Is DeKalb waiting for a “budget fairy” to wave away its money woes?
I hate layoffs but am not sure DeKalb County Schools is serving its employees by pretending it can avoid them in this dire budget crisis.
As one parent said after the school boarded 5-2 last night to instruct Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson to find $20 million in cuts elsewhere, “What are they waiting on, the ‘budget fairy?”
The problem is that it is near impossible for the county to cut $20 million without layoffs at this point.
“If they don’t do it now, at some point during the school year, the numbers aren’t going to match up,” Herb Garrett, executive director of the Georgia School Superintendents Association, told the AJC. “It’s going to be pay me now or pay me later.”
The layoff proposal would have affected 120 paraprofessionals, or teachers’ aides, an unpopular option among some parents especially with a school board election around the corner on July 31.
But DeKalb schools may be out of options. It’s unlikely enough teachers will choose to retire or quit to get to the number needed to balance the budget. The district has already agreed to $60 million in cuts to support staff and programming, and may not be in a position to absorb more cuts.
“She’s got to come up with a different plan, one that does not include reduction in force,” board chairman Eugene Walker said before the 5-2 vote against layoffs. Only Tom Bowen and Jay Cunningham voted for the layoffs, with Pam Speaks and Paul Womack absent.
Throughout the budget process, administration officials had been telling board members that they hoped to avert teacher layoffs. Typically, far more retire or leave voluntarily each year than the number of positions cut from the budget.
Walker and other board members said they didn’t think they’d have to lay anyone off when they voted for the budget. But board member Jay Cunningham said he understood that layoffs were a strong possibility. It’s “common sense,” he said. “If you vote for this, this will happen.”
In recent weeks, teachers have been leaving at a rate of about 20 per week, too slow to meet the requirements of the budget cuts. Laying off teachers once school starts will be more difficult emotionally because children and parents will have developed relationships with teachers, Garrett said.
Some teachers who attended Monday’s meeting praised the board’s decision. So did Lisa Lake, whose child attends a Montessori program affected by the teacher cuts. “They’re saying we need to stop and re-evaluate now,” she said.
Avoiding layoffs, however, is just wishful thinking, said David Schutten, president of teachers advocacy group the Organization of DeKalb Educators. He said the board gave false hope and that he expects layoffs eventually, or else the school system will spend money it doesn’t have and wind up in debt next summer, unable to make payroll.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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270 comments Add your comment
Donaldo
July 17th, 2012
5:50 pm
So, the ship is about to go under, and the Capts. can not manage a plan or to act. In effect, the result will be saving face with teachers while the entire system, including students go under. Ever hear about Stockton, or San Bernadino, maybe bankruptcy is the only pill left to swallow. Of course, that will mean real decisions will have to made teachers, administrators and the public will all suffer. Should the entire body die, when attacking the root causes might suffice under State stewardship…You brought this on yourself, now swallow the pill before the entire body dies………
my2cents
July 17th, 2012
5:51 pm
At this point, let’s all agree that budget initiatives – balancing and maintaining accountability, eliminating fraud, waste, cronyism and familial hiring – need to continue whether the property tax receipts go down OR go up. I complained when DCSS spending kept pace with increases in property value – which funded a lot of the nonsense that we’re seeing now – but I couldn’t get my voice heard. Fiscal responsibility should be a constant.
dekalbite@ Dekalb mom
July 17th, 2012
6:03 pm
“Our PTSA president reviewed the budget line by line and she says that we can save $20 Million if we eliminate the ITBS testing alone.”
But that simply is not true. Ms. Graham also posted this same thing on DeKalb Watch. She wants to save the transportation to Arabia Mountain High School that has students bused into it as a “choice” school. Ms. Graham is president of the Arabia Mountain PTSA.
In 2011 DeKalb Schools spent $288,893 on payments to Riverside Publishing Company, the company that sells and scores the ITBS. That’s a far cry from $20,000,000.
http://www.open.ga.gov/
Expenditures
Choose Payments
Local Boards of Education
DeKalb
Choose ALL (that will get you all state, local and federal expenditures)
If you post data, you need to be able to back it up with a link to a credible source. I just provided a credible source that says DCSS spent $288,000+ on the ITBS, not $20,000,000.
Pride and Joy
July 17th, 2012
6:06 pm
I love teaching…you work 180 days a year. There are 365 days in a year. Think about it.
You work half the year.
Until you have to get out in the private sector and really be subject to the whims of capitalism…you really don’t have anything to complain about.
Fred in DeKalb
July 17th, 2012
6:17 pm
Thanks for sharing that information, dekalbite. I wanted to commend you on your post on DSW but unfortunately my comments are not welcome there anymore. Perhaps you can ask shy since you seem to be held in high esteem there.
Unfortunately Ms. Graham got some bad information and is asking parents from AMHS to question the expenditure on the ITBS based on this. It would be interesting to see where she got this information and if it can be validated. This is what happens when special interests attempt to protect their sacred cows.
Donaldo
July 17th, 2012
6:25 pm
Pride & Joy: I spent my early career in Education, I loved the job, hated the paperwork and most Administrators who I came to see as paper pushers. Left to go into Corp. world, now own a small business. Now this is where the rubber meets he road. I have no job security nor income security, if I sell something, I make some money, these days it is getting harder and harder. My heart is still in education but after 30+ years, I could not stand the frustration and anxiety I once experienced, however, today it is up to me, only me, to make things happen. Good teachers abound, great ones are a gem in the rough, frankly the system is outdated and needs an upgrade like most businesses today competing for the shrinking dollar. I am saddened by the plight of Dekalb, but we all saw this coming, like most things, action is needed to avert a diaster. Dekalb needs REAL leaders & REAL Educators, they could solve this problem, I am confident.
LarryMajor
July 17th, 2012
6:39 pm
@Dunwoody Mom, Midway et at, I’ll save you the expense of a lawsuit.
Get the budget and show me the line item and amount that DCSD paid into whatever it is you think went to Gwinnett and I will personally refund that amount.
Again, I don’t care what anyone told you or what you think you know, I want to see the legal documentation of this amount you keep mentioning. Have a nice day.
MB
July 17th, 2012
6:40 pm
Agree that you would not want to eliminate ITBS unless, like some other school systems, you don’t want a nationally normed achievement test to, at least at 3 points in the K-8 years, show the true status of a student’s achievement. CRCTs do NOT do that. (Also, who could justify cutting a program that evaluates every student in the system at those grade levels to fund transportation for a few who elect to attend a special program? Equity there?)
Vince
July 17th, 2012
6:53 pm
@Pride & Joy….I do not know anyone who works 365 days a year. Folks in the private sector generally work between 241 and 251 days a year. (about two-thirds of the year). Private sector people often get paid overtime when they work beyond their required hours or days. That’s a foreign idea to teachers. Teachers work 190 days, not 180, and then they are required to take summer classes, at their own expense, to keep their certification. Not exactly my idea of a vacation.
dekalbite@Fred
July 17th, 2012
6:55 pm
“Some people also need to understand that cutting the Central Office staff will not be enough.”
It is a start and will be a good contribution to keep our teachers in the classrooms teaching students. Look at the DeKalb employment postings. Does this look like we are in a budget crisis when we hire so many administrative and support personnel and want to pack students like rats into the classrooms?
DeKalb Taxpayers need to click on the link below to see how many administrative positions are being posted while they eliminate teachers who actually instruct students. Teachers are the ONLY employees who are responsible for students learning the content of math, science, social studies and language. Mastery of this content is the ONLY reason the school system exists and the ONLY reason we pay school taxes:
https://pats.dekalb.k12.ga.us/
Vince
July 17th, 2012
7:02 pm
@ Larry Major…… I sense Dunwoody Mom, et.al. were speaking of the state’s equalization funding that takes funds from urban, high tax districts and gives them to rural districts. The districts were determined back in the mid-eighties when Gwinnett was rural. They receive these equalization funds whereas Dekalb pays them out.
Dr. John Trotter
July 17th, 2012
7:26 pm
So MACE was right when it picketed the DeKalb County Board of Education last fall, stating that the “DeKalb School Board S-x!”? Hmm. MACE…proven to be right again! Ha!
http://georgiateachersspeakout.com/2011/09/08/mace-christens-dekalbs-new-superintendent-cheryl-atkinson-baptized-board-members-tom-bowen-eugene-walker-and-jay-cunningham-dekalb-oir-chief-ronald-b-ramsey-also-sprinkled-teachers-will-n/
http://www.theteachersadvocate.com
Fred in DeKalb
July 17th, 2012
7:32 pm
Dekalbite, this link shows the central office employees that were re-coded to schools,
http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/www/documents/budget/central-office-positions-synopsis.pdf
Just under 1800 positions with well over half of them having regular student contact (teachers, paras, ROTC, even lay coaches)
This link shows the Central office after re-coding, reductions and other restructuring,
http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/www/documents/budget/presentation.pdf
The Central office went from 4,098 employees to 814. The reason our Central office looked bloated to the everyone is that many positions were coded incorrectly. As a former teacher, I’m sure you can look at the first list and ask why where those positions associated with the Central office when they were obviously school based employees. You like data and share it frequently on DSW (where I have been banned). While the change in overall employment after this initial exercise is only 73 employees, it did begin the move to allow everyone to better assess necessary positions for the schools. At the same time, is 814 Central office positions more in line of what it should be for a district this size?
You and I agree that it is still difficult to determine what some roles do in the school system. Could that be because DCSD still has many antiquated systems and processes? You must invest in your infrastructure also otherwise you must hire more people to perform the job technology can easily do. I say bringing in more technology can help with overall staff reductions while allowing you to operate more efficiently. Can you agree with this?
Angela
July 17th, 2012
7:35 pm
@behindenemylines,
Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are a very bright individual!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rent the film WAITING FOR SUPERMAN
July 17th, 2012
7:43 pm
@ILove(GettingPaidFor)Teaching:
All who disagree with you are “trolls?” Those for instance who exposed the infamous Rubber Rooms, where ineffective New York City teachers while away time at taxpayer expense … while their dismissal cases drag on interminably (as per union rules)?
The rest of us viewed the film Waiting for Superman and were revulsed. But not you, right?
Pride and Joy
July 17th, 2012
7:47 pm
Vince,
I hear ya.
I just don’t think you and other teachers hear us.
We ALL do training on our own time and on our own dime.
We ALL have had our benefits reduced or like me, have had them cut altogether.
We ALL are burdened with paperwork and stuff that’s “not our job.”
We ALL have less job security.
It’s not just teachers.
I just think teachers don’t realize that or don’t want to accept it.
Good gracious, it’s called the great recession.
We who are overworked are the lucky ones…we are employed.
Married with (School) Children
July 17th, 2012
8:00 pm
Angela @ 4:00 pm: My spouse is a DCS employee, so I have the utmost respect for what you and other DCS teachers do. I also have an incredible amount of respect for the other employees out in the schools: the cafeteria workers, the janitorial staff, the media specialists, the secretary/receptionists staffing the front offices of schools, the school resource officers, the social workers, the paraprofessionals, and the principals. The vast majority of you guys all do incredible work.
The point of my earlier post was to say that the DCS budget hole is so big that I cannot see any way for the board to balance it. Even if the board was to again slash teachers salaries –on top of all the cuts you guys have already taken– they still would not have a balanced budget.
Jeanine
July 17th, 2012
8:01 pm
@dekalbite@Fred…………As a Dekalb taxpayer… as well as a retired Dekalb teacher …I did click on your link to see for myself the administrative positions being posted. I AM STUNNED AND APPALLED ~~~!!! As I said earlier on this blog, this budget could be adjusted and balanced if anyone would just form a committee [hate that word] of teachers and retired teachers to address the problem and make the cuts . The cuts would be made by experienced professionals with no “friends and family” obligations. The only obligation would be to the students and parents of Dekalb. This is not BRAIN SURGERy or ROCKET SCiENCE……It is simply a matter of relinquishing power to the professionals who actually know what is needed and what is superfluous and trusting them to make good decisions.
Married with (School) Children
July 17th, 2012
8:08 pm
Dr. John Trotter @ 7:26 PM — So exactly what did MACE accomplish when you guys held “DeKalb School Board Sux!” signs outside of a board meeting?
dekalbite@Larry Major
July 17th, 2012
8:20 pm
“Get the budget and show me the line item and amount that DCSD paid into whatever it is you think went to Gwinnett and I will personally refund that amount.”
Gwinnett is receiving around $40,000,000 in equalization funding and DeKalb is losing around $100,000,000 in equalization funding.
DeKalb doesn’t send the money to Gwinnett per se. Gwinnett is a receiver of equalization funding and DeKalb is a giver in the equalization funding.
If you want to know how it works, why don’t you google it?
Any way you cut it, DeKalb sends the state $100,000,000 more than we get back from them since we are considered a “wealthy” county.
Pardon My Blog
July 17th, 2012
8:22 pm
All of the good teachers will get positions elsewhere and sadly we are left with the ones no one will hire (just listen to half of them and they do not even have a command of the English language). No way should some one be forced to retire if they have 30 years, especially if they are one of the better teachers.
What this boils down to is that for the last 10+ years we have had individuals in the position of running what was once an elite school system more interested in hiring those whose only qualifications were who they knew or the color of their skin. Yes, I said it, because that happened to be the mandate of C. Lewis when he was assembling his “team”.
I think that it is obvious to everyone that the BoE is unqualified, the Superintendent is unqualified, and half the teachers are unqualified not to mention that there is too much “fluff” in the Central Office. We, as taxpayers and concerned parents, really should demand answers from the State and SACS.
masr
July 17th, 2012
8:35 pm
Well said Pardon My Blog.
dekalbite@Married
July 17th, 2012
8:43 pm
We have plenty of places to cut $13,000,000
Security:
Look at the $12,000,000 DeKalb spends for Security as compared to other metro systems including demographically comparable and the same size. No other system even comes close.
Eugene Walker’s son is a Security Officer so is it any wonder that he wants to keep these personnel 12 months:
http://dekalbschoolwatch.wordpress.com/dcss-spending/the-cost-of-security/
Maintenance:
Close to $13,000,000
http://dekalbschoolwatch.wordpress.com/dcss-spending/the-cost-of-maintenance/
Fernbank Science Center:
Still being funded at $3,000,000+ even though transportation for students has been cut from the center, the forest reverted to the Fernbank Museum, and they lost the SEMMA (NASA) funding.
Transportation:
Almost $2,000,000 for transportation funding for “choice” schools as parents decide they do not want to use local neighborhood schools.
$8,000,000 for Special Education Lead Teachers
There are 90+ DeKalb Special Ed Lead Teachers, Coaches (not to be confused with the above named coaches) and Coordinators (not to be confused with the above named coordinators. They are termed Special Education Specialists on the Salary and Travel audit. They serve 130+ schools and cost $8,000,000+ a year in salary and benefits. They are in charge of paperwork for the special education program and never teach a single child.
By contrast, Gwinnett Schools has 20+ Special Education Specialists serving 130+ schools costing them around $1,700,000. DeKalb has 7,500+ Special Education students while Gwinnett has 16,000+ Special Education students.
$13,000,000 for Coaches
Instructional, Instructional Change, Graduation, Literacy, Math Coaches, etc. are all certified personnel who could teach but do not teach. There are 165 of them (called Instructional Specialists Literacy Coaches and Graduation Coacheson the state Salary and Travel audit), and they consume around $13,000,000 in Salary and Benefits. DCSS is only obligated to spend around $4,000,000 on Instructional Coaches per Title 1 guidelines. We are not required to have all of those other coaches.
Coordinators – We have 50 coordinators which make around $100,000 a year per employee in salary and benefits for a total of $5,500,000. DCSS used to have less than 20 coordinators. Programs and services were consolidated and good clerical support allowed them to wear several hats.
Travel
DeKalb spent $1,500,000+ in travel in 2011. This summer administrators are traveling and we are paying for airline tickets and hotel rooms in large cities while we borrow to make our payroll.
MB
July 17th, 2012
8:43 pm
The equalization grant funding issue has been addressed here before: http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2012/06/19/are-poor-systems-driving-pintos-while-gwinnett-cruises-in-lamborghini/?cp=all#comments
The issue is that, even after revisions this year, equalization funding still increased in Gwinnett, while dropping in some other rural districts with fewer opportunities to raise property taxes. It’s true that DeKalb, Cobb, Fulton, etc. don’t get any funds from the grants, but I don’t get the part about DeKalb losing $100K in funding.
The links to district QBE Allotment sheets, including equalization grant funding amounts (based on student FTEs), can be found on the Ga DOE website under Budgets.
dekalbite@MB
July 17th, 2012
8:57 pm
“It’s true that DeKalb, Cobb, Fulton, etc. don’t get any funds from the grants, but I don’t get the part about DeKalb losing $100K in funding.”
Look at this Georgia DOE document for QBE Earnings:
http://dekalbschoolwatch.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/dekalb-qbe-allotments-from-state-2013.jpg
Look where the the column labeled “Less Local 5 Mills” and the row labeled “QBE Formula Earnings” intersect.
QBE Earnings $525,892,318 and then as you go across the row past the “Less Local 5 Mills” column you can see that the state reduces DeKalb’s QBE funding by $110,606,689. So we end up with $351,419,912 in QBE Earnings.
DeKalb is considered wealthy because of the property assessments our county places on our property (more money for them) and because we have such a high millage rate. Every time the millage rate is raised, a portion does not come back to us but goes into the pot and gets redistributed to “poor” counties with low assessments and low millage rates.
Because we can “afford” such a high millage rate, we lose over $100,000,000 a year. That’s why it was so bad for the BOE to bump our millage rate up to the state ceiling.
MB
July 17th, 2012
9:29 pm
Every system gets adjusted the local 5 mills, though, based on FTE count for that system. (Gwinnett’s is $141,819,247 for FY 13) Don’t think raising the millage rate impacts that; the state just expects a system to cover the minimum of 5 mills. Raising the millage rate for property tax allows a system to pay above the state minimum in staffing, funding,and to cover the state’s austerity cuts. Someone mentioned being paid at state salary scale as a teacher; the state covers $52,701 of your superintendent’s salary.. For the overpaid secretaries at your CO? The state allocates one, at a salary of $14,166. Each principal and assistant principal nets $52,701 if they are on a 12-month contract. The rest of their salaries, and the full salaries for those 129 assistant principals over the state allotment, comes from your property taxes. For most daily-direct-student-contact earned positions (teachers, counselors, media specialists,etc.), your property taxes only cover county supplements because the majority of those salaries are covered by the state. See why cutting back those positions are doubly egregious? (Source: GA DOE Weights for Funding Formula)
Tax revenues in GA are primarily from state individual income tax (45%) and sales tax (29%).
Citi One
July 17th, 2012
9:35 pm
I am confused as to why people think that every teacher has a parapro in their classroom. This is not the case. I would say all preK teachers have them and some kindergarten teachers. They may also work in the capacity of a special education assistant, possibly ESOL. I also think that the responsibilities of the para range from doing paperwork to working with a small group or whole group lesson. If there is ever a case where all the para does is paperwork then the parapro is being underutilized in the classroom. Some teachers may need help as to how they should utilize the assistance of a para in the classroom. Schools also use parapros to allow the teachers to have the 30 minute duty free lunch that the law mandates for elementary teachers, morning duty, after school duty, you name it. They also cover classses when another teacher has to leave, etc. But it is a luxury for a teacher to have one at all and as I said before they are primarily in preK, K and special education.
Dekalb Teacher
July 17th, 2012
9:39 pm
Teachers just got this today:
To: All Principals
From: Kendra March, Deputy Superintendent, School Leadership and Operational Support
Through: Dr. Cheryl L. H. Atkinson, Superintendent
Subject: Open House/Curriculum Night
Date: July 17, 2012
In an effort to enhance parental involvement, the DCSD will hold an Open House and a Curriculum Night. The Open House is a time for students to meet their teacher(s) and visit their classroom(s). In addition, this will be a time for parents to sign up for various school related jobs/responsibilities such as PTA, Room Mother/Father, etc.
Curriculum Night is a time for schools to create their own curriculum night presentation. Some suggested topics should include: CCGPS, Safe School process, Success for All overview (SFA schools only), Parental Involvement activities, Parent-Teacher Conferences dates and other pertinent school information related to improving student achievement.
The Open House has been designated as follows:
Open House Wednesday, August 8, 2012 2:30 – 4:30 pm 9th Graders and New Students Only
4:30 – 6:30 pm High School Returning Students
Open House Thursday, August 9, 2012 4:30 – 6:30pm Middle School
Open House Friday, August 10, 2012 4:30 – 6:30 pm Elementary School
Curriculum Nights will be the month of September. Please adhere to the schedule below:
Elementary School Curriculum Night 1st Week in the month of September
Middle School Curriculum Night 2nd Week in the month of September
High School Curriculum Night 3rd Week in the month of September
Kendra D. March
Deputy Superintendent, School Leadership and Operational Support
DeKalb County School District
1701 Mountain Industrial Blvd
Stone Mountain, GA 30083
678 676-0720 office
678-676-0193 fax
Kendra_March@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
So on top of everything else, they want us to work 2 extra hours? What a joke!
yes i am worried
July 17th, 2012
9:46 pm
This is so wrong on so many levels. Why would March think that it is ok to dictate to schools when to have open houses. Some schools will receive so many new students that week, that they will still be building classes. Does March not understand what kind of system she is working for?
Parents, lets all email Ms. March and tell her it absolutely not ok to burden our teachers with an extra two hours (which will be more than two hours, because the parents won’t leave on time — many will show up at 6 PM).
She should know that every school has its own parent organization that plans their open houses. Let her know that she is worrying about the small stuff when there are huge issues left to figure out.
Kendra_March@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
dekalbite@MB
July 17th, 2012
9:54 pm
“Raising the millage rate for property tax allows a system to pay above the state minimum in staffing, funding,and to cover the state’s austerity cuts. ”
But DeKalb now does not even cover the state minimum pay for teachers. They have used the extra local funding to keep all those admin and support personnel employed. So we are paying through the nose in property taxes for teacher supplements and meanwhile they are cutting teaching positions and cutting teachers’ pay.
Look at the hundreds of personnel in DeKalb that make over $100,000 a year. NONE of them are teachers.
DeKalb refuses to publish ANY salary schedules except for Teachers. EVERY other metro system publishes the salary schedules for non teaching employees. This is the most non transparent school system in the metro area. Look at this link. NO salary schedules are published except for teachers:
http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/human-resources/
Now look at Rockdale County school system:
http://rockdale.k12.ga.us/about/fs/hr/employbenefits/Pages/default.aspx
And Fulton County school system:
http://portal.fultonschools.org/departments/Human_Resources/Pages/Salary_Schedules_12_13.aspx
Can you see the difference in the information DeKalb REFUSES to provide and other metro systems?
MB
July 17th, 2012
9:54 pm
According to the allotment sheet, DeKalb earns 46.57 Special Ed leader positions; the other 44+ positions you mention with that designation cost your system their salary + benefits directly from local funds.
another view
July 17th, 2012
9:59 pm
I believe that Dekalb’s issues boil down to pure mismanagement. There are districts that are doing just fine and will not have furlough days. Management is the issue and voters should consider if incumbents for the school board are capable of handling their tax dollars. The ability to budget effectively is crucial to the upcoming school board elections. It is past time to streamline and CUT THE BUREAUCRACY.
Lee
July 17th, 2012
10:04 pm
Well, there are plenty of Fairies in Dekalb, but I doubt any of them are bringing buckets of money.
And how long have they known this train wreck was heading this way? Three, four months now? School systems all across the state were negligent with their spending habits during good times and now, when times are bad, they don’t want to make the hard decisions. Decisions which may include sacrificing some sacred cows such as athletics.
What’s the saying, “You can ignore reality, but you cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality”.
Well, they have ignored reality and the consequences are bearing down on them at full speed.
MB
July 17th, 2012
10:04 pm
From the staffing audit, it appears that the reason they don’t publish salary schedules is that they don’t really have them. This certainly supports the friends and family program but is “a questionable management practice.” When will the stakeholders in DeKalb demand changes?
“No clear core responsibility definition for various job families –secretaries, specialists, coordinator, managers for directors – makes classification of new positions problematic.
In the absence of clear guidelines, jobs can be legitimately placed anywhere (provides flexibility, but is an questionable management practice).
Recommendation:
Proliferation of current titles results in ever growing number of titles without clear internal hierarchical relationships – definition and salary range leveling needed.”
Job
http://dekalbschoolwatch.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/full-report-phase-i-dcss-audit-jan-2012.pdf
Once Again
July 17th, 2012
10:06 pm
The entire government school system seems to be waiting for some magic fairy to come along and fix its fundamentally flawed premise. The parents who voluntarily turn their children over to this system seem to be waiting for the same fairy. Meanwhile parents who are pulling their kids out of this system are seeing immediate rewards in their children and their own happiness. And some people think that believing in freedom and the free market is akin to believing in fairies.
Pride and Joy
July 17th, 2012
10:08 pm
Dekalb teacher moans and groans about curriculum night at school and complains “So on top of everything else, they want us to work 2 extra hours? What a joke!”
It’s two hours, Dekalb teacher. From 4:30 to 6:30 so that working parents can meet their child’s teacher and hear about the education plan.
When do you think they should have it ? From 1:30 to 2:30? At 3 p.m.?
Don’t you understand that parents have jobs and most of them are having to leave work to race to make it at 4:30 p.m. so they can meet you?
Teachers like you complain that parents don’t get involved in their child’s education, yet you whine when parents do…
Do you see how you sound to us?
Honestly, your complaining about having to work all the way to 6:30 makes you sound like a spoiled brat.
Do you wonder, really wonder, why your profession gets little respect?
Just listen to yourself.
Two whole hours….
Sheesh.
Pride and Joy
July 17th, 2012
10:14 pm
Once Again,
I want you to read your own words please “The parents who voluntarily turn their children over to this system seem to be waiting for the same fairy. Meanwhile parents who are pulling their kids out of this system are seeing immediate rewards in their children and their own happiness.”
Parents who voluntarily turn their children over to government school systems…
Once Again, private schools are, on average, 15K per year per student. Even when families have only one child, 15K is simply out of financial reach, particularly when property taxes are also levied on families.
The rich have a choice. The middle class doesn’t. Parents don’t voluntarily turn their kids over to poor-performing schools. They simply don’t have another choice. Even if we didn’t pay for the 10K out of pocket health insurance, 15K is still out of reach.
Surely you know that, right?
All parents would choose Woodward and Lovett and other pricey private schools if we could afford it.
Married with (School) Children
July 17th, 2012
10:26 pm
dekalbite@ 8:43 pm – “We have plenty of places to cut”
I am simply not seeing where DCS can find $20 million in cuts.
Let’s look at the numbers you listed. Suppose you made 20% cuts to Security ($2.4 M), Maintenance ($2.6 M), Special Ed Lead Teachers ($1.6 M), Coaches ($2.6 M) and Coordinators ($1 M).
Also, figure on completely zeroing out Fernbank ($3M), Transportation to “choice” schools ($2M), and Transportation to conferences ($1.5M).
Here’s the total: $2.4 + $2.6 + $1.6 + $2.6 + $1 M + $3 + $2 + $1.5 == $16.7
You still don’t have the $20 million you need in order to have a balanced budget.
I don’t even know if making across-the-board 20% cuts to security, maintenance, special ed, coaches and coordinators would be legal…. but I am sure they would be devastating to the schools.
Married with (School) Children
July 17th, 2012
10:39 pm
dekalbite @ 9:54 pm “DeKalb refuses to publish ANY salary schedules except for Teachers”
Why does that matter?
DCS Salary information can be obtained from the “Salaries & Transportation Reimbursements” section on http://open.georgia.gov/ Surf over there and specify the dekalb school board. Once it loads page 1 of its search results, click the export to CSV button at the bottom of the page. That will let you save the file (salarytravelreport.csv) to your computer, allowing you to import it into your spreadsheet.
The Deal
July 17th, 2012
10:43 pm
@Married with (School) Children, the number Michael Perrone provided at the meeting this week that represented the teacher RIF was $13 million, so you found $16.7 pretty easily! Sounds good to me.
Money for Nothing, Chicks not Free
July 17th, 2012
11:00 pm
This is what happens when you put people in charge of a large school system when said people cannot even balance their own checkbook. They have absolutely no concept of finance and cash flow….
dekalbite@Married
July 17th, 2012
11:00 pm
Publishing salary schedules is necessary so that taxpayers can see what personnel are being paid (we are paying them). Taxpayers can compare what the salary parameters are for Assistant Principals, secretaries, maintenance workers, etc.
DeKalb County has many salary schedules. If the superintendent wanted to give a non teaching employee a healthy raise (say 30% to 50%) he simply placed gave that person a title and placed him/her on a salary schedule that would reflect that number.
The state Salary and Travel audit has some very good information, but you can’t really see what the titles and positions are and what salary schedule they are on. It’s information is very limited.
Can you tell me the stated salary range of an AP in DeKalb? Can you tell me the stated salary range of the bus drivers? Can you tell me the stated salary range of a secretary in the schools? Can you tell me the stated salary range for an executive secretary in DeKalb?
Is our stated salary range for counselors the same as Cobb County or Fulton County? I would like to compare our stated salary range for coordinators in DeKalb with those in Rockdale. I can see that Rockdale’s stated range for teachers is higher than DeKalb, but what about those non teaching coordinators?
DeKalb’s Human Resources Department has the salary schedules, but they have never wanted to publish them like the other school systems.
dekalbite@Married
July 17th, 2012
11:03 pm
“That will let you save the file (salarytravelreport.csv) to your computer, allowing you to import it into your spreadsheet.”
Thank you, but I have used this information extensively. How do you think I know what we are spending for Special Education Lead Teachers ($8,000,000 to Gwinnett’s $1,700,000 for twice as many students)? See my comment to you from 6:43 pm.
dekalbite@Married
July 17th, 2012
11:13 pm
“I don’t even know if making across-the-board 20% cuts to security, maintenance, special ed, coaches and coordinators would be legal…. but I am sure they would be devastating to the schools.”
So why do you say that? You have done no analysis.
For example, DCSS Lead Teachers for Special Education (complete paperwork for special ed and never teach a child) serve 130+ schools and cost $8,000,000+ a year in salary and benefits.
By contrast, Gwinnett Schools has 20+ Special Education Specialists serving 130+ schools costing them around $1,700,000. DeKalb has 7,500+ Special Education students while Gwinnett has 16,000+ Special Education students.
Compare our Security numbers. Here are the actual numbers from the state Salary and Travel audit you mentioned in your comment at 10:39 pm. Our Security numbers as compared to other systems are so out of line it borders on negligence:
http://dekalbschoolwatch.wordpress.com/dcss-spending/the-cost-of-security/
Compare our Maintenance numbers:
http://dekalbschoolwatch.wordpress.com/dcss-spending/the-cost-of-maintenance/
In most of these areas we need to cut MUCH more than 20%.
dekalbite@Married
July 17th, 2012
11:56 pm
My numbers need to be corrected:
Look what costs money in special ed.
$8,000,000 for Special Education Lead Teachers
There are 90+ DeKalb Special Ed Lead Teachers, Coaches (not to be confused with the above named coaches) and Coordinators (not to be confused with the above named coordinators. They are termed Special Education Specialists on the Salary and Travel audit. They serve 130+ schools and cost $8,000,000+ a year in salary and benefits. They are in charge of paperwork for the special education program and never teach a single child.
By contrast, Gwinnett Schools has 20+ Special Education Specialists serving 130+ schools costing them around $1,700,000. DeKalb has 8,000+ Special Education students while Gwinnett has 17,600+ Special Education students.
http://archives.gadoe.org/ReportingFW.aspx?PageReq=105&PTID=51&CTID=76&Source=Enrollment&PID=38&CountyId=667&T=1&FY=2011
What a disparity yet this area has not been touched even as special education teachers and paras positions are being cut.
Look at the stellar results that Gwinnett has with their special education students:
http://archives.gadoe.org/ReportingFW.aspx?PageReq=105&PTID=44&CTID=83&Source=APR%20Math&PID=38&CountyId=667&T=1&FY=2011
(click on APR Math and then on APR ELAR)
Now look at DeKalb’s results:
http://archives.gadoe.org/ReportingFW.aspx?PageReq=105&PTID=44&CTID=45&Source=Elementary&PID=38&CountyId=644&T=1&FY=2011
(click on APR Math and then on APR ELAR)
And yet they want to eliminate special ed teachers and paras in DeKalb while they want to keep all the highly paid non teaching special ed administrators. We are so not focused on the students.
Dr. John Trotter
July 18th, 2012
12:38 am
@ Married: We accomplished exactly what we there for that day. We had a particular agenda which was accomplished. Our membership is strictly confidential and you, as an anonymous blogger, are certainly not privy to our specific agenda. But, as a matter of pure dictum, we thought that we would also declare that the “DeKalb School Board S_x!” It, along with mentioning Jay, Eugene, and Tom on the signs on Mountain Industrial Boulevard during rush hour traffic seemed to have its effect. (We also talked about Ron Ramsey and Cheryl Atkinson on the signs.) Unlike some groups who make a pretense that they are going to change the entire school system (which is a joke), our mantra at MACE is “protecting and empowering classroom educators…one member at a time.”
You obviously are not a member of MACE — and you may even be an administrator (and in this case, you could not be a member of MACE) — but, if you were, you would know what MACE accomplishes for you as a member. Also, unlike other groups, we don’t waste our time kissing the asses of the school board members or the superintendent. We just simply stated the plain facts about the DeKalb School Board and the administration, and you seem to have a problem with this. You have the rest of your life to get over it. Ha!
http://www.theteachersadvocate.com
http://www.georgiateachersspeakout.com
science1971
July 18th, 2012
1:16 am
Say Maureen… Ummmm… How do I get ahold of dat der budget fairy… I wanna talk to him!
R.I.P. Lewis Grizzard
Married with (School) Children
July 18th, 2012
7:02 am
Dr. John @ 12:38 AM:
I am sorry, but I simply do not understand how holding up “DeKalb School Board Sux!” signs *last* fall has anything to do with the current DCS budget crisis.
You point out that you have your reasons for not explaining the connection…. but you are the one who posted about the “Sux” signs.
The Occupy Movement, the democracy movement in Egypt, the protests at the Wisconsin State House, Slutwalks, the Trevon Martin rallies, and MACE holding up “Sux” signs: one of these things is not like the others!
Married with (School) Children
July 18th, 2012
7:25 am
dekalbite@11:13 pm
I do not buy the DSW2 analyses because those analyses strike me as the products of accountants who crunched numbers without having any clue of what the numbers mean.
For example, one DSW2 analysis uses “Security costs per-pupil” and compares DeKalb against affluent suburban counties (Gwinett and Cobb)…. while completely ignoring the demographic differences. The analysis also uses the catch-all term “security officers”…. one district might be employing mall cops, while another district might be employing certified law enforcement officers who are armed and have the power to arrest.
I also do not buy the comparison of DCS’s special education costs against affluent suburban districts. My feeling is that DCS *should* have much higher special education costs because DeKalb is more likely to have children that need those services. (In other words, in which county are you most likely to find children who were born to drug-addicted mothers?)
I would like to see an analysis done by school clusters — it would be great if someone could compare the costs for DCS schools in Dunwoody and Brookhaven against the costs for schools in south Gwinnett.
GotBusted
July 18th, 2012
7:57 am
I realize this is probably a “non-issue” point, but can’t help but wonder what the cost is of cell phones to all principals (not sure about APs), everyone at the Brantley center and everyone at the Golden Palace? You know all of them were also given ipads? What is the reasoning behind this? I am sick and tired of being told that the money “comes from a different budget”. I have often wondered why the QBE money was not addressed and stopped. But if it was, would have been spent anyway on something stupid. WE NEED a comprehensive audit. NOW.