Leave no Child Behind!
I usually just write about Main Street but our editor and publisher knew that I have grandchildren in school and an concerned with some of the issues before the school board. It is at their request that I submit my comments regarding the St. Charles School District.
Wasn’t that the battle cry that helped to land “W” in the White House? Yet it appears that our school system is ready to do just that. Why? Because school board after school board refused to look at the fact that just because that is the way it has been done for years doesn’t mean it must be right. The school boards of past made that mistake and this one might have a chance to right some wrongs. Let’s get down to business:
1st If the High Schools have fewer kids why the need for three principles, a secretary for the head principle and a school resource officer? Let’s take one principle out of each high school and save some money.
2nd If the school district is getting smaller, why is the school district administration getting larger? The fact is, school boards have been hesitant to decrease administration but more than willing to cut the number of teachers. Let’s cut out 15 percent to 20 percent of the administration budget and get them working harder with less. After all, isn’t that is what they tell the teachers?
3rd Why did the district hire a person who would cut teachers in favor of adding administrative staff? This school board needs to look at what the schools are supposed to do, educate kids and work from that premise forward. Take the budget and ask, does this educate kids? Does this increase test scores? If there isn’t a clear answer than cut it.
4th The proposed plan calls for numerous different schemes that bus kids across town? How can that be a savings to the district? One of the biggest costs is transportation.
5th Let’s cut the teacher planning by one day a week. That way there are more teachers available to teach classes without adding cost. Study Hall can be a time for the teacher to grade and plan. I am sympathetic to teachers but they have to realize with school boards and administrations that are openly trying to cut them out, they need to give a little.
6th School Board President John Smith needs to focus on the School District and stay out of City Politics and hate papers. Maybe if Smith spent as much time on the school district budget as he does palling around with the likes of TR Hughes and Ed Watkins he would see that he is part of the problem with his inaction.
I will continue to offer suggestions to the school board over the next few months. One thing they really need to be reminded of is the cost of running an election. To attempt to have two issues regarding taxes in one election cycle is suicide for both issues. Pick one and run with it first.
Please school board members, realize that these are our kid’s lives that you control. If you begin to experiment and it fails you have failed the thousands of kids you profess to care about. Superintendent Cale is not all knowing and really hasn’t thought this past the next five years. Please don’t just listen to them, take this district apart, and find the waste that exist and cut it. Don’t start with the teachers that touch the kids. That approach has been tried and failed, start with those who are “overhead” and cut them, if after all those cuts are made and you still need to find more money than ask the people. Cutting teachers is not the answer it won’t raise test scores it won’t fulfill the true reason we have schools. You are in a unique position, take that budget and go line from line and ask what does this do for the kids? If the answer is not enough get rid of that cost and move to the next. I would bet if you took the budget you would find that this district has been mismanaged by previous school boards who were merely a rubber stamp for administration and not an advocate for the kids.
