<p>In New York State the process of developing the public school budgets for the fiscal year starting on July 1, 2010 is well underway. Faced with a proposed cut of in excess of $1 Billion in State aid and taxpayer's fed up with rising property taxes, school boards around the State are preparing for school budget cuts for which the word "draconian" was invented. Yes, the word has been overused, and politicians and school boards and administrators have been known to cry wolf in the past. But it looks like things are different this time around and it appears that hopes for an 11th hour bailout from Albany or Washington are illl-advised. And -- at least in NYS -- the worst may be yet to come as Federal stimulus money will dry up next year (FY 2011/2012) in New York.</p>
<p>Reading various newspapers from around the State, it looks like many school districts will try to close the gap between anticipated revenue and expenses by closing schools, laying off teaching staff, eliminating or curtailing sports and extra-curricular activities and eliminating academic programs, including AP and other non-Regents courses.</p>
<p>In our small Upstate district we are looking at all of the above, in addition to tightening up on an already lean administrative staffing structure and cutting bus transportation options. How is your district seeking to manage its shrinking resources without raising local property taxes 10, 15 or 20% to close the gap? How are/will parents in your community react when they are told there will be no football/school play/marching band/summer school/AP biology and US History/SAT prep/etc.?</p>
<p>I realize that some parts of the country began experiencing dramatic slashes in school budgets last year. I also have read that in many states the Federal stimulus funds for education will expire with the current school year. So what NYS is experiencing has already occured elsewhere. I am curious as to how public school districts in those parts of the country have coped, or will cope, with the impact of the "Great Recession."</p>
<p>Our state system has started school furloughs for 2009-2011, so we have the fewest school days in the entire US! The legislature, governor & teachers’ unions can’t agree how to fix it & the kids are getting further & further behind!</p>
<p>When the discussion of cutting AP’s came up, I quickly pointed out that they cost no more than any other course (our students must pay for the tests if they want to take them). Thus, one AP teacher to ~35 kids, which is no different than a college prep or high school credit-only course. Since the cost to the district is a teacher’s salary…</p>
<p>Our school system pays for AP exams. I wonder how much longer that will last.
They talked about cutting middle sch. sports last year but didn’t.</p>
<p>It’s no huge headache to lose AP classes. The students who want them can simply take the honors level (or whatever top level is offered for that subject) and self study for the CLEP exams. CLEP exams are produced by College Board (the same folks who offer AP exams) and most colleges accept them for college credit just like APs. I’m personally stunned that any high school offers AP exams for free to it’s students but then I’m constantly amazed at how my local school board decides to spend MY tax money.</p>
<p>Our school paid for the AP exams until this year. Now that the parents pay for the AP exams, I can’t see how offering them costs any more than offering a regular or honors class.</p>
<p>We are also going to go through deep budget cuts.</p>
<p>We have been pay for play for many years and that extends over to bank camps and various other ECs. Clubs pay for their own bus transportation and do not use “school” buses. We have never had “test prep” classes. Kids have paid for AP Tests and we are a USNWR ranked system. There are “scholarships” for kids with financial need for many of these “pay” activities. Classrooms are not cleaned every night. Retiring teachers are not immediately replaced. Some administrative positions have moved from full-time to part time. I think the OP will find that if all these types of things have been covered by the school they are in a minority around the country. All systems are hurting these days, so if you care about how the budget is formulated and how the money is spent it is good to stay on top of it and engage with your school governing body.</p>
<p>In Maryland, we pay for all AP tests. In addition, there is an EC fee that covers costs for extra curricula activities. Thus, I don’t see why Maryland would cut these. Frankly NY could implement the same system.</p>
<p>We just moved to Michigan and our schools are all in big trouble budget-wise. Our school district formed a budget task force with parents, teachers and board members to come up with a list of ideas for cuts/revenue boosts. I think it’s a good way for parents to have some input. The task force just gave their report to the board - obviously some of the ideas won’t work as well as others but at least there is some input with ranked ideas. It will be interesting to see what happens next.</p>
<p>Sometimes systems send a “warning shot” message out partially in hopes of helping the public understand the severity of the system and sometimes to soften the actual changes that are coming. It is never a bad idea to get involved and it is great that the school system above engaged a task force.</p>
<p>We have pay for play as well, although some PTAs donate money for FRL students to take AP tests ( otherwise $85)
Some schools, including elementary schools, have parents raising money to pay for math curriculum, drama, arts and other " extras".
PTAs have gotten into the bad habit of even paying for teachers which lets the district off the hook re: budgeting, also some schools barely have PTAs, let alone ones that can raise money for programs every year.</p>
<p>Our school system needs to cut 88 to 100 million by next year out of about a one billion dollar budget. Other school systems in Metro Atlanta are in dire straits as well.</p>
<p>Teachers will be (in many systems already have been) furloughed and programs will be cut. Class sizes will be larger as well. One child graduates this year, another will be in private school next year and the baby is still in elementary school, which still should be ok.</p>
<p>Our school district send surplus money to state because Robin Hood plan in Texas every year. They are still building new schools every year and filled up quickly. They send kids to out of state for UIL music competition. They are wonderful and I have no complain.</p>
<p>A 2005 report on the College Board website states that 70% of AP teachers hold a masters degree, vice 38% in general. Incentive to gain that additional degree has been given for many years by school districts by offering higher salary for those degree holders.</p>
<p>Our Maryland school district of ~26,000 kids has a $2M shortfall. There’s currently outrage among the parents because Indoor Track, freshman football, and freshman basketball are on the chopping block. </p>
<p>Only a fraction of the outrage is about losing the sports. Most of it comes from learning that these sports even had a budget. As long as we’ve been in the county all the admins have said that the HS sports programs are completely self-funded and self-sufficient through pay to play; i.e., no county budget dollars. So imagine how hard it hit to see these programs are about to get the axe. We feel lied to.</p>
<p>Indoor track costs the county $32,000 per year for about 500 athletes. Feshman sports cost $92,000. Parents and citizens are trying to save indoor track through private funding. Freshman sports don’t seem to have the same momentum behind them. Last week’s blizzard canceled a budget hearing. So now we’re in a holding pattern waiting for the next move. :(</p>
<p>California’s public schools have been struggling with this for years. In addition to laying off employees, reducing salaries, and increasing class size, parents are being asked to make up the difference. Most schools in our district now have Foundations that beg for money from parents year round to provide some of the extras, like music programs, technology, and extended library hours.</p>
<p>Students who ride the bus to school now pay double. Most extracurricular activities ask a student to pay their “fair share” to participate – often $450 and up for a sport, plus an additional $90 transportation fee. Teachers routinely beg for basic class supplies such as ink cartridges, paper, pens, tissues, sharpies, etc… Otherwise, it comes out of their pocket. </p>
<p>I believe next year we may have less class days. The financial crisis may be considered an “emergency” that excuses a district from providing the state-mandated 180 days of instruction.</p>
<p>At a very basic level, this reflects on how much society values education.
Our urban district had a number of school closings a couple of years ago and now is ready to close more. The cost of maintaining under-utilized buildings is just too high. Unfortunately, this means mixing neighborhoods, and some people believe that this will lead to fights. I think that people need to just grow up and get along, especially the adults! Additionally, teachers get cut every year and unfortunately it is a last hired- first fired situation. Parents understand that positions must be lost but get upset about who is let go - often the enthusiastic, young teachers who run ECs for no extra pay whatsoever. Without any meaningful evaluation for teachers, the “widget effect” takes hold and teachers who should have been let go years ago continue incompetently, while other teachers are phenomenal and get no recognition whatsoever.
Several years ago, our state legislature decided that a solution for the city’s fiscal woes was to take the school district’s surplus and give it to the city. Never mind that commuters, who use police protection, road plowing, and all kinds of other expensive services during the day pay nothing in income taxes to the city and pay only $52 a year for a commuter tax. They use way, way more than that. This also was limited by the state legislature, which is dominated by suburban and rural legislators.
I was recently shocked to learn what teachers’ contributions are to health care - something like $100 a year. I work for a healthcare organization and pay over $400 a month toward my coverage. Additionally, the legacy costs are outrageous. Pensions are based on the average of their final three years, so they pad the final three years with coaching and other extra pay opportunities to get a higher pension. You can’t blame the teachers who do this if the system is set up like this.
Special ed costs are much, much higher in urban areas because so many more students are identified. It is politically and legally impossible to cut these costs. Meanwhile, charter schools can simply not accept these kids.
Parents, advocate for APs, ECs, sports, etc.! These are investments in our future. We may have to raise the money ourselves, but we must keep these opportunities for our kids.
And, if you think education is expensive, try ignorance!</p>