DeKalb school board: We can save Fernbank and middle school sports but only with a tax hike
The AJC reports that the DeKalb school board spent four hours last night debating how to close a $73 million deficit. Teachers won’t like the proposed solutions. Nor will many parents. And probably few taxpayers.
As has become the strategy of most ailing metro districts, DeKalb Schools will dig itself out of its serious financial bind by raising class size, shortening the school year, dumping teacher aides and adding teacher furlough days. It will also make employees pay more of their health care tab.
However, DeKalb is also looking at a $30 million tax increase in a county coping with record foreclosures, high employment and increasing frustration with the cost and size of district administration.
According to the AJC:
One by one, the board members went down a list of 33 potential cuts. After several tries over about four hours, they theoretically balanced the budget. A majority wanted teacher furlough days, fewer teacher positions resulting in higher teacher-student ratios and a one-mill increase in the tax rate. No formal vote was taken. .
Tax revenue continues to fall in DeKalb while costs for essentials such as employee healthcare continue to rise. . The school board adopted a tentative budget that cut away more than half of the $73 million deficit. But, the rest of that budget proposal was balanced using a $30 million tax increase, double what the board proposed Tuesday..
The board needs a balanced budget in place before the next fiscal year begins July 1.
The board is likely to find ardent advocates of any program it seeks to cut. For example, advocates of the Fernbank Science Center took up a petition to save the institution and its $4.7 million budget after it was added to the chopping block last week.
On Tuesday, board members took the Fernbank closure off the table. In an unofficial poll, they also scrapped the idea of saving $330,000 by eliminating middle school sports and saving $5 million by outsourcing custodians. They added cuts to health and dental insurance subsidies for employees for a savings of nearly $7 million, agreed to eliminate 200 teachers’ aides for another $7 million and supported cutting the school system’s pre-kindergarten program expenditures of $2.7 million.
Should all of them agree to the collection of cuts and tax increases, then class sizes will rise by an average of one student per teacher, and the school calendar will be two days shorter. Board member Tom Bowen introduced the proposal to increase taxes while cutting teachers and school days. He said the one mill increase should be rolled back by 2015.
DeKalb is in an unusually deep financial hole. Finance officials say the school system is on track to end the fiscal year with a $6 million deficit. That debt would have to be paid out of the next year’s budget, deepening the budget gap beyond $73 million. It also means the budget crisis won’t be cushioned with reserves, like in year’s past or in other metro school systems.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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149 comments Add your comment
BlahBlahBlah
May 30th, 2012
11:44 am
Said it before, will say it again – you could randomly eliminate 25% of the central office staff by pulling names out of a hat, and you wouldn’t lose one iota of “production” from that bottomless pit of bureaucracy.
Fulton Teacher
May 30th, 2012
11:44 am
You know, a few years ago, Fulton permanently reduced the days of ALL non-teaching employees. Assistant Principals took the biggest hit with a 20 day reduction, but most other employees took a 3-5 day reduction (which also meant that their pay went down accordingly). Nowhere have I seen DeKalb discuss reducing the days of the non-teaching personnel. Why is that not on the table, but increasing class size and cutting teacher pay is okay again?
Teacher Reader
May 30th, 2012
11:46 am
@ Medlock Madness If parents at the school want IB, than they need to get raising funds and having the PTA help out.
I really don’t understand what adults in DeKalb do not understand about being BROKE!!!!!!! 73 million is a conservative estimate. I’m willing to bank that it’s much more than this.
Granted if I had my choice, I’d pick IB over Fernbank, but it’s time that we had a real discussion in this county, not based on emotion, but based on facts and decisions were made based on facts, and not on emotions and making others happy. We cannot continue to raise class size and take away from teacher salary. Having teachers pay more in healthcare is inevitable with the current costs rising so much each year. The costs of healthcare are something that all employers and employees are facing.
It’s time to have a meeting where everything is on the table, truly on the table. Costs, number of kids using program and ways to cut costs are all examined. We cannot keep giving those with the loudest mouths what they want. We need to make decisions based on what is best for the most amount of kids and what will have the best and greatest impact on the majority of students.
Larger class sizes will have the greatest negative impact on children and will hurt far more students than Fernbank helps.
HSTeach
May 30th, 2012
11:47 am
Furlough days, hire insurance premiums, larger classes, pressure on RTTT and standardized testing…we want the best for our children, but we are forcing the best teachers to choose between teaching and their own ability to pay bills. Between the cuts and teachers leaving for greener pastures, my school will need a dozen new teachers next year, on top of the ones they had to replace after last year. Heads up folks, it’s not the supposed bad apples who leave. Good teachers with higher degrees and experience are the ones who leave. Brilliant strategy for improving schools.
Progressive Humanist
May 30th, 2012
11:48 am
Real patriots would be willing to pay more in taxes to improve their community and their country, particularly since federal tax rates now are at the lowest they’ve been in 60 years. I’d gladly pay more in taxes, but I don’t live in DeKalb. I’d gladly pay more in federal taxes as well.
With that said, I’ll again advocate that DeKalb takes every administrator who has a “doctorate” from an online school or other diploma mill, and places them back in the classroom with a salary of $50-60k, which is what any other experienced teacher with an advanced degree would make. This way they still have jobs so unemployment and foreclosures don’t increase, but DeKalb saves $30-50k a year on each administrator (who wasn’t qualified for the job anyway), and class sizes would be reduced which should improve students’ education.
Red_Fish
May 30th, 2012
11:51 am
Wow. It looks like the red herring worked. While everyone was bickering over whether or not to close FSC, nobody seemed to notice the relatively minor trimming given to the bloated and overpaid DCSS management. Keep arguing over FSC, that is what the board wants you to do, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
Melanie
May 30th, 2012
11:52 am
Why should Fernbank operate 7 days a week and why can’t they cut out the expensive That should save a hunk!! Also, transportation for field trips to the forrest should be eliminated since the forrest now belongs to the museum and will charge DeKalb students to visit.
Christian Mom
May 30th, 2012
11:55 am
This is what happens when you take prayer out of school.
Gwinnett Mom
May 30th, 2012
11:57 am
This is why we R glad 2 not live in Dekalb. The schol system is a mess and is going broke and is over run with minorites that end up causing the tax payers.
Gwinnett Mom
May 30th, 2012
11:58 am
And I agreed. Put prayer back in school.
Teacher Reader
May 30th, 2012
11:58 am
I wouldn’t mind paying more in taxes, if the school system’s budget looked like that of my own family (lean and mean-no extras). I begrudge having to pay more, when the school board and Atkinson did not make all of the cuts that they could to have the school system run more efficiently. I begrudge taking away from my family to keep employing people that the district does not really need, while teachers and kids are screwed with larger class sizes and smaller pay checks. Why aren’t our central office employees having to deal with an increased work load? Why do all of the cuts fall on the backs of the teachers and students? What happens when the law suits are lost and we are owing people millions?
Bill & Ed's Excellent Adventure
May 30th, 2012
11:58 am
@Red Fish I think you’re onto something…FSC’s operations need to be streamlined, and so do DCSS’s, but it’s too easy for them to cut big ticket items like teacher pay, raise taxes and avoid all of the squabbling…
@D-mom I’m a bit surprised you’re so hell bent on closing FSC, you’re usually more moderate. I guess it’s not close enough to Vanderlyn.
Teacher Reader
May 30th, 2012
12:00 pm
Melanie, kids should be charged for every bus trip they take, unless it’s to their home schools-even choice schools. Fernbank Science field trips should be no different from any other field trip a child takes.
Dunwoody Mom
May 30th, 2012
12:02 pm
My children did not go to Vanderlyn.
Entitlement Society
May 30th, 2012
12:04 pm
@Progressive Humanist
you said “I’d gladly pay more in taxes, but I don’t live in DeKalb. I’d gladly pay more in federal taxes as well.”
Start writing your checks and putting your money where your mouth is. The US Treasury and the county will gladly accept your money at any time. You are not hindered from paying more than your accountant says you “owe” and can pay more into the system at any time of the year. How very noble of you.
Progressive Humanist
May 30th, 2012
12:10 pm
Entitlement-
I’d like to see some other “patriots” step up as well. Your tag is pretty ironic. You want more from the country without being willing to pay your share, so you are, in essence, the brick and mortar of the entitlement society.
Very Salty With DeKalb
May 30th, 2012
12:13 pm
I am ONE of only 19 Assistant Principals nonrenewed in my position. Instead of Dr. A making logical cuts, she went after the “weakest” first. How is it that only 19 AP’s would help save a $73 million shortfall and most of our salaries were just a few dollars more than a teacher? I am the sole AP at my school, therefore, there was not a need for my position to be eliminated, but yet, we have Prevention/Intervention Specialists in the county who make as much or more than administrators and they were SAVED. Where’s the rationale?
I am in complete agreement that trimming the fat in DeKalb is necessary and it’s the only way to get us out of the hole, but there was no thought behind the first wave of budget cuts and RIFed positions. I am a product of DeKalb County and if the board is willing to keep spending $4.7 million on Fernbank Science Center, they are the idiots that you say they are. Fernbank Science Center is a traditional entitity in the district and people are wanting to hold onto it because of it’s history with the district, but quite honestly, my students have always dreaded the Fernbank field trips. So why keep it??? Not to mention, where is the research that says that Fernbank has an impact on our students’ science scores?? Sell it to a private entity and keep the $4.7 million! That’s not rocket science.
There are many ways for DeKalb to get this right, but we don’t have many smart people at the top making these decisions. I am moving on with my career and it won’t be in DeKalb….thanks for nothing!
Teacher Reader
May 30th, 2012
12:15 pm
@ Progressive Humanist, It’s not about paying your fair share, it’s about using the money that a government entity already has in the wisest pay possible. This is not being done in DCSS and isn’t done throughout the country in most areas of government.
When you are broke there are things that you simply can’t afford, no matter how much you want them.
Smoke Rise Mom
May 30th, 2012
12:15 pm
Reluctantly I say close the Fernbank Science Center. It’s very disappointing it has come to this, but pouring more money into this failing system is not going to save it. Why is there even a debate over cutting areas that don’t impact the classroom, ie. middle school sports, outsourcing custodians? These are desperate times. Why is it ok to put all this other stuff back in the budget, but continue to cut our teachers? Where are our priorities really? This BOE continues to demonstrate why they cannot be trusted to handle our money responsibly. Yet they can force us to give them more to mismanage.
Jefferson
May 30th, 2012
12:15 pm
Jack the taxes, the worse that can happen is the board don’t get reelected. New board members will do the same thing.
Attentive Parent
May 30th, 2012
12:16 pm
Medlock Madness-the cuts in IB make perfect sense to me as the actual implementation of the Common Core state standards brings the school district close to the outcomes that IB was pushing in its IB Learner Profile.
In fact there has already been a merger of the IB Learner Profile with the 21st Century Skills movement. Much of Common Core’s implementation is not knowledge or content but those generic skills.
I am very familiar with both the Middle Years and Diploma Programmes. When I track ed reform globally I can see countries that are 5 years to a decade ahead of the US. When I look, for example, at Australian middle schools now, it looks like a duplicate of the IB MYP because of Australia’s adoption of Ted Sizer’s Coalition for Essential Schools framework about 10 years ago coupled with Howard Gardner’s ATLAS Project.
I haven’t covered that story yet although I was in Australia this morning virtually looking at it school leadership programs.
http://www.invisibleserfscollar.com/ is my blog if you want to look at any of my posts explaining how Common Core is actually a renamed attempt to finally get Transformational Outcomes Based Education in place in the US.
Tea Party Meber
May 30th, 2012
12:18 pm
Tipical answer for every problem. tax and spend. Why not home school? You can correct the lies teacher and schools R passing along now a days and you can teach a Christain life stile 2. I dont thing its fare 4 us to have 2 pay taxxes for a failed system win we can do it beter.
Ghoti
May 30th, 2012
12:18 pm
The Dekalb schools could easily balance their budgets just by eliminating at least half the administrative staff and their taxpayer-funded perks. Don’t take from teachers and kids, get rid of the useless people clogging the system!
Once Again
May 30th, 2012
12:18 pm
No tax hike. Shut them down. Just how much money will continue to be poured down this rathole before parents finally wake up and realize that government has NEVER had their interests or the interests of their children in mind when they claimed they were going to provide a solid educational foundation to them?? If society’s goal should be to have a fully education populace, government is certainly NOT the means to that end. Only the Free Market has ever delivered goods and services in a manner that is actually accountable both to reality and the wishes of the consumer.
Tea Party Meber
May 30th, 2012
12:20 pm
Yeah
Entitlement Society
May 30th, 2012
12:22 pm
If you’ve read any of my previous posts on this board, you’d know it’s just that – sarcastic. I pay a lot more in taxes than the benefits I receive as a memeber of society. I’m tired of paying for the worthless POS’s sitting on their tails collecting welfare EXPECTING something for nothing. I’m tired of parents complaining about government schools instead of seeking a better education for their children in the private sector. I’m tired of the worthless government officials who can’t run our schools, cities, counties, country. I’m willing to pay my share, but no one else’s share. So I’m glad that there are people like you out there who are ready to write the millions of dollars checks to swoop in and save the day, so the mismangement of the public’s hard earned tax dollars can continue without any accountability. Send your check to: IRS, PO Box 105017, Atlanta, GA 30348-5017. Thank you.
Dekalbite
May 30th, 2012
12:26 pm
You need to email Dr. Atkinson and every member go the Board of Education and let them know your thoughts on the tax hike and making NO cuts Fernbank. I did this last week. They have only heard from the Fernbank supporters. Now they need to hear from weary taxpayers and classroom supporters. If you do not make your voices heard, nothing will change. Here is the link to email every BOE member(names on the right in blue are email links):
http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/board-of-education
Dr. Atkinson:
Cheryl_atkinson@fc.dekal.k12.ga.us
big picture
May 30th, 2012
12:27 pm
I don’t want the CO administrators to be first in line to replace teachers and APs. With a decrease in salary and the clear picture that they had no desire to be in the school house (they wanted the transfer to the administrative offices), what makes folks here thin that they will be effective or “happy” teachers and APs. Indeed, I predict snarky attitudes from these workers as soon as they hit the schoolhouse doors. I’d rather those positions simply be RIFd. I hate anyone losing their jobs. BUT, my local school is losing an AP simply because she was not here as long as those in the CO. She’s relocated here from an out of state district and brought in energy, great care for the kids, and a pushed focus on the classroom, rather than the typical focus on making current powers at the CO happy. Thank you very much, I don’t want them, and their longevity, at my schoolhouse.
Dunwoody Mom
May 30th, 2012
12:27 pm
I saw a tweet from the Patch online media site that indicates they plan to live blog the meeting tonight
Dekalbite
May 30th, 2012
12:34 pm
Oops! Made a mistake on Dr. Atkinson email address.
Here it is:
cheryl_atkinson@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
You must make your thoughts known. Are you happy with continuing to spend $500,000 for five Exhibit Designers and a Cabinetmaker for Fernbank? I find this unseemly as plans are made for students to be packed into classes like rats.
big picture
May 30th, 2012
12:35 pm
I’d rather see the entire district go IB rather than cut IB for the common core. While you may say that the standards are mirrored images, what IB has is an international team that reviews implementation – in other words: true ACCOUNTABILITY!. Give my lack of trust in DCSS, I see IB as one of the few saving graces of the district. These schools answer to a group outside of DCSS that really does have kids interests at heart.
You really trust DCSS to implement CC correctly and in the best interests of all the children? Including those who truly want to move beyond average and achieve at higher levels? ha ha ha ha.
And for those who will quip, then pay for those things yourself, I do. Because of the local schools’ ineffectiveness, I and many families of average kids ARE paying for tutors and additional skills (music and sports) outside of the schoolhouse. THAT’s the problem. Why should an average kid need a tutor? They should be getting what they need in the classroom. Instead, the teachers’ time is spent dealing with unruly children and ensuring that test PREP is going smoothly. Meanwhile, basic skills are really ignored.
For the first time, I’ll be challenging my taxed home value. I have never minded paying more than what the house is worth, because I believe in supporting the schools. BUT, when the super spends hundreds of thousands of dollars and is told by consultants to CUT (not move) 300 positions, but instead chooses furlough days, pay cuts, and tax increases, I’ll simply not support it.
Indeed, I have to ensure I have enough money to pay those tutors that my kids require.
Ned
May 30th, 2012
12:40 pm
@Gwinnett Mom:
“This is why we R glad 2 not live in Dekalb. The schol system is a mess and is going broke and is over run with minorites that end up causing the tax payers. . . And I agreed. Put prayer back in school.”
This would be why I am glad not to live in Gwinnett.
BTW, please send back the equalization money. We’re overrun with people who can type.
Jefferson
May 30th, 2012
12:49 pm
Fund the system. Jack the taxes, 20mills.
Progressive Humanist
May 30th, 2012
12:50 pm
Teacher Reader- The lower taxes get the more broke the country becomes, and then people complain about how terrible a job the government is doing. Yes, there is waste out there, but there’s always been waste and trimming that waste won’t solve the economic problems because it’s such a minuscule drop in the bucket. Revenues have to increase and there’s only one way to do that.
Entitlement- The funny thing is that you think that tag is sarcastic when you are actually the one with the attitude of entitlement. Hence, the irony. Of course, you’re not volunteering to do anything for your country; you’re asking others to do it, even after I said I’d be willing to. And apparently, when you advocate for “private sector” education, you’re suggesting a Taliban style system where children are “educated” based on the whims of local tribesmen and familial superstitions. Yes, that’s a great idea. Are you sure you’re American?
Teacher Reader
May 30th, 2012
12:53 pm
@ Dunwoody Mom, we need to get people at the meeting tonight. Fernbank supporters, IB supporters Magnet, Montessori, and every other potential cut will have it’s supports there tonight. If we who want the district to spend reasonably do not show up, we too are part of the problem. Our voices need to be heard loud and clear. We need to talk to a news outlet and get another point of view out there.
@ very salty with Dekalb
May 30th, 2012
12:55 pm
“Prevention/Intervention Specialists in the county who make as much or more than administrators and they were SAVED”
This group is not required to have an cerification or licensing. Only a handful have teaching certificates. No educational requirements at all.
Get Rid of Athletics
May 30th, 2012
1:05 pm
Get rid of Athletics….get rid of all the teams, all the costs with funding them, keeping up the stadiums and paying the good for nothing coaches….most of them couldn’t pass a competency test anyway…..that should save the important things like Science and Math.
Gwinnett Mom
May 30th, 2012
1:06 pm
@Ned
What R U talking about?
Ned
May 30th, 2012
1:07 pm
“Fernbank supporters, IB supporters Magnet, Montessori, and every other potential cut . . .”
What we need to do is all work TOGETHER to be heard loud and clear demanding cuts to CO staff, ends to the lawsuits, and the other cuts we ALL want. The BOE, Dr A. and others are clearly pursuing a divide and conquer strategy to preserve the “Dekalb Way” and so far it’s working.
Red_Fish
May 30th, 2012
1:08 pm
DCSS is still kicking the can down the road. So they close FSC, woohoo! We saved money! All our family members can keep their jobs! What happens when the budget crisis rolls around next year and there are no big easy cuts to make. DCSS is looking at everyone but themselves to solve this problem. Cut the bloated management at the superintendent’s office. DCSS won’t close FSC, it is their Medicare, it is their Social Security. They need to dangle it out there to make everyone look away from the real issue while business as usual goes on. Closing FSC means the board will have to deal with real budget cutting issues next year, and that will never happen.
Ned
May 30th, 2012
1:13 pm
@Gwinnett Mom:
Do you mean your reference to “minorites”, your typing, or Gwinnett being a net receiver of equalization funds (while Dekalb is a net donor)?
Can someone else enlighten our friend about equalization please, what it costs Dekalb and how it benefits Gwinnett? I don’t have the reference handy. Thank you
Entitlement Society
May 30th, 2012
1:14 pm
@Progressive Humanist
Not sure what you’re smoking stating that I’m “suggesting a Taliban style system where children are “educated” based on the whims of local tribesmen and familial superstitions”???
Very Salty With DeKalb
May 30th, 2012
1:17 pm
@big picture
You should be on the school board! You really get the “big picture”!!! I’ve said it before and I will say it again…children are going to be on the losing end of this administration. The supt’s decision making HAS NOT been transparent…Dr. A and her staff have created a pool of disgruntled educators and unfortunately this will roll over into the instructional foundation for most classrooms. Yes, as the old adage goes, “be thankful that you have a job”…but how can one be thankful when you have a craft that has been raked over the coals with no regard for the impact it will have? Education is dealing with human lives…children are our biggest investment but yet, the children are not being taken into account with these decisions…
2012-2013 will be a memorable year in DeKalb…watch my words…
Midway
May 30th, 2012
1:18 pm
DCSS will be facing the same budget problems next year, however next year they won’t be able to raise the property tax mileage rate because a 2 mil increase this year will put them at the maximum allowed by law. No way the Georgia legislature and governor will allow the rate to be increased again.
Very disappointed in Atkinson, she had a job to do and refused to make the necessary cuts. Next years budget will be a mess.
“Public education is not free,” said board member Sarah Copelin-Wood, voicing opposition to cuts.” Guess what Sarah, next year you will have to cut!
Attention DeKalb county legislators, we need another assessment freeze!
yes i am worried
May 30th, 2012
1:18 pm
Medlock Madness
Some programs are losing all their extra funding.
At what point, do people realize if no other county in Metro Atlanta, is spending the $ that DCSS is for little and big extras, but they have more revenue than DCSS does and offers more to every student than DeKalb does.
I am tired of the specialty this and the specialty that. It is time to serve every child equally.
Miss Management
May 30th, 2012
1:25 pm
@itsbrokeletsfixit: So nice to see you now advocating for ‘regular’ classrooms now that Fernbank has been saved!
Very Salty With DeKalb
May 30th, 2012
1:27 pm
And no…I am NOT part of the friends and family network…From the time that I started teaching in DeKalb 14 years ago, I always wanted to be able to serve children beyond the four walls of my classroom. I worked diligently to shadow GOOD administrators, I went to “traditional” grad school to gain a working knowledge of educational leadership, and I patiently applied for YEARS to get to the interview table for an Assistant Principal position. When I gained my position 2 years ago, I worked from sun up to sun down for the good of CHILDREN. I worked with struggling teachers and I invited parents to come to the school to have an understanding of how to help their children. So anyone who is sitting back saying that I “deserve” to have my job taken from me is full of it….
I EARNED where I am in my career and if that means that I need to take my TALENT to another district, that’s what I will have to do…my school losing me is DeKalb’s loss…and it will be another school district’s gain…trust me on that one!
Miss Management
May 30th, 2012
1:31 pm
Most members of our board have little regard for teachers. Let me refresh your memories regarding one of the recent rounds of cuts made by the board along with a pay RAISE for Crawford Lewis:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOknaugiCmw&feature=relmfu
Listen as Paul Womack states, “I don’t want this to come out the wrong way, but we have people begging for teaching jobs.”
Miss Management
May 30th, 2012
1:36 pm
@Dekalbite – it does you no good to email Dr. Atkinson. She put Fernbank on the table. The majority of the board took it back off.
You all need to realize – Gene Walker, Jay Cunningham, Donna Edler, Sarah Copelin-Wood and Tom Bowen run this school system. Dr. Atkinson can only make suggestions. She must get board approval for her actions. Gene Walker has advocated for a tax increase since the day he stepped up to the dais. Here we go! Gene Walker is the ‘real’ superintendent!
Progressive Humanist
May 30th, 2012
1:41 pm
Entitled,
The public education system is one of the pillars of our democracy. Doing away with it is unAmerican in my opinion. The “free market” system that you advocate sounds very Taliban-ish. “Private-sector education” is almost always code for religiously based schools that reject science and distort history. We’d end up with an even more poorly educated populace. There would be a small percentage of wealthy, educated citizens, and massive numbers of citizens who were either illiterate or had wildly inaccurate views of reality based on whatever delusional religious indoctrination they were exposed to. No thanks. I’m concerned with the state of American education, but I’ll take what we have now- public education and the highest literacy rates the country has ever had- over your unAmerican “solutions”.