Let me be up front- we don't want to consolidate our elementary schools. And we REALLY don't want our 5th graders sent to NAMS, whatever efforts staff might make to keep them separate from the 7th and 8th graders. The district's proposal for cost cutting includes a 4-day week schedule for the 2012-13 school year, and I thought, "Why don't we just do this next year? They estimate it will save .7 million a year, and shutting down Fir Grove, Takena, and Fairmount will save an estimated .4 million. Our schedule is so messed up as it is, a more consistent calendar might be an improvement". I taught in the Central Linn school district for a year, so I had firsthand knowledge of how the schedule worked. So I started doing a little research. I wish there were more comprehensive studies out there, but the studies that are out there indicate that the positives of a four-day week outweigh the negatives. Look on the 4-Day week information page for links to research briefs and articles on the subject.
I am in complete agreement that contacting our representatives and securing more funding for the schools, is the only way to find a permanent solution to the funding crisis that all of the school districts face.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that a local option would prevent the schools in our district from closing. While a local option also sends the message to the state that schools are important to us, it may also send the message that the state needs to do nothing as the communities will take care of the problem for them. I am certain that the latter is not something we want to promote.
It seams to me, as a parent, that the state spends a lot of money on things which are far less important than schools. Contacting our representatives will only go so far because most of the time someone else reads the letters for them. Perhaps it is time to take a leaf out of the play book from Tunisia, Egypt or Jordan. We all laugh at the French but, quite honestly, if this was happening there the whole country would come to a stand still until it was resolved.
Perhaps that is what is needed, a nice orderly protest at the state capital.
Thoughts Please
Simon, thanks for all of your comments. Yes, a permanent solution is needed! All of the cuts that our district is facing are merely bandaids. The board told us that legislators will listen to us (parents) more than the administrators, so we have to try. We do need to go and protest. Not next week, though, I have to teach art :).
ReplyDeleteRegarding the local option- This is easier said than done. Not impossible, but improbably. First off, the deadline to get on the ballot is mid-March, I believe. Second, Linn county's unemployment rate is around 14%, and not likely to get better any time soon. With high minimum wage and higher unemployment insurance costs, we very well could lose more jobs. Thirdly, at the North Albany Elementary meeting Liisa Reid said that only about 25% of voters have a stake in the schools (are a parent or relative of a GAPS student). That means we would have to convince the other 75% that the bond measure would be worth their money, which would be particularly hard, I think, since we recently passed the bond for physical maintenance and improvements.
All that being said, it could be worth a shot. A lot of work if you're willing to take it on. Ms. Reid has experience working on local options campaigns, so she would be a good person to talk to.
I'm going to repeat a comment that I heard from someone else because I thought is was a great point: If we close schools so soon after passing a bond to build a new school and fix older schools (including the scheduled-to-be-closed schools), it sends a terrible message to voters. We will most likely lose voter confidence, and passing any sort of bond will be difficult to impossible for many years in the future.
ReplyDeleteThat said, my understanding is that Corvallis is avoiding major cuts because the voters there passed an option. I would vote for it! I also agree that a long term fix needs to be made at the state level. Sign me up for that field trip...