DeKalb under the gun: Raise taxes or make dire cuts, including closing beloved Fernbank
Fernbank costs DeKalb $4.7 million to operate, a luxury the system can't afford any longer. (AJC)
Many of you have suggested that the cash-strapped DeKalb Schools close the Fernbank Science Center.
Someone was listening.
As a longtime metro Atlanta resident, I have been to Fernbank dozens of times with all four of my children. My kids love the nature exhibits and the Apollo 6 Command Module. I would hate to see this facility close, but I realize the financial crisis facing DeKalb and understand that there will be cuts of consequence and conscience. Some good stuff will end.
According to the AJC:
Each year, about 160,000 people, many of them schoolchildren, learn about frogs, snakes, bugs and other animals and plants during visits to Fernbank Science Center.
The decades-old institution, owned and operated by the DeKalb County public school district, has offered a hands-on education to students and other visitors from across metro Atlanta and elsewhere. However, it might close, under a recommendation Thursday by the school board’s budget committee. Fernbank Science Center, which includes a planetarium, is near the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, which is operated by a separate nonprofit.
At an annual cost of $4.7 million, the building and its 56 full-time employees now are looking like a luxury to school officials. They are struggling with a $73 million deficit, and may have to cut teachers and school days to balance the budget.
School board Chairman Eugene Walker, who opposes closing the science center, said students go there to work on projects and learn about nature. “It’s a great educational opportunity for students that are interested in science,” he said.
This week, the school board adopted a tentative $759.7 million budget that closed the gap, but only with an unlikely $30 million tax increase. Several who backed the spending plan — a formality mandated by the state so the public would have something to comment on — said they had no desire to actually raise taxes. They’ll have to vote on a final budget before fiscal 2013 starts on July 1.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution polled eight of the nine board members (only Sarah Copelin-Wood could not be reached), and five said, to varying degrees, they opposed a tax increase.
“I will only consider a tax increase after we have made all the reductions we can,” said Tom Bowen, the board vice chairman. “Using reserves last year allowed us to escape some hard decisions.”
Bowen was referring to DeKalb’s savings account. Money piled up in flush times, but there are no reserves now. Indeed, this year, DeKalb may wind up $6 million in debt. If that happens, officials say they will hold off on paying bills until July or after, meaning the deficit actually could be closer to $79 million.
No other major metro Atlanta school system is in the same dire financial straits. Last year, the most recent for which figures are available, only a half-dozen public school systems in Georgia ended the year owing money.
The causes, though, are not unique: rising costs for items such as health insurance, and plummeting tax receipts. Property values, the foundation of the DeKalb tax base, will have seen a 25 percent decline from fiscal 2009 to fiscal 2013, according to school system financial officials.
Proponents of a tax increase, including Walker, note that DeKalb hasn’t raised its tax rate in nearly a decade. “The idea of just cutting to solve this problem is irresponsible,” he said.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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247 comments Add your comment
anonymousABC
May 25th, 2012
5:57 pm
The instructional coach program and all parent centers are being dissolved for the upcoming school year. The coaches have to reapply for other positions. I learned a lot from America’s Choice and it made me a better teacher.It was not a scripted program. I embraced the program and it worked for me and the children benefited. Components are Reader;s Workshop, Writer’s Workshop, and a Skills Block. When school started the students were tested using the DRA, an indivualized assessment. During reading, I had a 15 minute mini-lesson followed by a work session. During the work session the students met with me for their reading group. We had a book room with leveled readers funded by TItle I. Every student was taught on their specific reading level. These are all best pracitices. During Writer’s Workshop the students leaned about the different types of writing and they wrote everyday. During the Skills Block I taught Daily Oral Language, Grammar, and Phonics. All of these components are or should be included in college level education courses.
Success for All is a scripted reading program. It will work it teacher embrace the program and work hard. They may feel stifled. I am familiar with it but I haven’t used it.
Fernbank…I have taught in Dekalb for 14 years. I think Fernbank is wonderful but most years my students get to only go one time to the planetarium. I have had classroom visits for about four or five times in those years. The teachers are wonderful. I really don’t think that it does enough to impact all the students in Dekalb. Cut the program.
Rebecka
May 25th, 2012
5:59 pm
Just a few clarifications:
1. STT serves 90 students per semester;
2. The lease on the Fernbank forest reverted back to Fernbank Inc.;
3. If there is no science or cultural center on the property, it reverts back to Fernbank Inc.;
4. The Grant department has been correcting and rewriting dissertations for ‘leaders’ who are in substandard doctoral programs and cannot write a dissertation for that substandard program. Gets in the way of writing grants.
anonymous
May 25th, 2012
6:08 pm
In Gwinnett the special education teacher handles a lot of the testing and the student moves through the SST process in a more timely manner. We have students that get bogged down in the process and are never tested when they truly should be served in special education. It really helps when a parent requests testing. There is federal law that states that when a parent asks for testing it has be to done if a specific time 60 or 90 days…I can’t remember. A parent has to be their child’s advocate. I think that Dekalb needs to looks at how Gwinnett runs their program. I had both of my student’s tested in Gwinnett and it didin’t take long. Now many teachers don’t want to refer their students because of a new federally mandated process called RTI. Many administrator and teachers feel that many students will not be served because of this process.
DeKalb County Bus Driver
May 25th, 2012
6:11 pm
I think the children enjoy going and learn a lot. I here good comments when they return to the bus.
DeKalb County Bus Driver/Mom
May 25th, 2012
6:20 pm
I think children enjoy going to Fern Bank. I always hear good comments when they come back to the bus. I don’t think we should raise taxes there must be other avenues.
bootney farnsworth
May 25th, 2012
6:36 pm
and these avenues might be….?
Teacher Reader
May 25th, 2012
6:44 pm
I enjoy going to the movies, but my budget can’t afford the $10 ticket. Just because the kids enjoy it, doesn’t mean that the tax payer can afford it. This way of thinking is what has many individuals in debt, and is not the way that I want those making decisions on how to spend the money that I send in for taxes to make their decisions.
Dunwoody Mom
May 25th, 2012
7:06 pm
Hey, Marshall “You have to vote for SPLOST in order to change the Board of Education” Orson…were you responsible for those PR fluff pieces on Fernbank that were shown on Fox 5 and WXIA? They were really silly.
Save FSC
May 25th, 2012
8:03 pm
What does the FSC do? They excite children and their families on the importance of nature and science. They show kids that science isn’t just rote memorization from a book, but it is all around us. This type of center is exactly what is needed to engage kids. What does it do? Take a look at just part of a class, and hear the excitement, EXCITEMENT, of the kids looking at nature.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXFIfktx4NQ&feature=g-upl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhFIb7O7zvg&feature=g-upl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AogMVl8GLWw&feature=g-upl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALIiojSJPrA&feature=g-upl
d
May 25th, 2012
8:28 pm
The system-wide teacher of the year is a Fernbank teacher. I’ve seen him many times this year at my school bringing the science more alive for students at my high school. I have a friend who works at an elementary school, and she has had Fernbank teachers bring labs to her classroom as well. I truly believe FSC is a valuable service to DeKalb and I think that there should be some way to save it, even if at a different physical location.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
May 25th, 2012
8:44 pm
I will absolutely not support a tax increase if class size goes up even by one student and Fernbank stays open. Move the teachers into the schools. (Though I hear they really don’t want to go.)
DO NOT INCREASE CLASS SIZE WHILE LUXURIES LIKE FERNBANK STAY OPEN.
Teacher Reader
May 25th, 2012
8:44 pm
For DeKalb tax payers who believe the EVERYTHING including Fernbank need to be on the table before increased taxes and class sizes, we need to have our voices heard. Email the school board, attend the school board meeting next, get others to do the same. Those living in the Fernbank Neighborhood will do EVERYTHING in their power to keep their beloved Fernbank Science Center open. Those with opposing view points need to be heard by the school board, just as loud if not louder than those wanting to keep it.
dekalbite
May 25th, 2012
8:52 pm
DCSS can afford to spend over $400,000 a year to maintain science exhibits, but we can’t afford science teachers for the schools that teach science content every day to the same students, and we can’t afford over 50 cents a student a year for science equipment and supplies for science instruction in our schools.
Look at the Fernbank Designer salaries (they maintain the relatively few Fernbank exhibits) – from the 2011 state Salary and Travel audit:
Designer $77,381
Designer $63,360
Designer $84,073
Designer $65,827
Designer $69,178
Total: $359,819
With benefits – $431,782 for five Fernbank Designers.
And why are we paying $56,000 a year in salary and benefits for a Cabinetmaker.
DeKalb science scores have declined even as those 28 teachers have been hard at work providing “enrichment” for some students in the schools because most of our students do not know even the most basic science content. Our students cannot master the basics of science content from 2 or 3 visits by a Fernbank science instructor no matter how good the delivery. MASTERY of science content can ONLY be achieved by daily science instruction delivered by a competent science teacher.
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.
Fernbank Science Center is good for enrichment, but our students MUST have the basics. That is what we expect for our tax dollars.
dekalbite
May 25th, 2012
8:55 pm
If the Fernbank teachers are out in the schools every day teaching science lessons, then why are the admin and support numbers still so high – equal to the number of Fernbank Science Center teachers (one admin and support for every science teacher)?
Since the Fernbank teachers are out in the schools most of the day, they should be placed in schools all over the county. This way they would be more geographically accessible to all of the county. Fernbank Science Center which is only a building without the forest anymore should be shuttered, and the admin and support personnel should then be eliminated. Millions could be saved in facilities and admin and support without sacrificing the enrichment from the Fernbank teachers.
The only guarantee we have right now is that 40 students to a class is unacceptable and untenable for students.
Business as usual can no longer be part of the “DeKalb Way.”
Melanie
May 25th, 2012
8:55 pm
Trade the renouned Fernbank Science Center for a scripted, failed program ( Success for All) and wat for more wasted dollars and no positive results.
Dunwoody Mom
May 25th, 2012
9:02 pm
Earlier this morning I asked several questions as to what data can be given to justify the continued support of FSC…so far there has been silence from those who support FSC.
@Teacher Reader
May 25th, 2012
9:07 pm
“Those living in the Fernbank Neighborhood will do EVERYTHING in their power to keep their beloved Fernbank Science Center open. Those with opposing view points need to be heard by the school board, just as loud if not louder than those wanting to keep it.”
http://dekalbschoolwatch.blogspot.com/2010/03/letter-from-fernbank-elementary-school.html
The Fernbank community is arguably the most powerful group of parents in the metro area – bar none. Look at this open letter from the Fernbank Elementary School Council to the DeKalb Board of Education urging them to close neighborhood schools while protecting Fernbank Science Center from ANY cuts.
Marshal Orson signed the open letter to the Board of Education. He is now running for the DeKalb County Board of Education.
@Teacher Reader
May 25th, 2012
9:09 pm
The Fernbank community is arguably the most powerful group of parents in the metro area – bar none. Look at this open letter from the Fernbank Elementary School Council to the DeKalb Board of Education urging them to close neighborhood schools while protecting Fernbank Science Center from ANY cuts.
Marshal Orson signed the open letter to the Board of Education. He is now running for the DeKalb County Board of Education.
Oops! Here is the linkj:
The Fernbank community is arguably the most powerful group of parents in the metro area – bar none. Look at this open letter from the Fernbank Elementary School Council to the DeKalb Board of Education urging them to close neighborhood schools while protecting Fernbank Science Center from ANY cuts.
Marshal Orson signed the open letter to the Board of Education. He is now running for the DeKalb County Board of Education.
Oops! Here is the link:
http://dekalbschoolwatch.blogspot.com/2010/03/letter-from-fernbank-elementary-school.html
Teacher Reader
May 25th, 2012
10:39 pm
@ @Teacher Reader
It scares me that Orson could be on the school board, as he appears to only care about Fernbank and his own, and not the good of the entire district. I think of what he said about SPLOST and shutter at how he gave false information and scared people into voting for it. WE need people on the school board, who care more about the greater good of the county and how we can better educate ALL children and ensure that ALL children receive a quality education. We do not need any more on the board that are laser focused on what is best for their neighborhood.
Knowing that the Fernbank Community has a Save Fernbank Science Center blog/web site going, should make everyone in DeKalb go HUM!!!! If Orson is part of this group, those not living in Fernbank, but able to vote for/against him, should also take some time to think about who is the best candidate for bettering our school system. We do not need any more candidates/school board members who are not willing to make difficult decisions for the betterment of our entire system and who are focused only on their immediate area of the county.
@ Melanie, Success For All is paid for with Title One funds. Title One funds cannot be used to run/pay for Fernbank. I do not like Success For All or any packaged plan that claims to be the end all be all in educating our children. As a former teacher, packaged programs encourage our teachers and students into being useful idiots and do not allow creativity, enthusiasm, and excitement. Most package programs have “success” shown with “research” paid for by those creating the program. Such data holds no weight in my book, as it’s like letting the fox in the hen house.
Save FSC
May 25th, 2012
10:51 pm
Many people have brought up the low scores and the selective group that FSC serves. The programs are free to very affordable. All you have to do is show up!
About the low scores, it is really about the families. A family that shows involvement with their child in science and nature will reflect on the scores. No amount of money will bring those scores up without the willing participation of the student and/or family. It is just not going to happen. I would support an increase in price for some of the programs to help offset the cost, but getting rid of the programs only punishes those that do care about science. At the very least, the FSC can help spark an interest in those students that wouldn’t otherwise be interested in science.
Miss Management
May 25th, 2012
11:29 pm
@Lynn Hamilton – You are so confused. You actually started a PETITION to SAVE FERNBANK when you think that the IMAX is there? This is NOT about the museum – it’s about the old Fernbank Science Center – with the planetarium – located next to Fernbank Elementary. Geesh! My lord. I think you should use the moniker “Miss Leading”!
Miss Management
May 25th, 2012
11:36 pm
Do you all remember when an administrator asked for approval of the science materials budget at a board meeting? It was $50,000 — FOR THE WHOLE REST OF THE SYSTEM! That’s $50,000 for 100,000 students’ science supplies! That’s 50 Cent Each… Lord.
What’s Fernbank’s budget again?
OTOH
May 26th, 2012
12:35 am
So Fernbank Science Center, at $4.7 million per year divided by 95,000 DCSS students per year = $49 and change per student. DCSS BOE allocated $.50 per student for science materials. Perhaps if Fernbank’s money was instead allocated to science equipment in all the DeKalb schools, the science teachers already in those schools could inspire all those potential STEM students who only caught the science fever from Fernbank and a few more.
OTOH
May 26th, 2012
12:38 am
Reality is those who want to keep Fernbank Science Center need to pony up with money and fund-raising. Quit demanding everyone else pay for what you want or waiting for someone else to come up with the cash. If you want it, go do it.
Matt
May 26th, 2012
12:47 am
I think it’s funny that the Science Center is deemed a luxury. I think the real luxury are the standardized tests students are put through every year. Sure, you get to know how your kid ranks in filling in bubbles compared to other kids, but is that something we really need? How much money is wasted buying tests, buying test prep materials, and using teacher time to prep for tests? When is a kid supposed to learn independent thinking, cooperative problem solving, and a healthy intellectual curiosity when they’re constantly cramming for tests? I’d wager the county could save millions by getting rid of that luxury.
Life is not about filling in bubbles. Filling in bubbles is not a skill you can use outside of school. Filling in bubbles won’t solve a math problem, fix a car, or even mow the lawn. If the entire school district is the best in the country at filling in bubbles, is that really something to be proud of? You’ve taught kids to cram information in and regurgitate it. Alas, they can’t remember 95% of it anymore, because they never actually got the chance to learn anything – to really grasp a concept, work through it, analyze it, bounce it around in their head, see how it applies. But good God, they’ll know for the week of the big test that Georgia was founded as a penal colony by James Oglethorpe and that a^2 + b^2 = c^2!
The Science Center is something to be proud of. Inspiring kids to reach new heights is something to be proud of. It’s true, you can’t measure inspiration with a bubble metric. That hardly makes it a luxury. If we’re not sending kids to school to inspire them, what are we sending them for?
If it does get the axe, I do hope some philanthropic company or citizen helps keep it going. We need more science centers, not less.
Truth in Moderation
May 26th, 2012
2:06 am
PUBLIC SCHOOL BOUNTY HUNTERS
That’s how school districts in Texas plan to offset falling revenues.
Every student has an attendance record bounty on their head. Aspiring Supers plan to “recover” lost revenue when hapless students wander off campus and miss the daily attendance count. How, you ask? Using good old fashioned microchip technology (RFID) stealthily embedded in their mandatory student I.D.’s.
“We want to harness the power of (the) technology to make schools safer, know where our students are all the time in a school, and increase revenues,” district spokesman Pascual Gonzalez said. “Parents expect that we always know where their children are, and this technology will help us do that.”
Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/article/Students-will-be-tracked-via-chips-in-IDs-3584339.php#ixzz1vx9SK77g
Hmmm. They can keep all their tracking data in a Ped-O-File.
DCSD Educator
May 26th, 2012
2:21 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.
James Parsons
May 26th, 2012
4:34 am
Fernbank got me into the college program of my choice. Without it, the next 20 years of my life would have taken a completely different (and deprived!) path. From planetarium and observatory programs in elementary school to the Scientific Tools and Techniques classes as an 8th grader to the college credit microbiology course I took as a senior, I received a lifetime world class education via Fernbank, and I’m far from a unique case. Over the years, weekends, school days, summer evenings, I met Atlantans of every age and background there. Few institutions are capable of crossing boundaries like an open invitation to learn.
It’s a sad myopia that views an asset like Fernbank as a liability; that values short term tax relief over long term investment; that doesn’t recognize that the success and prosperity of a community comes from prioritizing public education rather than scapegoating it.
Dunwoody Mom
May 26th, 2012
6:52 am
I see the Fernbank PR Machine is in full force!! Marshall has gotten to the media as well.
You know Fernbank “people”, if you fought as hard and passionately for the students of the entire school district as you do for anything with the name of Fernbank, progress could be made across the entire district. But, sadly, your view of the world and what’s good for DCSD does not extend beyond Fernbank Elementary and the FSC. Tragic, really.
Dunwoody Mom
May 26th, 2012
6:55 am
Marshall, instead of using your time, energy and money to try and keep Fernbank open despite the massive and devasting financial situation DCSD is in, use that same energy to find alternative sources of funding for FSC.
bootney farnsworth
May 26th, 2012
7:45 am
you guys gotta accept a basic reality.
you’re broke. beyond broke.
DCSS has been spending beyond it means for years. the bill has finally come due.
the county is not as affluent as it once was
the quality of education is not nearly what it once was
the economy is so bad there is no money to be had from new taxes, even if the citizens
would allow them.
@James Parsons
May 26th, 2012
10:00 am
“I received a lifetime world class education via Fernbank, and I’m far from a unique case. ”
The STT program that Fernbank runs is the only program Fernbank has that serves students daily (for one semester now). STT serves 180 students a year – 90 a semester.
DCSS has 95,000 students. That makes the STT program pretty unique. Many students qualify, but only a handful actually receive the services.
It is an excellent program for the lucky 90 a semester that get in, but it could be run by housing Fernbank teachers in the schools all over the county. Many more students would have access to the STT program you found so beneficial. Millions of dollars would be saved in facilities, transportation and admin and support if the building called Fernbank Science Center is closed or given to the Fernbank Museum.
Teacher2
May 26th, 2012
10:20 am
Mixed feelings on Fernbank. My class went 3 times to the planeterium this year. 4 hours out of the classroom for 30 minutes of “slide shows” broadcast across the “sky”. If what is learned on the field trip is not reinforced in the class, the students forget the lesson. We had one on-site visit that was more beneficial to the students than the 3 we left the school for 4 hours. I have never been with a class to “other” areas because that would cost money for my title 1 students. Reorganization of the center and updated lessons is the only way I see to benefit the students of Dekalb. Since we have to pay for special exhibits going private might make it worth the trip and cost.
@dunwoody mom
May 26th, 2012
10:26 am
You are correct in that Marshall Orson has displayed an affinity for the Fernbank area even as the causes he championed for them were IMHO detrimental to the students all over DeKalb outside the Fernbank community. Personally, I would vote for McChesney over Orson.
Eugene Walker was supported by the Fernbank community in his last election. Fernbank escaped redistricting, is getting a new school even as millions were spent on a beautiful new wing not too many years ago (that will be torn down), they are bumped up to the top of the SPLOST IV list (Fernbank campaigned heavily for the passage of SPLOST IV) and all cuts to Fernbank Science Center were put on hold for the last two years even as teacher class sizes soared all over DeKalb and neighborhood schools that served children every day were shuttered.
I was never a McChesney fan, but I am beyond disappointed by his competition.
yes i am worried
May 26th, 2012
10:40 am
@Dunwoody Mom
Not only do I agree with you, but I will be sending a donation to McChesney! And I almost never give political contributions, but Marshall Orson will not make things better in DeKalb.
Let’s dispense the educators at FSC into our community schools for next year, and keep the planetarium open so that we meet the terms of the lease agreement. That gives all of Fernbanks’ supporters 9 months to figure out a better way.
Teacher Reader
May 26th, 2012
12:06 pm
@ Matt, if Fernbank Science Center was half the museum of Tellus, it would be something to be proud of. As it is, the exhibits, a term I use loosely are old and outdated. Children visiting the museum are discouraged from looking at the exhibits because of time constraints. Kids are ushered into the room or planetarium and ushered out.
The biggest benefit of Fernbank Science is to the Fernbank Community, because they do not want a vacant building in their neighborhood.
I personally have had enough of over spending in our district. Fernbank School does not need a new school. There are schools in far worse shape and they received an addition as others have stated. A new school for Fernbank should not be a priority for the district. Just as spending 7 million on a science center is something the DeKalb community cannot afford.
We are beyond broke as a school district. It’s time to severely cut spending and anything that is not a need, needs to go. As DCSD educator suggested, new text books each year is not a necessity right now. Buying workbooks that are not used is an expense that we cannot afford. Paying 7 million for a a science center and having the failing science test scores is something that is not a good value for tax payer money.
We are not in a position to keep things that are nice to have. WE ARE FLAT BROKE!!!!! We don’t know the outcome of the law suits and how much more money they will cost the tax payer.
Anyone fighting for Fernbank Science does not have ALL of the children in DCSS in mind.
I will not be voting for Orson and will vote for McChesney and will even buy a sign for my yard for him, something I do not usually do. It is time that as tax payers we fight for what is best for ALL children in DeKalb and not just those in our backyards.
Loving Life!
May 26th, 2012
1:23 pm
Here are a few ideas that I believe no one here will like however, in times of desperation such as this DeKalb needs to place all its cards on the table to ensure that its educational standards are not compromised and needs to evaluate everything as Dr. Cheryl Akinson has done. I applaud her skill as the new DeKalb Superintendent, inheriting a system with deeply-rooted issues and massive needs of reform at the central office. However, Akinson needs to approach a deficit nearing $79 million with a no-nonsense attitude. Below are a few of my recommendations as a former middle school assistant principal and currently a specialty high school guidance counselor, I have experienced budget cuts ALL of my years in administration – there needs to be a more perdurable solution to budget woes.
CLOSE SCHOOLS TO FILL EMPTY SEATS
ES captivity: 52,073 *this does not include the captivity of the closed ES sites: Atherton, Forest Hills, Glen Haven, Gresham Park, Medlock, Peachcrest, Sky Haven, or Tilson.
ES enrollment: 49,596
Seats available: 2,477
>>With the average captivity of DeKalb ES at 652 students, the district is looking at a possible closure of only 3 or 4 schools, saving 16 million.
>>select from Austin ES, Fernbank ES, Gresham Park ES, Pleasantdale ES, Peachcrest ES, Rockbridge ES, Smoke Rise ES as these schools are up for replacement in SPLOST IV (see end)
MS captivity: 21,622 *this does not include Avondale MS
MS enrollment: 21,188
Seats available: 434
>>No recommendations for closure at the middle level
HS captivity: 29,575 *this does not include Avondale HS, Heritage School, Hooper Alexander, Arabia Mountain, or Briarcliff Open Campus
HS enrollment: 26,818
Seats available: 2,757
>>With the average captivity of DeKalb HS being 1,107 students, the district is looking at a possible closure of only 2 or 3 schools, saving 20 million.
>>select from Clarkston, Columbia, McNair, Miller Grove, or Towers as these are the lowest HS in population and/or growth potential
*all information retrieved from GA Department of Education and DeKalb Schools
END EXPENSIVE AFFILIATIONS
The International Baccalaureate program is a wonderful curriculum and instructional mindset that all of children have been fortunate enough to have gone through however, it is a pricey affiliation with the elementary and middle grades as IB charges a $3,100 annual fee for a school to bare its name. I propose the district transition its IB programs at the ES and MS levels into “Global Studies” programs which will offer similar courses instead. Essentially the program will remain the same, the only changes will be in the name. The high school IB programs would remain unchanged. Transitioning IB programs at Druid Hills MS, Avondale ES, Fernbank ES, and Midvale ES will saving the district $12,400. Also, IB candidate schools Salem MS and Tucker MS would save almost $46,000 as application fees have risen to to a total of $23,000 per school! Please also be aware that the largest commitment of IB schools budgets is teacher training as IB requires that all IB instructors be certified by IB and these costs include the IB fee for the seminar, travel, lodging and sometimes car rental expenses. Global Studies would allow for teachers already IB certificated to coach and counsel those who are not. Typically this is a variable of $20-60,000 per year average. http://truthaboutib.com/howmuchdoesibcost/ibfees.html
CONSOLIDATE SPECIALTY SITES
Another area for investigation to ease budget woes would be specialty educational centers. DeKalb should consider consolidation based simple administrative costs as the average principal earns $93,106 annually. http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/School-Principal-Salary-Details-Atlanta-GA.aspx
*Consolidation of Eagle Woods Academy, Margaret Harris, Coralwood into a single Specialty Learning Center
*Consolidation of DeKalb Alternative Night School, DeKalb Alternative School, DeKalb Transition Academy into a single Conduct Correction Center
*Consolidation of DeKalb ES of the Arts at Terry Mills and DeKalb School of the Arts
*Consolidation of Elizabeth Andrews with a comprehensive high school
*Consolidation of DeKalb Early College Academy with a comprehensive high school
*Consolidation of DeKalb HS of Technology South with a comprehensive high school
*Consolidation of Warren Technical School with a comprehensive high school
Elimination of 9 principal positions will save $0.837 million.
SPLOST IV PROJECTS ELIMINATION
Of the SPLOST IV Project List the following can be omitted to pay off a deferred debt once funds become available and allow the district to build a contingency fund to manage future debt:
-$10.6 million, Coralwood Diagnostic Center Addition (as the school would be consolidated with Eagle Woods Academy and Margaret Harris)
-$2.9 million, Wesley Chapel Early Learning Center (use existing campus)
-$2.5 million, Demolition “Repurpose and/or demolish surplus properties as needed.” (simply sell surplus properties and land bank one site where student growth is paramount)
-$16.0 million, Henderson MS Renovation/Addition (if system closes 3 high schools, it can repurpose one as a replacement for Henderson MS)
-$37.4 million, McNair MS Replacement (if district closes 3 high schools, it can repurpose one as a replacement for McNair MS)
-$82.3 million, Replacement Elementary Schools (if the district closes 4 of the 7 schools due for replacement)
Elimination of the above will save $151.7 million.
LAND BANKING FOR FUTURE GROWTH
If the district closes 4 ES, 3 HS, and 9 specialty sites it will have 23 vacant schools sites – including 7 currently closed sites.
*new schools needed within the next decade: when a clusters’ enrollment at particular grade span surpasses 120% utilization a new school should be build followed by another at 150% utilization
supercluster (school type and year when additional school needed)
SC1 (ES 2013, MS 2014, HS 2015)
SC2 (MS now & 2018, HS now & 2021)**
*schools that need to be closed within the next decade: when a clusters’ enrollment at particular grade declines past 65% utilization a school should be closed
supercluster (school type and year when one school should close)
SC5 (ES 2013, MS 2014, HS 2015)**
In total the district will need 1 new ES, 3 new MS, and 3 new HS all in the northern half of the county away from SC3-5 where schools would close. Therefore it would make sense for the district to sell all surplus sites as they are located in low-to-no growth areas. The 3 HS could be reused as replacement MS and by selling 20 school sites the district saves $32.16 million.*
*this total was generated using the appraised property value of Tilson ES
http://web.co.dekalb.ga.us/PropertyAppraisal/realDisplay.asp?PID=15%20150%2015%20028
**this was suggesting using http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/www/documents/vision-2020/super-cluster-enrollment-projections.pdf which indicates the only areas in need of future sites will
SUMMARY
Deficit = $79 million
Closing 4 elementary schools = -$16 million
Closing 3 high schools = -$20 million
Transition from IB to Global Studies at MS and ES = -$0.138 million
Reorganization of 7 principal positions = $0.837 million
SPLOST IV Eliminations = $151.7 million
Selling Surplus Sites = $32.16 million
Layoff of 131 Assistant Principals = -$10 million *read my responce to a privious post on the
blog: http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2012/04/27/could-dekalb-schools-survive-without-129-assistant-principals-could-any-metro-system/?cp=2
FINAL SURPLUS OF $151.84 million to be used as a “rainy day” or contingency fund to rebuild reserves however, the SPLOST IV eliminations will lead into a mess of legal issues that the district will have to face. Still without those measures the district will have a surplus of $140,000 – much better than the current fiscal year’s $6 million shortfall.
Loving Life!
May 26th, 2012
1:24 pm
Oh – I almost for got! Above all, my suggestions above this would keep the Fernbank open!
Cigi
May 26th, 2012
2:54 pm
Loving Life,
What about Livsey? It has a very small enrollment. What about DeKalb School of the Arts? It has a small enrollment.Let’s see your plan is to close special ed centers, schools on the south end of the school system. Not mention any small programs on the north, but of course keep Fernbank Open? Is there any reason that you missed the small enrollment of North end schools? Suggestions like yours are why there is so much division in this system. People only want to save things that benefit them,not what may help everyone.
Dedicated Biologist
May 26th, 2012
3:02 pm
I had to note that some of the remarks about the Fernbank science center above seem to represent folks that may have visited it once, maybe twice, and only experienced a part of the curriculum. The Fernbank Science Center has trained 100s of thousands of children as well as thousands of others. I have brought a number of folks to the center to learn macroinvertebrate taxonomy over the years, Peavine Creek is an excellent and rare asset. The planetarium speaks for itself. I visited Fernbank Science Center long ago when I lived far away, and so its benefit is well outside the immediate community. If we are to decide to lose one of DeKalb’s only public scientific educational centers, at a time where internationally the United States is failing in science education, let’s at least have a full set of facts upon which to deliberate. How about use the scientific method – hypothesis, observation, analysis – get accurate and complete facts – before rushing to close Fernbank Science Center. How about considering what our school system goals are regarding science education before rushing to judgment. Too many folks feel entitled to have an opinion without having any knowledge or expertise, particularly about science. If you’ve not visited the center, used it, or are just not a science person, for the sake of our kids that are, please be judicious in your comments or get over there and see what is going on. Take a lab course, walk Peavine Creek, take some kick-net samples, identify some macroinvertebrates, identify some stars, take a physics lab. This type of education you cannot get in a normal classroom, your expenses would be multiplied if you tried to take this education out to individuals schools, assuming teachers would even be willing to try it. This opinion-without-knowledge approach is the reason our kids and our schools and ultimately our nation suffers in science. When the need is so great, surely, there are other non-science and non-mathematics curricula that should be cut, first.
dekalbite@Loving Life
May 26th, 2012
4:25 pm
“SPLOST IV Eliminations = $151.7 million
Selling Surplus Sites = $32.16 million”
You have some good idea. but you do realize that SPLOST IV cannot be used for anything but capital improvements – i.e. buildings, air conditioners, technology, etc. It cannot be used to pay teachers’ salaries or keep Fernbank personnel employed. So that is out as an option. We are facing 40 to a classroom, and SPLOST IV by law cannot be used to hire any additional teachers.
Selling the spare land also sounds good, but this is a one time proposition. We may be able plug the hole this year (real estate is not really doing so well in DeKalb so it will probably bring much less than you predict), but what about next year. Property tax rates may be up (as high as the state law allows and then no more ability to raise rates), but land value is predicted to go down (almost certainly if tax rates go up because more people will appeal their property assessments and will win since we are still greatly over assessed).
You can’t just sell off land and cross your fingers next year will be better. This is called poor planning or no planning for the future.
Annual expenditures must be cut. Annual expenditures are what makes up the General Operations Fund – i.e. that is what pays for the teachers, administrators and support personnel that are necessary to run the school system (90% of the annual recurring cost of the school system is personnel – expenses SPLOST cannot be used for and expenses a one time sale of land will not address next year).
Once you take away the $151 million (no legal) and $32 million (one time shot so not practical) then you have taken away most of your “found” revenue.
This is a complex issue and there are no easy solutions. The only solution students should not have to accept is 37 or 38 or 39 other students in their classroom. They will not be able to physically move in the classroom, and they will not get any individual attention when they do not understand a concept. Student achievement will drop, and quite frankly student achievement is the ONLY reason we have a school system and pay taxes.
You must not have been an assistant principal in Georgia if you don’t know the state law regarding SPLOST funding.
@Dedicated Biologist
May 26th, 2012
4:39 pm
“This opinion-without-knowledge approach is the reason our kids and our schools and ultimately our nation suffers in science. When the need is so great, surely, there are other non-science and non-mathematics curricula that should be cut, first.”
I took hundreds and hundreds of students to Fernbank Science Center over a span of 3 decades.
The instructors at Fernbank Science Center are their greatest resource. The Fernbank instructors would be just as great a resource if not a greater resource in the regular education schools. Spread throughout the county, they could still offer many of the services and instruction they now offer in the Fernbank Science Center building since they are in the schools most of the day per so many commenters, and since there is no Fernbank Forest available anymore. If the instructors are not in the schools most of the time, please correct me. That would mean many thousands of students are still being transported to the science center – an expensive proposition with today’s gas prices and also environmentally unsound (bringing 30 students to and fro on a bus to 1 instructor).
It seems the expense for 28 admin and support personnel and the facilities cost of the Fernbank building for 28 teachers who are mainly in the schools is quite excessive by anyone’s measure.
Science achievement is at an all time low for DeKalb’s 95,000 students and has been steadily declining despite the best efforts of the 28 Fernbank Science Center’s instructors. Just because we did it this way in the past (since the 1950s) does not mean it needs to be done this way in the future. Keep the best of Fernbank – its instructors – by placing them in the regular schools and eliminate the admin and support and facility overhead. Teachers instruct students, not buildings.
Loving Life!
May 26th, 2012
5:07 pm
@dekalbite, you are right I was teacher in GA and an AP in FL however, GA SPLOST funds can be used to pay off general obligation bonds ie if the district was to take out a loan today which is all contingent upon the credit quality of the district. “$32 million (one time shot so not practical)” The reason I selected Tinsely Elementary for the base property value is simply because it had one of the lowest appraisals of the schools I targeted yielding a very low estimate because of the uncertainty that exists in the market. Of course I agree that the cuts should occur at the personnel level as 90% of the districts budget goes towards supporting salaries (insanely high). How could this problem be solved? Offering early retirement agreement to veteran educators and hiring fresh-faced college students to replace them at much lower salaries? Consolidating the 5 Area Superintendents into 3 or 4? I would love to see DeKalb adopt a charter schools model as Fulton and other districts have done. The empowerment of parents through strong involvement within their children’s schools will ignite fundraising efforts and additional funds at the site level where cuts are felt the most.
@Cigi, the reason I omitted Livsey (and other smaller programs in the north) is due to the data showing that SC2 (which Livsey is apart of) has steady growth at the elementary level and closing a school might result in a shift that will cause overcrowding and the need for a new school in the future. If the district where to redistrict and pull students from the north to the south that would be good stewardship for using existing facilities however, it would increase transportation costs (with the fluctuations in the flue market Im not sure if that is the best plan).
bootney farnsworth
May 26th, 2012
5:35 pm
DCSS is in the same boat as GPC.
even if money fell from the sky today, it will only address the current issue.
it won’t solve the bigger issue of how you got there in the first place.
@Loving Life
May 26th, 2012
6:36 pm
“GA SPLOST funds can be used to pay off general obligation bonds ie if the district was to take out a loan today which is all contingent upon the credit quality of the district.”
Is this legal in Georgia? Can you redirect tax money meant for capital improvement into annual personnel salaries (90% of the annual operational expense for the DeKalb County School System)?
Perhaps more importantly, can you redirect tax money that the voters voted on for capital expenditures into personnel salaries?
I’m no lawyer, but perhaps you are. Here is the weblink to Georgia SPLOST:
http://www.gasplost.org/
What is the likelihood we will pay off a loan if we have not gotten our financial house in order? What is the likelihood citizens will be amenable to more debt? I do not believe our credit rating is AAA.
“The reason I selected Tinsely Elementary for the base property value…”
DeKalb does not have an elementary school named Tinsley.
Perhaps a bit of history is in order. In the 60s and 70s we had a lot of growth in north DeKalb. In the late 80s and 90s we had growth in south DeKalb while the northern students aged out of the system and the northern retirees stayed put. Schools were closed in north DeKalb and opened in south DeKalb. Retirees in north DeKalb moved out and new families moved into the north in the 90s and 2000s. Meanwhile, those south DeKalb students aged out of the system and the south DeKalb retirees stayed put. We now found we needed quite a bit of that “vacant” property in the north. We now have vacant property in the south. What will we need when those south retirees move out and new families move into south DeKalb? We don’t need all that property now, but we have to be careful about selling off all vacant property only to have to buy it back in the future when the cyclical influx of students comes. How do you equalize this out in a system as geographically large as DeKalb from North to South bisected by three very busy Interstate highways?
Selling off all our vacant property to meet short term debt obligations will be “kicking the can down the road”. This has happened with our reserves until we alone among all school systems in the metro area have no reserves.
Dr. Atkinson and the BOE must get this financial house in order. I’m all for providing incentives for older teachers to retire early if we can hire younger and cheaper teachers. But what will this cost us? The state of Georgia severely penalizes teachers who retire with less than 30 years and less than 60 years of age. A teacher can retire on half pay at 25 years, but if he/she is 55, then the penalty will be 35% of their retirement but for the rest of their life. For example, if a teacher retired with his highest two years as $60,000, ordinarily he would receive $36,000 the rest of his life with a 3% COLA every year. If he elects early retirement at 25 years and he was 55, he would receive $19,500 the rest of his life with a 3% COLA. Since you can’t force teachers to retire and you can’t legally discriminate on the basis of age, exactly what kind of incentive did you have in mind and what obligation would taxpayers be under?
Should we be balancing the budget on the backs of our teachers when we are having such a difficult time getting competent and quality instructors? DeKalb must make it attractive to be a teacher. 40 in a classroom, no Social Security payments (lawsuit still to be decided on the TSA that took the place of Social Security and was eliminated by the past superintendents – Lewis and Tyson), and a decrease in pay to come to a system that has many low income schools and the lowest achievement in the metro area is not really all that attractive. If you don’t attract high quality teachers, then property values decrease even further. Property values are driven in large part by the schools in metro Atlanta. Perhaps that’s not so in Florida.
Demographically comparable school systems have much less ancillary employees as a percentage of personnel. They don’t have the special programs, schools and centers DeKalb has. Their compensation in the non teaching areas is less than our system. A compensation audit in 2004 (never followed even though this audit done by Ernst and Young showed at that time DeKalb was overpaying 2,500 non teaching personnel by $15,000,000 a year) and the most recent compensation audit showed the same situation.
A lot of your ideas have merit, but this is a very complex situation. Dr. Lewis and Ms. Tyson used simplistic methods to balance the budget – eliminate the teachers’ TSA and increase class sizes while leaving the non teaching force intact at the same pay as well as protecting the special programs and schools. Look where an absence of deep critical thinking skills and a hard look at the future of the economy of DeKalb got us. It got us into this mess.
Loving Life!
May 26th, 2012
8:49 pm
@@Loving Life!
“DeKalb does not have an elementary school named Tinsley.”
*LOL it was Tilson ES sorry I was typing in a hurry!
“Is this legal in Georgia? Can you redirect tax money meant for capital improvement into annual personnel salaries…”
*The district would have to take out bonds to meet its budget and then pay off the differed debt with the SPLOST revenue. DeKalb would need to hold another referendum to uphold the previous needs addressed in SPLOST IV. From the link you provided: “If the resolution calls for the issuance of general obligation debt in the form of bonds, it must also include the principal amount of the debt, the purpose for which the debt is being issued, the identity of the local government issuing the debt, the maximum interest rate or rates applicable to the debt, and the amount of principal to be paid during each year over the life of the debt.”
“Perhaps a bit of history is in order…”
*I do strongly agree with your assertion/history lesson about the aging of populations between the north and south – the need for schools in the north will be reversed in a generation. All of my data is only based on a ten year projected study by DeKalb schools itself. Maybe this study should be extended beyond using historical data to ensure land is retained in areas that show the most potential for growth beyond the ten year study.
“we alone among all school systems in the metro area have no reserves”
*That is very scary that our educational leaders have not made provisions for budget shortfalls as this is a commonality in the world of public education as all costs are rising (ie construction, transportation, textbooks, etc) but the support for education is not proportionate.
“competent and quality instructors? DeKalb must make it attractive to be a teacher. 40 in a classroom”
*During my time in Florida several schools operated on “tract scheduling” where at no time during the year where 100% of the schools enrollment on campus at the same time – only up to 3/4. For example, Dunwoody HS has a captivity of 1,242 students with an enrollment of 1,491 student yielding a utilization of 120%. If it were to utilize “tract scheduling” where freshman have the fall quarter off, sophomores have the winter quarter off, junior have the spring quarter off, and senior have the summer quarter off it would decrease utilization to 90% allowing room for growth of 500 students. If implimented at all SC1 HS (including Chamblee and Cross Keys) this would push the need for a new HS past 2015 closer to 2020/2021. However, the EOCTs and other state tests are not administered on the same flexible schedules as the FCATs so this idea maybe null.
“never followed even though this audit done by Ernst and Young showed at that time DeKalb was overpaying 2,500 non teaching personnel by $15,000,000 a year”
*Someone needs to get the current administration this report because large scale reductions are in order in the district. Many people do not like to hear the word “outsourcing” but some companies such as Leona Group, L.L.C. and Kelly Educational Staffing specialize in the area of k12 educational settings and could be a cost effective measure to lessen the payroll greatly by outsourcing a large percentage (if not all) non-instructional and school leader staffing.
Again these are just talking points, the district needs to do in-depth studies and get the community involved in this state of emergency. This are complex issues that require unique solutions as there are now other districts to my knowledge that have survived a shortfall this great without mass firings. I do wish the district would allow parents to have a greater hand in their child’s education (ie conversion to a charter school district or better a district of charter schools) which will result in better stewardship of the district as the administration will have all eyes on its every move.
yes i am worried
May 26th, 2012
9:15 pm
SPLOST funds and the projects associated with them are really unrelated to our immediate needs (with the exception of being able to close schools.)
DeKalb has had a half dozen committees and blue ribbon task forces over the last 20 years. Almost without exception, the work of these groups has been hijacked by the members (parents) of the committees who have their own special interests to protect — ie magnet programs, Fernbank Science Center, etc
What we need is strong leadership making difficult and unpopular decisions that will put us where we need to be to face the financial hardships now and the new financial realities coming down the road. Barring a very unlikely change in state funding, it will be forever before DCSS has the kind of revenue that it had even 5 years ago.
My believe is that the property value drop in parts of DeKalb will never recover, at least not for 20 years. We must start living within our means.
@loving Life
May 26th, 2012
10:24 pm
“Someone needs to get the current administration this report because large scale reductions are in order in the district”
The report is missing. Open Records requests failed to produce it. The minutes of the BOE meeting during which Jim Landry, the Ernst and Young consultant gave his summary are missing as well as the summary which should have been an attachment. Taxpayers paid $341,000 to Ernst and Young for this report and yet the Interim Superintendent could not produce it.
http://www.atlantaunfiltered.com/2011/02/07/dekalb-school-audit-found-bloated-salaries-then-what/
http://www.atlantaunfiltered.com/2011/02/28/despite-the-law-dekalb-school-minutes-vanish-without-a-trace/
$15,000,000 a year 7 years would have yielded $105,000,000 in savings.
Meanwhile SACS does nothing and the DeKalb Board works very hard to protect all those “family and friends” in non teaching positions.
Taxpayers kept pushing until the last Interim superintendent said the BOE would do yet another compensation study. It said much the same thing.
You can see why taxpayers are so angry that Dr. Atkinson is not following the most recent study. Mde ja vue
@loving Life
May 26th, 2012
10:29 pm
“Someone needs to get the current administration this report because large scale reductions are in order in the district”
The report is missing. Open Records requests failed to produce it. The minutes of the BOE meeting during which Jim Landry, the Ernst and Young consultant gave his summary are missing as well as the summary which should have been an attachment. Taxpayers paid $341,000 to Ernst and Young for this report and yet the Interim Superintendent could not produce it.
http://www.atlantaunfiltered.com/2011/02/07/dekalb-school-audit-found-bloated-salaries-then-what/
http://www.atlantaunfiltered.com/2011/02/28/despite-the-law-dekalb-school-minutes-vanish-without-a-trace/
$15,000,000 a year in corrected overpayments to 2,500 non teaching staff over 7 years would have yielded $105,000,000 in savings.
Meanwhile SACS does nothing but try to delay any probationary status even after our former superintendent and his second in command were indicted on racketeering charges, and the DeKalb Board works very hard to protect all those “family and friends” in non teaching positions.
Taxpayers kept pushing until the last Interim superintendent said the BOE would do yet another compensation study. It said much the same thing.
You can see why taxpayers are so angry that Dr. Atkinson is not following the most recent study. Deja vu.
If ever a school system needed to be put on probation and the governor needed to appoint another one, this would be the one.
N. GA Teacher
May 26th, 2012
11:47 pm
Several bloggers have tried to (incorrectly) justify low science scores of district students as a reason to eliminate the Fernbank Science Center. Now, it may be that the Center has to be cut, but NOT because of science scores but because of inefficient financial and administrative management at the top. The reason science scores are low, and get lower as the kids get older, is because of two things: first, all subjects have taken a back seat to English and math, the great end-all and do-all of the ill-conceived NCLB; second, much of DeKalb’s student body consists of poverty kids, who lack the home environment that will support any academic endeavor, let alone science. I don’t know the science scores of Fayette or Cobb or North Fulton, but I bet they are higher due to the socioeconomic environment. Also, in high-poverty situations, students attitudes toward education are more negatively heavily influenced in adolescence, the most common of which is “studying and being a nerd ain’t cool”. Hopefully the new super can find ways to right the financial ship without cutting Fernbank.