news-record.com

Health/PE is considered Encore in GCS and has already been cut to every other day in most middle schools. I would say get rid of transportation for our magnet programs, but the problem there is that we have to provided equal opportunity to education. That means if a kid can't afford to get to a school across town, he/she doesn't have "equal opportunity."

crazy,

You're not crazy. Yours is the sanest comment yet. Close all public schools. The amount of money saved would be staggering. Contract out education to private businesses. Look at our charter schools. Cost less and output a much more educated, fulfilled student.

The entire budget deficit would be solved in expedient fashion.

The crazy thing is to look at the results we've had so far (subpar results, inefficiency in spending, etc etc etc) and thinking it would be a good idea to increase taxes so we can continue throwing good money after bad.

The emotional havoc that is placed on our existing teachers who depend on thier jobs for their income and major medical insurance for their famalies is terrible. They are approaching the end of the school year and some of them do not know if they have a job or not. On the balance sheet, the state will take the "saved" income off of the educational column and transfer the income expense to the NC State Unemployent Compesation column and the Federal Stimulus Cobra reimbursement column. The expense for the state is still there, it is just moved around. And then there are the voters who objected to the lottery because of gambling and may have finally accepted it with reservations because it was for EDUCATION.

Leave the classrooms alone. We need good qualified teachers in the classroom to work with our kids. Cutting teachers will not help our kids only hurt the process. Its time for the County Commissioners and the School Board to figure this mess out.

Our kids are in classrooms that are way to crowded now, cutting the budget and cutting back on teaching staff is not the answer. If anything we need more teachers. Think about our kids and their education before you do something that we all will regret.

Budget cuts are a reality of an economic downturn. People think that if you kick and scream about cuts in the budget somehow the government can magically come up with more money. Problem is that education is an issue of state jurisdiction and the state government can't print money like the fed can.

Budget cuts are painful that's for sure. But they can be necessary when the money is simply not there.

"Virtual learning" is neither. Get real.

"the school board cut 145 to 150 positions by increasing class size by one student in next year’s budget"

How can this be?

Everyone would have to go to the same school, or mix grades and courses together.

Lets see. Suppose the average elementary school has 4 3rd grade classes each with 15 children.
What will increasing the class size to 16 accomplish. You will now have a class with 11 children and no teacher. I guess you could distribute the 11 in 4th 5th and 6th grade classes. Maybe they are fast learners.

You can't just move teachers and kids by numbers. There has to be logic to the assignments.
Grade,course,etc

Has any of this been thought through. Perhaps the PR lady or the statistics guy can explain how you do this.

It is not just a matter of number of students per teacher. The logistics are enormous

What am I missing.? Some one help me out here
I am serious. Someone explain this to me. Please

One word.

Leandro.

The courts have ruled that North Carolina schoolchildren have a Constitutional right to a sound basic education.

That's been defined by the courts as sufficient knowledge of math, science, geography, history, economics and politics as well as the skills to go to college or compete for a job.

Lay off teachers. Cut funding. Increase class size.

But keep in mind that no one, not a governor, not a school board, not a legislature, is above the law.

Cut enough and you will be in violation of Leandro and you will face a judge to explain why.

May 12th this newspaper printed an article entitled "Title I money too risky, district says" and the opening sentence in that article states, "Don’t look for more schools in Guilford County to be added to the Title I program, even if federal stimulus funding is available during a difficult budget year." That story kind of slipped under the radar because the article failed to really inform the reader what Title I funding is all about. Go back and read the article and you will see that school officials are hesitant to accept funding because they are afraid of what "MIGHT" happen if they fail to meet performance standards for two consecutive years.

I will reprint (actually a cut and paste job) some of my comments (and a few others that I just thought of) to that article to give a quick crash course on Title I funding, "Title I money is designed for schools who have a high percentage of students who eat free or reduced lunch. What are the unemployment rates in this county? The news that I've been seeing lately about unemployment rates in Guilford County leads me to believe that there just may be an increase in the number of children eating that free or reduced lunch since the economy took a nose dive. There doesn't necessarily have to be an increase in f/r lunch students at the schools that have traditionally been Title I. The May 12th article says that the number of Title I schools in the school system could increase from currently 46 to 50-65. How many dollars does that translate to? One would think that our school officials would have their hands outstretched for these Title I funds.
Title I funding actually provides the following benefits for schools: teachers can be HIRED to lower student-teacher ratio, tutors can be HIRED to help students in need of additional assistance, teacher assistants can be HIRED, schools can add to or create computer labs, instructional materials can be bought, and schools can add pre-k classes. In addition, funds are available for activities that include and encourage parental involvement. Some of this seems like job retention and some seems like job creation, but when we are looking at instances when officials are talking about reducing class size, does it make sense to ignore all available funding options. The services at a Title I school are available for ALL students at that school. This means that just because Baxter eats a free lunch at Title I School X, if he doesn't need Title I services (tutoring), he doesn't use the available services. By the same token, even if Julia pays full price for her lunch at Title I School X, if she needs tutoring or other special services offered by Title I, she is able to enjoy those benefits. This paper printed an article stating that GCS graduates were less prepared for college than other large urban areas in the state. A little Title I money and the benefits that it offers could go a long way in bridging that gap.
The only fly in the ointment (so to speak) with Title I funding is that if schools fail to meet standards for achievement, students may request to transfer to another school with the school system providing transportation. School officials appear to have been worried more about FUTURE PROJECTED transportation costs. What is the status of our schools that administrators are considering turning down federal dollars? GCS is still trying to find $2M to pay back to the state and yet they’re turning down money? Title I may result in some sanctions for failure to meet goals, but I don't understand why the school system is not willing to secure the funding and rise to the challenge.

I am an educator in Guilford County. The cuts that will result from the proposed state budget will make next year extremely difficult. But, the rippling effects will have a much more negative long term impact on teacher recruitment. Remember the teacher shortages in NC as recent as last year. Well, the economy will pick up. There will be jobs for these teachers who are being laid off and those students who will be attending and graduating from college. The ability to recruit qualified teachers into the profession is going to be damaged beyond repair. Other than having an impact on kids, two key enticements to attract college graduates and other professionals into education were the job stability and benefits. Well, trying selling that to an educated work force. And, I can't wait to hear Gov. Perdue and other state legislatures talk about how education is a priority when election time rolls around. Every one who is concerned about the education of our children must contact their state representatives and express their concerns.

NC teachers and counselors are seriously underpaid already, our entire education system is broken and I doubt it can be fixed at this point. We need to completely revamp the system. I realize economic cuts need to be made, but do not sacrifice our children to do so. NC has always attacked the education system and teachers first when any money is involved, it is time for state leaders to understand educating our children is our only hope for the future. There is terrific waste of resources at the state level, and many other areas that could be cut financially. In response to those who support eliminating double dippers, many of these retirees must continue to work to survive financially. These teachers are valuable because of their years of experience. Lateral entry employees should be screened very carefully, some of them do not understand how to manage the classroom.

I feel that schools should cut back on days in school before cutting teachers out. Having school go all the way through June 15th is too long for most kids and families anyway. As a mom I want to have a long summer with my children. Many times there is some instruction but a lot of lag time within a traditional class room. So why not cut the long school day and the days in school to fit the budget? It seems like there would be a very positive response to well rested kids and teachers so that when they are together they can make the most of their instructional time and save on the budget? Seems like a much better choice then letting teachers go. Not to mention why should there be so much standardized testing? So much money is spent on testing that it seems redundant. Save money by testing every other year. Who makes the rules? We are smarter than this.