Overlooking all the chest-thumping and finger pointing that will begin to ramp up with the coming Budget Season -- here's a relatively straight-forward look at a serious budgetary indicator -- the amount the Town is paying to send Sandwich students to other public schools.
According to the Cherry Sheets, over the past five years that net expense has increased from almost $600,000 to almost $1,500,000 after State reimbursements.
You certainly can't fault the Charter Schools -- they are providing a product that people want. And, they have the luxury of being able to do it without the constraints of dealing with union nonsense, or without the requirement of offering multiple academic programs. If you want the curriculum they offer, feel free to apply -- otherwise, go elsewhere. They also have the benefit of motivated students and parents. It takes effort to apply to a Charter School and it takes motivation to travel long distances each day to a school building with limited facilities and limited extra-curricular options. Charters aren't for everyone - but those that choose to attend generally do well academically.
But -- the solution isn't to tear-down the Charters, it should be to build-up the local Public Schools. People need to believe that their local school system will provide the most advantageous educational experience for their student.
Choice Tuitions which are paid when a student chooses to go to another (non-Charter) Public School, are also an interesting indicator. The number of incoming students (and their related incoming tuition revenue) has steadily increased since FY '11. But, with the exception of FY 11, the number of outgoing students has also increased each year -- resulting in another growing expense each year.
The Choice program also has a little twist -- incoming revenue is paid directly to the School Department and controlled by the School Committee, BUT the expense for outgoing students is deducted from the State Local Aid payments which flows to the Municipal Budget -- as does net Charter Tuition Expense. This apparent inequity has obviously added to that amusing budgetary tension between the Town & School administrations.
The Million Dollar Question is -- The local School population has been shrinking and the Town's payments to other Schools (Charter/Choice/Regional) has been growing. What budgetary steps is the School District planning to take to get operating costs in line with the reduced population?
Will buildings be consolidated? If the Wing students were re-assigned, the other schools would still be less-crowded than they were a few years ago.
Will positions be eliminated? Less students should eventually mean less staff.
Have bus routes been reviewed and consolidated? Should we even be offering free transportation at the High School? There is no state mandate for high school transportation.
Have Sports & other extra-curricular programs been reviewed to determine if they are cost-effective in relation to the current student population and overall budget?
Has the cost of non-school use of school facilities been realistically reviewed and allocated to those benefiting from the use of the facilities?
Has every effort been made to encourage students to stay in the District and not flee to Charter or Choice Schools? (To be clear -- I support ENCOURAGING students to attend their local schools-- not DISCOURAGING them from attending other Public Choice/Charter schools.)
The STEM program would certainly be an encouragement -- How will the start-up cost issue be resolved.
The iPad distribution program could become an encouragement -- if the District can prove they really have been universally-incorporated into the classroom curriculum (by all staff) and are not being used by students to just photograph notes from the classroom whiteboard. The District also has to prove they can sustain the cost of the program. The last purchase was made with unbudgeted "surplus" funds. How will they fund acquisitions for next year's incoming students?
Given the current state of the Economy and the wide variety of capital needs competing for Budgetary prominence, it should be a veeeeery interesting Budget Season.
Tweet
8 comments:
I have a question. Where does the money go if the kid goes to a private school (PJP, BC High or CCA)? Is the money deducted or just not included? I have sent my kids to PJP because the bar has been consistently and frighteningly lowered at the public schools, and I don't see the level of student expectation rising any time soon. I think the teachers union has helped to twist the basics of education so badly that parents have had just about enough. That would explain the success of the charter schools.
in addition... it's not just the teachers union. The State and Federal requirements coming down are horrible for producing motivated, productive young people. The state just is a mess as to what they really want to believe in. I say Discipline the rotten, Motivated the average, Reward and Acknowledge the Exemplary.
Bob:
Terrific outline of the many school finance challenges facing our town boards; but not new news. Declining local enrollments has been noted and talked about for years. So too the steadily increasing cost of Upper Cape Tech and rising Sturgis assessments.
While some past school board members, including you and I, pressed for commensurate local school budget savings through field usage fees, modified bus routes, in-sourcing and out-sourcing, selling surplus property, and on and on, our voices and suggestions were almost always drown out and disregarded in favor of doing nothing and or maintaining the status quo.
Today, the local schools leaders are actually still suggesting that even more local school spending is the answer to the ever increasing costs of alternative schools despite massive student population declines. Apparently, we’re to believe that there is no savings to be realized in our school budget no matter how many fewer students our school district serves.
While it’s true that a quality education costs money and that communities must invest in their schools, it’s just as preposterous today as it was when we served on the school board for folks to assume that spending should have no limits and that prudent and rigorous expense management is only something that private sector, number crunchers need to understand. Perhaps this will be the year that everyone on the boards and in the schools finally appreciates that economics lesson?
5:37 -- The money doesn't go anywhere. If a kid goes to private school, his/her parents pay for it not the Town. The School Budget hasn't been based on the number of students enrolled -- just what it costs to operate the system.
Nowhere does the School Budget get reduced by $10,000 because a Kid decides to go to PJP.
The reduction of a handful of students makes no difference -- they still need to open the building and run the classrooms -- but the classes won't be as crowded.
I think the argument is by now, the student population has been decreased so dramatically that it is time to start eliminating jobs & closing buildings.
The Truth Maker would add his thoughts in regards to the above message. The powers in charge have a great deal of discussion to go through in the nect budget session and the earlier they start, the better.
The limited dollars being sought out by both the town and schools are once again in question and the recent announcements by the Governor will not make it any easier to balance our towns budget.
Many have stated over the years that we as a town need to dissolve our debts by selling off buildings not being used and that for me is a number one priority to get perhaps a little more tax dollars and stop with the grandstanding by some of the present selectmen in those types of matters, where we as a town can help ourselves a little more then we are now in bringing in more revenue to the town.
Where is the great Sandwich Economic Development Corporation in providing more capitol to our town? They appear to be full of promises[hot air] that so far have not measured up to the spin they have spun for well over 5 years.
Are they set up to help the town or themselves?
The previous school committee with all its conflictions have assured Sandwich that we all will pay the pied piper in matters of educating our children that will continue to have long reaching effects when it comes to educating the children in todays world.
Consolidation at the schools will be needed to affectively produce an progressive product that can compete with what is being offered by the outside world and this problem is at the feet of the local school union that controls,when, how, progress will be measured.
Time for changes that is for sure , but changes that can be measured in a progressive manner are our only hope as a town to survive the onslaught of individual back door proposals that weaken us as a town and forfilling any hope of progress that strenthens our town as a whole.
Of the 17 school districts sending kids to Sturgis only 2 school districts have never sent administrators or faculty to Sturgis to see how they operate and tour their facilities. Sandwich is one of the two districts that’s never toured the school and met the staff.
Sturgis builds a new building for $10 million and we think we need $40 million to fix or replace Wing. Think we’d have toured the new Sturgis Building by now? Nope – no one from our schools has been there and seen what it’s all about.
No gym facilities at Sturgis, no cafeteria, no bus service either. Think we’d have toured Sturgis and asked how they can make that work and why students and parents are ok with the limited service offerings? Nope – no one from our schools has been there and seen what it’s all about either.
It’s discouraging but not surprising to learn that the very people we’ve entrusted to educate our children and run our school system seem totally unable or unwilling to actually try to learn from an organization that’s drawing almost 33% of their applicants and 23% of their enrolled students from our town’s schools.. Isn’t that ironic? And doesn’t that same something about why folks who’ve been paying attention have lost confidence in our District?
Brillant observations 4:32 - thank you!
Why are Sandwich High School students required to take phys ed for all four years while Sturgis students don't have phys ed at all? Isn't this a state mandated requirement? Wouldn't Sturgis be required to meet the same regulations as Sandwich?
Post a Comment