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Further cuts at schools weighed

Thursday, July 9, 2009

(Updated 1:34 pm)

By J. Brian Ewing
Staff Writer

GREENSBORO — Class size, bus stops and an employee dental plan are at risk as Guilford County school officials consider the latest round of budget cuts.

In an unusual summer budget workshop today, the school board will review $12.9 million in proposed reductions. Those cuts are in addition to the nearly $30 million already approved by the school board that included more than 300 teacher positions, administrative positions and programs.

Normally at this time of year, the budget is long settled and, usually, includes at least slight increases to accommodate growth and basic cost-of-living expenses.

But the legislature this year has yet to approve a budget that, in even under the best-case scenario, will mean several million dollars less for local schools this coming year.

The General Assembly is trying to bridge a $4 billion budget shortfall. Even an ambitious tax package being discussed would just cover $1 billion in new money.

The latest local proposal includes increasing class size by one student. While that doesn’t sound like a lot, the increase would cut more than $8 million from the budget. This would mean the school system could not rehire any employees whose positions were eliminated in earlier budget cuts.

Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green also is recommending phasing out the Home Field Advantage program after the 2009-10 school year.

That program provides busing for students at 11 elementary and middle schools.

The school board created the program to allow students at schools with high transfer rates to remain at their original school if they move during the year.

Officials anticipated the consistency of going to one school would help students keep up academically.

District buses take those students to the original school, regardless of where they move in the county.

School board member Paul Daniels has been hawkish about controlling transportation expenses. However, he said this cut is a hard one to make.

“A lot of the issues we have to deal with are issues of the heart and the head,” he said.

Daniels said the simple fact is that the school system will have a much smaller budget and cuts must be made.

If Home Field Advantage is eliminated, students who are currently enrolled will be allowed to continue at the school they are at, but parents will have to provide transportation to the school. This would save the school system $416,877.

Green also is proposing four other transportation related cuts, totaling nearly $1.6 million.

Those include consolidating bus stops and requiring some buses to run as many as three routes.

Some buses already run two routes, meaning they pick up children in the morning, drop them off at school then go back out and do it again. The buses do the reverse in the afternoons.

The additional routes eliminates bus drivers and would mean kids have to get to school earlier and then wait until later in the afternoon to get picked up.

The board will also weigh eliminating the International Baccalaureate program at Smith High School. There are 10 students enrolled in the rigorous academic program. Eliminating it would cut $73,500 from the budget.

There are IB programs at High Point Central, Page and Grimsley high schools.

Extended days could be stripped from Brooks Global and Johnson Street Global schools as well. Both schools have 200 class days, 20 more than the typical school calendar.

Johnson Street has seen limited academic growth but school board members argue the longer calender has been an important factor in the successes at Brooks Global.

“The additional days allow them to do some things that maybe get rushed through (elsewhere) because you don’t have those additional days,” said board member Nancy Routh.

Routh said she found several places where she thinks the board could cut rather than make all the cuts Green proposed.

Board Vice Chairman Amos Quick has proposed making cuts to police officers used at middle schools. It’s estimated the school system pays nearly $100,000 annually per officer. Those officers, Quick noted, are paid during the summer when students are not in school.

That proposal appears to have little support from other board members. Most argue eliminating the officers would make the middle schools unsafe.

“We have to get control of discipline first,” board member Garth Hebert said.

Even if Green’s proposals are approved, the school system projects it could still face a $2.8 million shortfall.

Green told the board he needs decisions on many of the proposals soon because most would require large coordination efforts and communication with parents.

The board is expected to vote on all or most of the proposals today.

Contact J. Brian Ewing at 373-7351 or brian.ewing@news-record.com

Accompanying Photos

Margaret Baxter (News & Record)

Want to go?

What: Guilford County Board of Education meeting

When: 11:30 a.m. today

Where: Boardroom of the administrative office, 712 N. Eugene St., Greensboro

What do you think?

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JustMy2Cents

July 9, 2009 - 8:11 am EDT

I think they need to take a new look at the transportation system! Transportation is important. . but there are buses that are far from full running around. And get rid of the hub system . .. it makes incredibly long bus rides for students. Fill the buses up!

rightwingnemesis

July 9, 2009 - 8:38 pm EDT

Take a look at the whole system and school board!
First of all, we can all agree that the school board is made up of arrogance and ignorance.
We can all agree that we've all had our lives touched by a teacher.
So where do we start?
I say the ballot box, but first we need to identify the REAL problems.

Rather than practice Chinese Water Torture, the board should have made serious, deep cuts at the outset. Instead, they chose to trim here and there and drag our wonderful teachers and other employees through a protracted effort of futility, all the while, acting important and relevant.

A couple of examples are the bizarre behavior exhibited by "Queen of Fluff", Kris Cooke, and Nancy "That's not the way we did it back in the good ol' days" Routh.

Cooke makes statements that are 'Kooky' and then turns them into questions when they go over like a lead balloon.
Routh wants to micromanage a modern day system like it was still a one room school house from a Laura Ingalls novel. It is sad to watch that lady slow down the process at each meeting, while other board members look on in disbelief.
WAKE UP FOLKS! WE CAN CHANGE THINGS IF WE PUT OUR MINDS TO IT!!

Like her counterpart, Mary Rakestraw, on the Greensboro City Council, Kris Cooke loves feeling important more than she loves anything else. She lives for ribbon cuttings but has disdain for parents and teachers. She'll feign interest only to drop her jaw and roll her eyes as she walks away from you. This is a sad group we have up there.

Throw into that group, Darlene Garrett. Representing the most affluent district, also the most "white", she has little concern for the poor or the downtrodden. They do not represent a big enough constituency for her to be bothered...so she'll waste money and time on a school (Oak Ridge) that scientists and epidemeologists have declared safe and clean. She has that luxury.

Folks, this drip, drip, drip of cuts and reductions is a symptom of a rudderless ship. Get rid of some of the deadwood when they run for re-election. Routh is a slug who slows down the process. Cooke is "Power Tripping" and truly believes she is relevant. Garrett spends money on minutia like pouring water down a toilet.

rightwingnemesis

July 9, 2009 - 8:48 pm EDT

UNCG will synchronize bus routes for the system and not even charge them for it. Then you wouldn't see buses going down the road with one or two kids in them. The arrogance of GCS's prevents them from even exploring that.
Outsource maintenance,and use outside HVAC contractors. The maintenance dept of GCS is a joke! While Kris Cooke and Darlene Garrett always blame the County Commissioners for cutting their maintanence funds, the fact is, the schools maintenance staff is filled with incompetent people! Cut top tier salaries 20% across the board! Anyone making over what the highest paid teacher makes should have a cut of at least 10%. Do you hear any board members making that suggestion??
NO.
Why not?
Because there is no leadership up there. Kris Cooke and Nancy Routh think they work for the administration and not the citizens of Guilford County--just watch one of their meetings and you'll agree. Only Paul Daniels asks decent questions of the administration and he gets ridiculed by other board members...mostly Cooke. Poor old Jeff Belton sits there like he doesn't know what's going on....because he doesn't know what's going on!

Watch a board meeting and you 'll have to agree. It is not a pretty sight.

llinda54

July 9, 2009 - 8:57 am EDT

I'm sorry but what ever happened to the North Carolina "EDUCATION lottery"??????????
where is all that money going to? We were promised it would go toward education (thus, the name) but so far all we've done is cut out programs, teachers and activities at the schools.

tatestreet

July 9, 2009 - 9:05 am EDT

Good question. One that I'm sure would be dodged.

tatestreet

July 9, 2009 - 9:03 am EDT

Amos Quick suggested cutting SROs DURING THE SUMMER WHEN STUDENTS ARE NOT IN SCHOOL! What is so hard to understand about what he said? SROs are given 12 months pay for 10 months of work.

Saltydog

July 9, 2009 - 9:08 am EDT

I think the county could save a lot of money in transportation. My middle school aged son must ride the bus to school for over an hour each day! He must travel to Ferndale Middle in downtown Highpoint from Skeetclub and Johnson street when the closest Middle school (South West) is just a mile from my home. I think the trek to Ferndale is on the line of 9 miles.

ginnydaley

July 9, 2009 - 9:56 am EDT

Seems like we can get more bang for our buck by increasing class size. If $8 billion can be saved by adding one student per class, then perhaps we should add 2 students per class and leave all the smaller ticket items alone. Not only is this more cost effective, it spreads the "cost" more equally rather than targeting special programs or groups of students.

tatestreet

July 9, 2009 - 10:06 am EDT

I think it's $8 million.

Wally43

July 9, 2009 - 10:51 am EDT

Increasing two students per class could mean cutting more full time teachers. One cut mentioned was the Home Advantage program which had a potential savings of $417,000. If the median teachers wage was $41,000 that could save 10 teacher's positions. Placing controls on the number of allowed "bus stops" could speed up the turn time of a given bus route and thereby possibly save money. I hope another option is asking the county for more funding after the school board finds out the final number from the state. I would hope the county commisioners value the education of our children enough to dig deeper into funding the school board.

liner

July 9, 2009 - 12:12 pm EDT

I don't see how increasing class size is really anything more than smoke and mirrors. For instance, let's say that an elementary school has 5 third grade sections with 20 students each. Increasing class size by one pupil per class leaves you with 4 classes of 21 and one class of 16. Not enough change to eliminate a class section. There are certainly schools where classes are small - maybe 3 sections of 12 students each - that could be consolidated into 2 sections of 18. I doubt that is the norm, however. This policy just couldn't possibly be implemented across the board at all schools at all grade levels.

dcolin

July 10, 2009 - 1:26 am EDT

You are absolutely correct.
I pointed this out a month ago.
It's BS.

It's based on average numbers of students per class over complete system
To make it work you need to combine schools.
That would be ridiculous.
Hey works with one big school

These people don't even understand simple arithmetic

sillybell

July 9, 2009 - 10:05 am EDT

When I rode the bus in the early 80's, we had a community bus stop that all the kids in the area had to get to before the bus did. If you didn't make it, you got left! Sometimes the driver would wait if he/she saw you running down the road but waiting was optional for them it seemed. Now, I get behind a bus and it stops and every dang house that has a rider even if the next stop is two houses down...arghhhh!!! Whatever happened to a BUS STOP? Bring it back and save money on the stop and go waste of fuel.

Port City Traveler

July 9, 2009 - 1:30 pm EDT

I agree with sillybell. The bus stop thing is crazy!!! The kids in my neighborhood are always late for the bus and when they see you waiting behind the bus, they walk more slowly and look at you like you're crazy. You want kids to lose weight, make the students who are physically able walk to limited bus stops again.

We have to teach the new generations about being on time and being responsible. When they miss the bus, leave them and contact their parents (at work) after the daily attendance is taken. We probably waste a lot per year on gasoline for idling buses waiting for late middle & high school students.

The magnet thing baffles me too. Where I went to school, if parents wanted their kid in a magnet school, the parents had to provide their own transportation. At my child's magnet school, most of the magnet students are dropped off and picked up by the parents or using carpools.

dcolin

July 9, 2009 - 2:04 pm EDT

Lets see
Fire real teachers.

Manny Bloom.
NW basketball coach.

ISS teacher.
Very questionable background and mislead school AD
High School Behavioral teacher with K-6 license.
Being Disciplined. Along with mysterious others?

“GUILFORD COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB TITLE: TEACHER-BEHAVIOR IMPROVEMENT (HIGH SCHOOL) ( Read the complete description )

Coordinates the ISS program as it relates to the achievement of the discipline plan

Bachelor’s degree in education or human services area with emphasis on K-12 social development

Some knowledge of the curriculum relevant to students grade level.

Ability to maintain order and discipline in a classroom.”

Education is a mess and we deserve it

rightwingnemesis

July 9, 2009 - 8:28 pm EDT

First of all, we can all agree that the school board is made up of arrogance and ignorance. We can all agree that we've all had our lives touched by a teacher. So where do we start? I say the ballot box, but first we need to identify the REAL problems. Rather than practice Chinese Water Torture, the board should have made serious, deep cuts at the outset. Instead, they chose to trim here and there and drag teachers and other employees through a protracted effort of futility, acting important and relevant. A couple of examples are the bizarre behavior exhibited by "Queen of Fluff", Kris Cooke, and Nancy "That's not the way we did it back in the good ol' days" Routh. Cooke makes statements that are 'Kooky' and then turns them into questions when they go over like a lead balloon. Routh wants to micromanage a modern day system like it was still a one room school house from a Laura Ingalls novel. It is sad to watch that lady slow down the process at each meeting, while other board members look on in disbelief. WAKE UP!
Like her counterpart, Mary Rakestraw, on the Greensboro City Council, Kris Cooke loves feeling important more than she loves anything else. She lives for ribbon cuttings but has disdain for parents and teachers. She'll feign interest only to drop her jaw as she walks away from you. This is a sad group we have up there. Throw into that group, Darlene Garrett. Representing the most affluent district, also the most "white", she has little concern for the poor or the downtrodden. They do not represent a big enough constituency for her to be bothered...so she'll waste money and time on a school (Oak Ridge) that scientists and epidemeologists have declared safe and clean. She has that luxury. Folks, this drip, drip, drip of cuts and reductions is a symptom of a rudderless ship. Get rid of some of the deadwood when they run for re-election.