. Oh, yes, they could lose accreditation and completely dishonor us taxpayers. Fair warning – Raise my taxes and prepare for battle!
Two Cents
May 23rd, 2012
3:24 am
Well let the parents furnish the transportation. I had to take mine to and from school every day this year because they were a group of bullies on the bus including the bus driver. Nobody paid me anything. You want your child in a different school then pay for their transportation.
yes i am worried
May 23rd, 2012
5:36 am
billybobjacket
Actually, the money for Chamblee comes from a different pot, SPLOST, that can’t be used for day to day operations.
Atkinson needs to cut another 20 percent from the central office. Way too many employees in HR, in a system that isn’t hiring. It is a joke.
No more high level salaries for mediocre work and no more secretaries at the central office either.
How do you cut 25 librarians? Are there schools that have two — or will some share now, or how?
Two Cents
May 23rd, 2012
6:54 am
Maureen, how about a separate three on what the salary ranges are in the categories retained by DCSS? Are they they paying secretaries who are given fancy titles sixty or more thousand a year? A good secretary can be found to less than fifty thousand a year.
Two Cents
May 23rd, 2012
6:54 am
meant separate thread.
Ideas
May 23rd, 2012
8:15 am
The required testing, all of the personnel hired to deal with the testing, and all of the required training to improve the scores have caused many school systems to cut everywhere else in these crazy economic times. The giant test producers and scorers are probably doing quite well with all of these revenues from every single school sytem in GA!
Retired Classroom Teacher and Librarian
May 23rd, 2012
9:23 am
I think more cuts (job cuts and pay cuts) should come from the central office before cutting positions like media specialists. Will they go to a 4 day work week during the summer for those considered 11-12 month employees? Do we know how much this new reading program cost the system? Judging from what some of my teacher and librarian friends shared with me yesterday, there is a whole new reading program to be rolled out next year with daily 90 min reading blocks that will have various ‘coaches’ assigned to schools to help with the implementation. I was told that during the meeting they were not sure if those extra coaches are from within Dekalb or from the company providing the service.
With the Common Core coming, students need all the teachers they can to help. People like Media Specialists and Language Arts teachers are the ones to make sure students understand the ins and outs of research as that will be a major component. As “Yes I’m Worried” questioned, How can you cut 25 librarians? Where is there a surplus of those positions and will schools have to share? How can you justify all of the ‘directors’ (unless they are truly needed in an area), coordinators, and secretaries as well as the many instrucutional coaches that do not have daily interactions with students, but mostly push more paper and work out to all ready overly extended teachers? Which central office positions did she actually cut? All I see is a rearranging of positions. Some positions I can understand retaining such as Director of Ed Media as this person oversees all media specialists and makes sure others understand the role and importance of having a certified librarian and media program.
I seriously doubt any Dekalb residents will agree to a millage increase, expecially if all has not really been done to help the money situation. While I see why many say cutting pre-k is the way to go, there are not many daycare centers that will be able to hold the number of students normally slated for the local public schools. This means that many will not be able to attend due to the lack of space; and so, you will have many students entering Kindergarten way behind. Yes, there are private Pre-k programs, but in this economy, not everyone can afford to cost. Pre-k helps prepare those students for Kindergarten who unfortunately were not provided that early instruction. Pre-K is funded via the state; and so, the main ‘drag’ on a school is really just a classroom as the students do not participate in regular activities such as art and pe like K-5 and have certified teachers paid through the state as well.
Ned
May 23rd, 2012
9:37 am
Note to Jay: It isn’t enough to “put” everything on the table. You actually have to look at everything, and not just the same old things, once they are on the table.
Prof
May 23rd, 2012
10:54 am
@ Newton County Parents, May 22nd,11:21 pm: Why has the AJC not looked into this? http://www.newtoncitizen.com/news/2012/apr/26/alcovy-principal-sues-over-website-comments/
I saw this news story earlier in the AJC. Several things to remember, I think, before everyone freezes up on this blog. First, filing a lawsuit does NOT mean that you are going to win it. In the case of accused libel or slander, the best defense always is that the statement is true. Second, it really seems that Maureen moderates out those posts that might seem to fall into the category of libel or slander, especially those naming names. I say this judging from the number of complaints about “censorship” that are printed from moderated bloggers. I think that she’s concerned about the possible fallout for the blogger as well as the blog.
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May 23rd, 2012
5:24 pm
““We’re putting everything on the table,” said Jesse “Jay” Cunningham, a school board member who serves on the board’s budget committee.”
Gee, as I recall, it was Jesse “Jay” Cunningham who pushed to reduce parapros by 100 in the last budget so that transportation for magnet schools would be protected. Chopped teachers for bus drivers!
alm
May 23rd, 2012
9:09 pm
I would like to see Title 1 money used for teachers and exams as said by others. PreK is another keeper for Title 1. It’s SO much more than babysitting. I would love to ax programs like America’s Choice, academic coaches that have zero contact with students. I don’t know if a lot of families use the Parent Resource Centers in my area but we seem to pay a lot to staff them. I think there’s room for cuts there. In the next year or two look at cutting specialty schools and start sending kids to home schools. If this is done will there be any issues from the courts with desegregation?
Dekalbite@alm
May 23rd, 2012
10:45 pm
” I don’t know if a lot of families use the Parent Resource Centers in my area but we seem to pay a lot to staff them.”
See this link that shows the salaries of every DeKalb Parent Resource Center position as compared to demographically similar school systems:
http://dekalbschoolwatch.blogspot.com/2011/11/73000-dcss-secretarial-positions-are.html
anonymousABC
May 23rd, 2012
10:55 pm
This fall the the parent resource Title I money will be moved to the local school. All parent centers will be closed. The instructional coach program has been dissolved for this fall. According to Dr. Atkinson she has received so many complaints about that program.
Dekalbite@AnonymousABC
May 23rd, 2012
11:04 pm
Since the Instructional Coach program (190 non teaching coaches) cost $15,000,000 and the Parent Centers cost $4,500,000, why is this around $20,000,000 figure not been included as a savings against the $73,000,000 shortfall? This $20,000,000 detail was not cited by Dr. Atkinson as part of her “cuts” to the budget.
DCSD Educator
May 24th, 2012
12:17 am
The parents need to beat the drum for a simple solution. Please read all the way through before making a decision. It’s going to take parents being professional, but persistent to make the changes necessary. Please do this to save our schools! We want to restore the pride in DeKalb, but others stand in the way.
1) CUT positions at the district level. Rearranging personnel still keeps a bloated payroll. At least half of the positions are not needed. There are too many layers in a rotting onion.
2) Eliminate summer school! Re-teach and enrich after testing. Give the re-test the last week of school. Other districts do this and have saved millions!
3) Go to a four day school week. This has been suggested for summers, but the real savings comes from not running the buses. It would only add 75 minutes to the school day to still meet state requirements. For those who think of school as daycare, schools could voluntarily provide a modified program to accommodate parent needs. If parents know a year ahead of time, they can make plans. The savings from not running buses one day a week, paying cafeteria staff four days a week, paying for fewer subs, and not paying bus drivers five days would save millions each year.
4) Stop purchasing new textbooks for a while. Just because the state has an adoption cycle and approved vendors on a list does not mean DeKalb has to act. Teachers can teach the skills using other resources.
We need parents to also fight to keep our custodians. DeKalb piloted an outsourcing program about ten years ago and the results were not good. The contractors do not pay for background checks, so you will not know who is in the building. The outsourced custodians do not report to the building principal so there was no real work being done and there was high level of property stolen. Schools also need at least one fulltime librarian. They teach lessons on how to do research, locating information in texts, technology instruction, etc. They do more than check out and shelve books.
If more parents spent time fighting for the schools rather than against them, we might actually right the sinking ship and complete this journey together. I teach because I love kids and want to make a difference. I do not do this job for the money, although paying my bills is important. Someone needs to stand up and help. The new teacher evaluation will help administrators clean out mediocre or poor teachers. I’m proud of my portfolio from the pilot. It was rigorous, but in my opinion, what good teachers should be doing anyway. Raising the taxes is not going to solve the problem. There is still a deficit and unjustified expenses. I am also a taxpayer and do not want my money wasted any longer.
If parents would push this list, within three years there would be enough money to make employees whole and even “catch them up” for the years without a raise or step while keeping all programs in place. I have a full day with excited children & need to go to sleep. Please find out the numbers from DCSD and calculate the savings for yourself. It will surprise you!
Thank you.
Thank you.