On anoother post Anonymous wrote in reference to a Trib article at http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_698426.html:
"Pittsburgh Public Schools Board may use $18 million in reserve ...
Pittsburgh Public Schools could use nearly $18 million in reserve funds to help balance its 2011 budget, according to preliminary data presented to the ...
www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/.../s_698426.ht...
Oh the money woes.
This desrves a failing Grade?"
On the August "Start a new topic" Anonymous wrote:
Pittsburgh Public Schools Board may use $18 million in reserve funds
To cut costs next year, the district will need to be "more aggressive" with furloughing teachers due to declining enrollment and could replace only half of the retiring teachers, Roosevelt said. An average of 150 teachers have retired in each of the past eight years, he said
This makes no sense at all-he wants to hire new teachers for teacher academy and have more non-teaching positions!
What about Central ADM needs to have cuts in staffing and grant money that flows like a running river goes to needless programs?
Moreover, is this a tax increase-where teacher salaries are paid.
How about pay freezes or wait-a CONSULTANT GROUP TO be hired at a hefty sum to cut the pps board AD? Where is the PFT with this statement?
We only started THIS School year? Take the millions wasted on summer programs and be creative to get the bucks for the regular school year.
Ask Warren Buffett for the money.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_698426.html
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19 comments:
Shouldn't the reserve be for the equivalent of a family losing jobs or having its house burn down-
ie, for extraordinary events like the state suffering a fiscal crisis and not making expected payments to the district, unforeseen maintenance issues or the district having to pay a large liability judgement that insurance will not cover in full?
Under John Thompson we had something like an $80 million surplus, half of which was set aside for a rainy day. Now we have an administration that has overspent that surplus, much like Bush did nationally over 8 years of chaos. You see what that type of fiscal mismanagement has done for our country, and it seems that Roosevelt will turn to a teacher furloughs as a cure-all for shortsightedness.
I'm wondering when Andy Sheehan or his counterparts will launch a thorough, in-depth investigative piece into this district's spending. They should start in examining why the need for so much personnel NOT in the classroom. They should then look at consultants.
But the word from the district is that there was a $73M projected deficit when Roosevelt took over.
Is there a reliable source for this information?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39046303
According to this it was 73 million in 08-09
The article noted immediately above says PPS savings were 75M in 2008-09. Use of reserves was not mentioned as a possibility when other proposed projects were rejected as too expensive- such as a top rate CTE center, or renovation of Schenley. In the future, reserves may well be needed if the state adjusts its public school funding formula to take into account changes in enrollment in recent years.
Another reason reserve funds may be needed in the future would be if the district has an unexpected increase in charter school expenses. The appeal for a charter school in Hazlewood will be decided soon, another existing charter school is hoping to expand, and the federal government strongly favors expansion of charter school options.
As a teacher who lost their job because of declining enrollment, how does the Board give Mr. Roosevelt a $15,000 bonus for stopping the decline in enrollment and then produce this announcement that we're going to get larger classrooms BECAUSE of declining enrollment?!
Where's the media on this? Where's the investigative reporting into where all of this money is going?
How about some "accountability"?
If nobody knows what that word means I'm sure it's in one of the thousands of volumes of curriculum we buy each year that gets shelved before the plastic wrap hits the floor.
Why are there 2 personal meetings in September? I thought the board usually had 1.
I have always questioned the explosion of the number of people at central office, especially since the number of social workers, counselors and librarians were all cut from the schools. It makes my job harder. But to be fair, I think the surpluses that Thompson had were because of tax increases. I don't think we have had any tax hikes since he got here from "Tax-a-chusetts".
Jumping on the "to be fair" from the previous anonymous, there has not been a tax increase under Mr. Roosevelt. Fiscal responsibility rules the day everywhere except in staffing. Commendable are moves such as the solicitor aggressively persuing a correct assessment of the casino and all the attention being paid to change orders on projects. Unfortunately, The right people have not gotten the message that NOBOBY SHOULD BE HIRED INTO ANY PPS POSITION unless they have direct daily contact with students. Initiative should show results within a reasonable timeframe, for example, the PRC.
I agree wholeheartedly with Anon2.
Ditto! Amen! It bears repeating_____ with pressure brought to bear on Board and Superintendent!
Question: ARE THERE ANY PPS SCHOOLS___ WHO WERE UNDERACHIEVING OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS____ THAT HAVE IMPROVED TO THE POINT WHERE THEY ARE MEETING THE MINIMUM PA TARGET___FOR BOTH BLACK and WHITE STUDENTS?
The question may be rhetorical_____but the answer will speak loudly to the success or lack thereof for improving academic achievement in a District where millions are being spent to sustain adult agendas.
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT for PPS students MUST BE the only AGENDA!
Just academic achievement as measured by standardized tests- or also the type of skills that City Charter HS includes, such as job readiness (how to interview, keep a job, etc.) and life readiness (how to budget, avoid credit card pitfalls, etc.)?
Are these skills cited not a part of the broader curriculum? Standardized tests are just basic reading and math skills_______Success in school includes far more than these basics_____which should be the minimum foundation. Certainly, we could create a substantial list of skills needed for "achievement." Do we know what else is missing______beyond minimum reading and math standards?
We seemed to have morphed away from budget to discussing what achievement means beyond the test results so I will jump in here to discuss social studies curriculum. We are not serving our graduates well in that area. In talking to only a few college freshman I think I am expressing their opinions diplomatically when I say they feel they are already behind their peers in classes where government, gobal economy, international politics, etc. is the topic. It has been fairly well known that Schenley/IB and Allderdice produce students who are more "with it" in terms of social awareness and kids may be gaining in that area using out-of-the-classroom time. How can this disparity be eliminated? If it is club time that expands a kid's knowledge in areas that will be critical beyond high school might Saturday or Sunday clubs be the answer? Sports practices and games already prevent students interested from taking advantage of the few after school enrichment opportunities, so weekends it is!! Did somebody say PILOT? Sounds like a chancefor a student to do a grad project. Don't you think this is something Arne would endorse?
Until everyone (or almost everyone) is "proficient," there will probably not be too much emphasis on the global economy, etc.
Everyone will never be proficient. Sad.
The precise skills needed to be "proficient" are the same exact skills that should be taught in Social Studies (ie. global economy) Science, Arts, etc.
Isolating the skills in the effort to teach to the test is the reason they are not being learned by students. "Proficiency" will be acquired very quickly when the skills are understood by teachers and students as skills needed to be successful in life and in ANY and ALL academic content!
Tackling the "global economy" content____ using skills needed for "proficiency" _____is precisely what must happen in all classrooms.
Teaching and learning for "proficiency" skills MUST be done ALL content areas. It CAN and MUST be done, situationally and textually, with RELEVANCE to the world in which students live!
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