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Better Together? Maybe Not
Posted on 5/14/14 at 8:02 am
Posted on 5/14/14 at 8:02 am
quote:LINK
The East Baton Rouge Parish school system is projecting it will spend nearly $29 million more than it takes in during the 2014-15 fiscal year unless it makes cuts.
To help make up the difference, Superintendent Bernard Taylor has directed principals of the 80-plus schools to cut 4 percent to 8 percent of their budgets.
Schools where 90 percent or more of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, an indicator of student poverty, would have to cut only 4 percent. Schools with modest levels of student poverty, including many of the magnet schools, are having to cut 8 percent of their budgets.
Information like this is sure to influence parents with school age children in their decisions for, or against, St. George. I'd be willing to bet that the majority of public school children residing in unincorporated areas attend schools facing 8% cuts. Would they face the same sort of cuts if they had their own school district?
How will the anonymous Better Together leaders spin this information? Cuts to the magnet schools they tout as a benefit can't be good for their cause.
(ETA Link)
This post was edited on 5/14/14 at 8:04 am
4
Posted on 5/14/14 at 8:08 am to Poodlebrain
Posted on 5/14/14 at 8:21 am to Poodlebrain
I skimmed through the article and don't see where the 29 million dollar increase is coming from. That would be my first question...
Posted on 5/14/14 at 8:41 am to wickowick
The article doesn't provide any information about the $29 million shortage other than Superintendent Taylor having pronounced it will occur. The meeting described in the article focused on the school principles planned response to the proposed reduction in funding, and the public reaction to the principle's planned response. I suppose one would have to go to the East Baton Rouge Public School System website to study up on its budget issues. LINK
Posted on 5/14/14 at 8:50 am to Poodlebrain
Last night one of the local stations (I believe it was WBRZ) had a story on the budget cuts.
They filmed portions of a PTA meeting at the old Walnut Hills Elementary on Acadian Thwy. (where I went to school) and showed a PTA meeting where the principal of the school was really taking heat because of the budget cuts he was having to make. The parents at the meeting were really letting him have it for cutting out a fulltime art teacher as part of his austerity plan. The folks in the crowd didn't like that at all.
The school is now known as this:
Baton Rouge Center for Visual & Performing Arts
2040 South Acadian Thruway, Baton Rouge, LA 70808
PH 225-344-0084, FAX 225-343-6227
I believe it is either a magnet school or a gifted school. This school received an A last year.
They filmed portions of a PTA meeting at the old Walnut Hills Elementary on Acadian Thwy. (where I went to school) and showed a PTA meeting where the principal of the school was really taking heat because of the budget cuts he was having to make. The parents at the meeting were really letting him have it for cutting out a fulltime art teacher as part of his austerity plan. The folks in the crowd didn't like that at all.
The school is now known as this:
Baton Rouge Center for Visual & Performing Arts
2040 South Acadian Thruway, Baton Rouge, LA 70808
PH 225-344-0084, FAX 225-343-6227
I believe it is either a magnet school or a gifted school. This school received an A last year.
Posted on 5/14/14 at 9:22 am to wickowick
quote:
I skimmed through the article and don't see where the 29 million dollar increase is coming from. That would be my first question...
From an article last week regarding budget cuts LINK:
quote:
The biggest category of new spending, though, is $26 million for new and expanding charter schools.
Charter schools can be good in some instances, but budgeting for them and how they affect other schools doesn't seem to be an easy task. One problem with charters is they take $ away from regular schools, and it's very difficult to predict how popular or successful they will be. So regular schools still have to plan on X amount of students without knowing if they will have less students because some parents chose a charter instead. If they end up with less students, that means less money, but the resources set up to provide for those potential students might have already been spent. And if the charter school folds or kids get kicked out? Those students are back in the regular school.
Posted on 5/14/14 at 9:24 am to Dorothy
EBR Schools are fine...
Posted on 5/14/14 at 9:26 am to Dorothy
So parents are moving kids from public to Charter schools and that is the reason for most of the increase.... Sounds like the school system needs to compete better to keep these kids or shut down a school or two...
Posted on 5/14/14 at 9:31 am to wickowick
quote:
So parents are moving kids from public to Charter schools and that is the reason for most of the increase.... Sounds like the school system needs to compete better to keep these kids or shut down a school or two...
That had me scratching my head too.
There must be some big money in charter schools for the public school system to simply get out of the way.
Posted on 5/14/14 at 9:40 am to Poodlebrain
quote:
Schools where 90 percent or more of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, an indicator of student poverty, would have to cut only 4 percent.
No one has to 'qualify' for free lunch. You just say you want it. You can be a millionaire. No one checks your financial status. School systems want the numbers to be high because they get more funds.
Posted on 5/14/14 at 9:42 am to wickowick
quote:
So parents are moving kids from public to Charter schools and that is the reason for most of the increase.... Sounds like the school system needs to compete better to keep these kids or shut down a school or two...
Not necessarily. Think about the RSD charter schools--failing schools taken over by the state, given charters to run as charter schools. Unfortunately, a lot of parents choose NOT to send their kids to the RSD schools, so then these kids have to be placed in other regular (EBRP) schools farther away from their neighborhoods, which means more bussing and those schools becoming overcrowded. As I said earlier, it's a crap shoot on whether parents will choose to send their kids to the charter school or a more traditional school. Some schools with specialized programs run by legitimate foundations (not just to make a buck) might be very successful if given the chance by parents and the time to prove their worth.
I'm not exactly clear on the differences between Title I and Title II charter schools. From that article, it looks like the main amount of $ is going to Title I charter schools, those issued their charters by EBRPSS.
Posted on 5/14/14 at 11:10 am to Dorothy
The more I learn about this matter the more questions I have. First, the EBRPSB has not approved a budget for the 2014-2015 school year. On what authority is Superintendent Taylor imposing the cuts to school budgets? Where did the $26 million for new and expanding charter schools come from since the school board has not approved a budget with those expenditures?
Posted on 5/14/14 at 11:19 am to Poodlebrain
quote:He is the superintendent of schools for East Baton Rouge Parish.
On what authority is Superintendent Taylor imposing the cuts to school budgets?
Posted on 5/14/14 at 11:28 am to Poodlebrain
Supt. Taylor is preparing to proposes a budget.
Apparently increased spending on charter schools, magnet schools, pay raises, bonuses, etc. is going to require more revenues than he projects.
He is going to the principals of each school to propose cuts to their schools under his guidelines and he's also getting cuts from the administration side and the main office on Foster Drive.
I do not see anything out of the ordinary here. Another govt. entity is in danger of spending more money than they are taking in and cuts have to be made.
Apparently increased spending on charter schools, magnet schools, pay raises, bonuses, etc. is going to require more revenues than he projects.
He is going to the principals of each school to propose cuts to their schools under his guidelines and he's also getting cuts from the administration side and the main office on Foster Drive.
I do not see anything out of the ordinary here. Another govt. entity is in danger of spending more money than they are taking in and cuts have to be made.
This post was edited on 5/14/14 at 11:29 am
Posted on 5/14/14 at 11:29 am to Poodlebrain
quote:
First, the EBRPSB has not approved a budget for the 2014-2015 school year. On what authority is Superintendent Taylor imposing the cuts to school budgets?
From the article I linked above:
quote:
Cuts, however, won’t become official until the School Board approves its general fund budget, which it usually does by July 1, the start of the fiscal year.
He's probably telling principals now so they can figure out what to cut, and possibly give support staff an opportunity to find other positions before the new school year. Some of those expected expenditures were from things approved earlier this year, to be put in the 2014-2015 budget.
quote:
Where did the $26 million for new and expanding charter schools come from since the school board has not approved a budget with those expenditures?
I'm not sure when they approved the expansion or creation of new charter schools, but I'm assuming the school board did approve them at some point based on this:
quote:
Taylor has signaled that the financial drain of charter schools means that he will he be extremely cautious about approving any more charter schools.
ETA: Basically, what doubleb said.
This post was edited on 5/14/14 at 11:31 am
Posted on 5/14/14 at 11:41 am to Dorothy
It's a faux scandal by Poodle.
Posted on 5/14/14 at 12:20 pm to Dorothy
quote:
but budgeting for them and how they affect other schools doesn't seem to be an easy task. One problem with charters is they take $ away from regular schools, and it's very difficult to predict how popular or successful they will be. So regular schools still have to plan on X amount of students without knowing if they will have less students because some parents chose a charter instead. If they end up with less students, that means less money, but the resources set up to provide for those potential students might have already been spent. And if the charter school folds or kids get kicked out? Those students are back in the regular school.
Agree with you about the problem, but it doesn't have to be this way.
I don't know how long the lead time is for approving a new charter, but, one could make the deadline for applying for a student position at a charter school pretty early, like November. Both the charter schools and the regular schools would then be able to, in January or so, figure out their resource needs for the following school year. This is well before the time needed for hiring/transferring/laying off teachers and staff.
Budgeting is of course an inexact science, but there are ways to improve things.
Posted on 5/14/14 at 12:53 pm to LSUFanHouston
quote:
How will the anonymous Better Together leaders spin this information?
Like someone who commented on the article said, what does Better Together have to with this??
And speaking of "spin"...How do people not see that SG petition drives are spun so far truth and practicality? You only hear hate toward BR and the current systems, no real selling points just the ole church strategy of telling you who the enemy is and the evil they create. There is no real info at these drives. I understand the "volunteer" aspect of it, but your asking me to be on board to create a new city, its not a petition to add new street lights at an intersection.
Posted on 5/14/14 at 1:13 pm to MrCoolBeans
Any bad news for the EBR school system is good news for the St. George petition drive.
In this case, EBR is having to cut because they've been spending money they don't have.
Look, I know some of us have dogs in this fight but at least try to be objective.
In this case, EBR is having to cut because they've been spending money they don't have.
Look, I know some of us have dogs in this fight but at least try to be objective.
Posted on 5/14/14 at 1:21 pm to Poodlebrain
quote:
Where did the $26 million for new and expanding charter schools come from since the school board has not approved a budget with those expenditures?
If Charter Schools need more money that should mean public schools need less. I know it isn't perfect but if students are leaving to go to Charters then less money should be needed for the old public schools.
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