High School after Devastating Budget Cuts

Parents Corner
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<p>D is in 10th grade. She has become a pretty good student with a strong desire to learn. I see her working harder than I initially thought she would. She handles it well, with little drama. </p>

<p>Our very high performing high school is facing horrific budget cuts if more money isn't approved by an election. The losses of classes would be staggering. I know that this is a problem throughout the nation. Junior year would be bearable, but she's facing the loss of most of the classes that she expects to take senior year, with substitutes that are either at a lower level or non-existent. The school would change dramatically. </p>

<p>We have two realistic choices: Grit and bear it, or move. Private school is no longer an option. It's too late to apply to any private school whose curriculum would mesh well with what she's already taken. I know she could do online classes or college classes to replace some of what is lost, but there would be more than our school will allow. </p>

<p>It's very difficult to contemplate leaving our home and our town. We've discussed it briefly with D, but don't want to dwell on it because it is very difficult to imagine. I'm doing the research now because we will have very little time to make arrangements after the election. </p>

<p>I've found another high performing school district nearby where the academic programs match up well, where the budget cuts there are not as bad, where all but one of the classes that she would want to take would be available and where we think we can move to a rental pretty easily. Because that school has a larger population, there are concerns about making the sports and academic teams that she makes now. There is also some trepidation about competing against her old teammates. </p>

<p>There are also concerns about adjusting to being the new kid in 11th grade. She will hopefully have her drivers license and can visit her old friends nearby, but it's not the same as going to school with them. Everybody is also so busy. </p>

<p>I'm interested in hearing experiences both of staying in a "good" district like ours that has been stripped down to the bone, and also about the experience of moving in the middle of high school and any issues that it created. </p>

<p>My sense is that due to needing teacher recommendations and the difficulty of getting them from teachers at another school, if we're going to move, it should be after 10th grade, no later. This would give her time to adjust to the flow of the new school without the pressure of applying to colleges. </p>

<p>Thanks in advance for any replies.</p>

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<p>If she is high performing and would consider it, would it make sense to apply for early admission this coming year, and get out of her home HS before things go sour? Her college list would not be the same as it could be if she were to wait and apply at the traditional time, but this is an option that may work for your family.</p>

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<p>What 12th grade courses would be eliminated?</p>

<p>If they are AP type courses, could she instead take actual college / university level courses at a local community college? If the high school is high performing, she may find a group of other students interested in the same thing. (One problem that you may encounter is that the community college may be facing budget cuts also, so classes may be full.)</p>

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<p>This happened to the city where I work several years ago and it affected many of my co-workers. The options were private school and moving. Homeschooling was an option too but I don’t know anyone that chose that.</p>

<p>One guy that I know well moved his two kids into a much better district (Acton, MA). There were transition issues including the newer district having much stiffer requirements for courses but the better academic environment was a big plus. He regrets that he didn’t move there a year earlier as things would have been smoother. There is the meshing of courses and requirements and some trial and error was needed.</p>

<p>His younger son is thriving there.</p>

<p>My recollection is that you’re in MA (correct me if I’m wrong). If you have a UMass campus nearby, then she could do dual-enrollment courses. The logistics of that can be quite the headache but they may be worthwhile. Many community colleges in MA are pretty good but you have to be choosy in the courses that you’d sign her up for if you go that route.</p>

<p>If you can get a rental in the other town that’s pretty close to the school and that’s affordable, then that may be the way to go. You would have the issue of multiple households and who stays with your daughter or if she stays there by herself (I wouldn’t recommend that approach). That’s multiple sets of furnishings, dishes, snow shovels, clothes, etc.</p>

<p>Is MA school choice an option? One of my nieces did that for her high-school years. She lived in Lexington but went to Westford for high-school for environmental reasons.</p>

<p>If you’re in the Worcester area, then maybe something like the high-school program at WPI is a possibility. It’s run as a charter so money shouldn’t be an issue. There may be other colleges in MA that allow local students to take courses at no or little cost. If you’re going to move or try public choice, I’d recommend doing your research as soon as possible. The rental would probably be on a one-year lease basis so you’d probably want to start it sometime during the summer. If there are other parents that you know with the same issue, then perhaps you could do some kind of a hybrid rental to save on costs.</p>

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<p>One option is to find a group of like-minded parents and get out and campaign for approval of the budget at the election. (This sounds like a Massachusetts Proposition 2 1/2 override, perhaps?) We faced that situation two years ago with my son and decided to gut it out because he adamantly didn’t want to change schools and we couldn’t have sold the house in the middle of the recession anyway. He’s now a senior and no question it adversely affected his education from the point of view of qualifying for top colleges and/or public u honors programs. Of course, he could have worked a little harder, too, to make the best of what was available… He’ll come out of it OK, having been accepted at UMass Amherst, U Delaware, UConn and Syracuse for engineering, but I can’t help but think that if the high school had remained at the same caliber it was when he was in middle school, he would have had more opportunities. Based upon his experience with the high school, and with more budget cuts potentially on the way, we elected last year to send our daughter (who’s a freshman) to a local Catholic high school, even though we’re not Catholic. Regular private school tuition was out of the question. So far she’s very happy and we’re very happy with the school and it will be a relief not to have to worry about school budgets next year, except in a general sense as it impacts real estate values. Have you investigated Catholic high schools? My daughter’s classes meshed pretty well with what she would have been taking at the town high school with the exception of Western Civ, which she is taking again. It may be more of an issue at the 11th grade level, although you may be able to use electives to get around some duplications. Best of luck, it’s not an easy situation to be in.</p>

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<p>No experience with the budget cut aspect, but all three of my kids moved during high school. One was the summer before 12th grade and the other two were the summer before 10th grade. They were all fine with it and I had made sure that the stuff they were taking was in line with the new state’s requirements. I had to do a bit of fighting for DD3’s classes in 9th grade so she would not be behind when we moved, but the district pretty much worked with me and she took 3 courses the ninth graders didn’t normally take until 10th grade.</p>

<p>They all played sports and had new teams before school started, so had already met some kids before the “first day.” </p>

<p>They are all also very social and used to moving so that helped.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all of the suggestions. </p>

<p>I’ve explored school choice, private school, college courses, dual enrollment, early admission, that school in Worcester, etc. None of that works well. The college courses may have some role to play if we stay, but the damage to the school curriculum is too great for that to mitigate all of it. I also would have to worry about the HS cooperating. </p>

<p>Hornetdad, yours is exactly the situation we’re facing. Thanks for sharing the experience. I’m sorry you felt the pain of the lost opportunities. I hope your daughter has a better experience. </p>

<p>Fortunately, money isn’t the problem here. </p>

<p>I’m really interested in actual experiences, one way or the other. Thanks.</p>

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<p>Is it feasible to still stay in your home, rent an apartment in the other town so she can qualify to attend the public school there even if you never actually stay at the apartment, and commute from your house - i.e. is the other town close enough? Of course, the cost of the apartment would have to be chalked up to the ‘price of admission’ but you’d be playing by the rules (I assume). It’d likely be a pain (unless the other town was very close) but it might be an option.</p>

<p>I’ve seen that most schools, districts, and teacher’s unions, and some politicians, do a lot of sabre rattling loudly decrying the drastic impacts of the potential budget cuts. They often even send ‘layoff notices’ to teachers for layoffs that might happen at some point in the future. This all gets a lot of press, worries a lot of parents, worries a lot of politicians, and sometimes gets the budget swayed in the schools’ favor which is the point of the sabre rattling. In other cases, even with the budget cuts, the effects aren’t as drastic as feared or stated during the sabre rattling commercials and press. I don’t know how this applies to your particular situation but it’s something to consider before doing anything drastic or costly on your part.</p>

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<p>What is the reason for the cuts? If it’s a state aid issue, the nearby town you are considering as an alternative may not be safe from similar cuts. We have seen this happen in New Jersey, where the state is cutting aid to all towns, and the local districts are all having to make program cuts and lay off untenured teachers. You wouldn’t want to go through the hassle of the move only to have the same process unfold a year later.</p>

<p>Also, can you sell your house in this market without losing money? What about day schools in the area? It may be a wash to pay tuition for two years vs. sell and incur all the related expenses.</p>

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<p>Our situation is a bit different, but perhaps relevant…Out local public schools made what we thought were some STUPID decisions during DD’s freshman year. I panicked and started looking at private schools in March of her freshman year. Her stats were superb, so she transferred to a private school 35 miles from our home for her sophomore year.</p>

<p>The good: great education, tippy top teachers, opportunity for international travel in high school, superior foreign language education, similar curriculum to public school so not a lot of extra classes to take
The bad: terrible social match, ugly commute (one-hour in Baltimore traffic), many kids had been together since pre-school</p>

<p>IF I had to do it again, I think I would have put her in the local private (and I know you said private wasn’t an option now) that was not as stellar academically. The commute complicated so many things and trying to have any social life for her was tough. Her friends from here treated her as if she had deserted them to go to another school. It was a tough adjustment.</p>

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<p>What kind of classes would be unavailable to her as a senior? Usually schools don’t cut classes in the basic subject areas, though I suppose you mean they’ll be offering fewer APs etc. It’s not clear why a move or an expensive school would be necessary, as she could always supplement her coursework with advanced classes online or at a community college. It isn’t necessary that this will affect her college admissions chances, as colleges only expect you to take the hardest schedule available at your school, so I’m not sure how she will be harmed as long as her GC can clarify that she’s taken the hardest schedule available.</p>

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<p>Since you sound desperate … would 2 years of boarding school be at all feasible? It would expand the range of available private schools. It would allow you to stay in your home. Of course, you’d be looking at major costs, but not necessarily more than moving expenses. The socialization might be easier (at the right school) because of the nature of the community. If this is remotely possible, I suggest you check out Friends (Quaker) schools, which tend to be both academically strong and nurturing.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all the replies. </p>

<p>We’ve covered all of the options. While I appreciate the advice, you have to trust me, that we’ve carefully considered all of them. </p>

<p>I’m really looking for anecdotes and experiences of people who have faced similar circumstances. </p>

<p>MDMom: The stuff you describe is the kind of stuff that I am concerned about. Backlash from current friends who are “stuck”, and difficulty gaining acceptance in the new school. D is pretty good with people, but the kind of stuff you describe will no doubt hurt. Do you think it would be as bad if both schools are public and about the same socioeconomically, with a good amount of economic diversity?</p>

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<p>ClassicRockerDad, I see that you have 2 choices:</p>

<p>1) Campaign your butt off for that override, or
2) Look into school choice. Many districts are accepting school choice kids because it brings in extra money.</p>

<p>Also, I am in MA in a district which has cut and cut for years. None of the cuts ever turned out to be quite as draconian as were expected. Don’t get me wrong, we’d have been better off without the cuts, but we all survived. I don’t want to say the district used “scare tactics,” but they usually managed to find a way to save more teacher jobs than they thought.</p>

<p>I do not know anyone who has moved mid-high school for a better district. I do know someone who sold their house and moved to a rental condo after their D’s freshman year, in part to fund the D’s transfer from a large public school to a small private. They are very happy with their decision and the D is thriving. The parents eventually plan to move South anyway once the D has graduated.</p>

<p>And here’s a thought… from a MA override veteran - is your override a one-year thing? Because even if it passes it might only save the classes you want for one year. Next year you could be looking at the same problem.</p>

<p>(Breathing a sigh of relief that both of my kids have graduated from their public hs and are now at private colleges, no longer subject to the whims of a state legislature!)</p>

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<p>I don’t have any experience to offer, but if it were my kid I’d hire tutors to cover AP classes no longer offered at the HS. Kid takes the AP exam and passes for credit at college. Teachers who no longer can teach those APs (or retirees, homemakers, whoever) get some $$ and satisfaction. Kid learns that you can learn outside of a school setting. And kid gets to take ‘fun’ classes sr. year. Kid is rested and can hit the ground running in college.</p>

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<p>You say that junior year would be bearable where you are. How about sticking it out and applying for [Bard College at Simon’s Rock - The Early College](<a href=“http://www.simons-rock.edu/”>http://www.simons-rock.edu/&lt;/a&gt;) to cover your bases in case senior year becomes unbearable? That might be less traumatic than uprooting your entire household.</p>

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<p>Looking back (it was five years ago this month that the panic set it), I still don’t know if what we did was right or wrong. My daughter was with us on moving her to the other school, but as a young teen, I know that she did not see the big picture. Sometimes I think that my daughter would have had less drama (and without a doubt more sleep) had we left her where she was. I think that you must consider the social aspect. The academics can be enhanced through self study and perhaps staying put would give her some things to address in essays for applications. Plenty of great kids are stuck in less than optimal schools. I wish you the best.</p>

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<p>Classic, what is her social situation like now? Does she have a positive peer group?</p>

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<p>Thanks MDMom. There is a limit to how much of the academics can be replaced outside of school hours. Also, she will have to take the lower level classes in most subjects, which though not that challenging, would all have busy work associated with them, making it harder to do too many extras. </p>

<p>Levirm, she has a very positive peer group in school. We love the school.</p>

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<p>CRD</p>

<p>I haven’t been in your situation and can’t give you any of the wisdom you are seeking. </p>

<p>However, 2 things pop out at me and your family has probably already considered, but I feel it is worth stating anyway.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Could supplemental work be complted during the summer rather than during the school year? </p></li>
<li><p>Does the school offer any work study, etc?<br>
Way back in my day, rather than loading up on unnecessary busy work courses, I took the bare minimum required for graduation, left school in the early afternoon and worked 3 days/week while completing 3 CC courses the other afternoons and evenings. 1 CC course was dual, but the others I took were not and had no bearing on my HS GPA and concurrently I had no HS administrator to answer to.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>IMHO socialization in this age group is at least, if not more, important than academics. The fact that you love the school and peer group is pivotal. Please do not overlook this.</p>

<p>As crappy as it sounds, many 13ers I expect will be in the same boat with reduced EC and academic opportunities. I don’t think your daughter will be “behind” come college.</p>