ATLANTA - Georgia schools Superintendent Kathy Cox says the schools will have a "pretty rocky couple of years" before state education funding improves.
Cox said during a meeting Friday that she expects to have to cut up to another $39 million from school funding before the fiscal year ends June 30. That would be painful for the state's 180 school districts, which have already lost millions in funding as the state grapples with the worst fiscal crisis in decades.
It could mean more layoffs, more furlough days and even larger classes.
Cox spoke to the annual joint meeting of the Georgia School Boards Association and the Georgia School Superintendents Association in Atlanta.
Comments
So where is all that lottery money going? Maybe they could actually start charging a fee to all those parents who do not own property and pay no property taxes to support the local school systems and y et still get free education. Better yet, if the state would cut funding for Peach Care and other state fun welfare programs they could divert the money where it is needed most, such as education.
Well, please do not cut programs for academics!! We can get by without elaborate sports programs. But, we need our kids to have skills to go to college.
Yeah, I fully realize how important sports are, but it does make you wonder how much money could be saved if all the high school sports were shelved for the next 2 years. Course, that opens up an entirely new set of problems as far as the kids who are counting on excelling in sports in order to garner a scholarship. Very hard. How much could they save if they just dropped middle school sports teams for 2 years? Just a thought...I know it's not a very popular thought, but it's just a thought.
AMEN collette and just, i have been saying that all along, the reason georgia(hey ms. cain i am not the only one complaining avbout the runaway spending habits of rich cnty BOE and the state DEPT OF ED) and rich cnty are near of at the bottom academically is the over emphasis on sports while cutting teachers, parapros, bus drivers and any other personel directy related to education. colette and just, ms. cain told me to speak to the parents of athletes and get their opinion regarding shelving the sports programs....this is the sorry state of affairs at the state dept of education, school board and the county....it's always tax the citizens for existing useless and ineffective programs or to develop more programs aimed at the "at risk" youths meanwhile teachers, parapros and bus drives are laid off, not enuff supplies/textbooks but the sacred cow of sports is not touched, as a matter of fact money is found to build athletic venues for schools with low graduation rates, except for johnson/davidson high schools that failed to meet ayp and the 6th highest percentage of black male dropouts of all the school dist IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY, but ms. cain thinks everything is just hunky dorrey
It is truly sad to think that our leader couldn't figure out somewhere else to cut, rather than cutting the investment in the future.
Cuts are coming has the economy shrinks. The BOE needs to get its head out of the sand and get back to the core of the task they were elected and paid to do ... All that is heard from The BOE administration is what they have to endure in the current economy ... Maybe its time to find administrators that can make what they have work ... The budget cushion is gone for now, what we need are leaders and decision makers ...
gargoyle ... I agree that cuts are coming. However, I believe those cuts should have some forethought before they are made. It's easy for some adminstrator to sit at his/her desk and with a stoke of the pen slash a budget ... it's done every day.
What isn't so easily is to take the time and plan exactly what needd cutting and what may actually need to be increased ... with the over all results being a balanced budget.
The school may still have some waste that needs to be cut out ... but I haven't seen much forethought into actually only getting the waste.
We need to look to the future and prioritize each project, then give the existing money out according to what the priority of that project is. It seems to me that educating our young people should be fairly high on that priority list ... our future depends on it ... but I don't think our leaders have the same priorities as I do.
Exactly ... We need leaders
Kathy, how much is your salary getting cut and say again how many furlough days you are taking?
I see plenty of areas that could be cut - middle school sports, useless graduation coaches that are now called Intervention Specialist in the middle schools, free and reduced lunch (lunch for week is less than 10 bucks if you pay and don't whine to me about if you got three or four kids YOU choose to have them so feed them), "treats" for the "bad" kids because they are misunderstood, two counselors when ONE can do the job in middle schools, cutting school back to four days a week extending the day, after school programs that are nothing more than babysitting for those that don't want to send their kids to day care after school (once again YOU choose to have them). I am sure I will get some flax about how parents depend on free and reduced lunch blah blah. I have seen plenty of APPROVED forms come across my desk for kids whose parents live in neighborhoods I CAN'T afford to live in. We are talking $200,000 homes. If a child is REALLY in need then by all means give them free or reduced lunch but if your address is in a $200k subdivision then something is wrong with this picture. People choose to have children and should be prepared to support them NOT the schools.
Do you know how much money middle school athletics gets from the state?.........zero...............The county (Columbia) funds coach's stipends and not from state money. Zero dollars come from the county for athletic equpment, etc.
Who pays for the gas in the bus to drive kids to events? In fact where do the buses come from that drives the kids to the events at other schools? What about the teacher's that are FORCED to work these events without being paid when we would rather be home after working 8 plus hours already? Regardless if it is from the state or county it is still money spent on a sports program that in this time of economic hardship we can do without. So you would rather a family not be able to make all their bill payments than cut out a football program??? I think if everyone has to take a hit then drastic times calls for drastic measures. It is not forever!! If it helps out with the money woes of the schools then I say I am all for it.
One thing I agree with Scooby- there are BILLIONS of dollars spent on "at-risk" children, where the ones that could benefit the most from enriched programs and special attention are ignored.
I think the biggest problem will be good teachers leaving the profession. I know that my husband and I are both teachers and we lost a total of almost 400 dollars a month to the furlough days. That is a lot of money to loose! Now a salary cut and furlough days? We won't be able to meet the bills so at least one of us will have to find new employment with a higher salary. This is where the true problems occur. The best teachers will be leaving because they can't afford to stay. People don't want to become teachers now and this will discourage them even more. There are plenty of things to cut...how about the superintendents conference that is going on now. I am sure that was a pretty penny for both counties!
Corgimom - I AGREE 100%!! I am so tired of so called under privilaged kids coming in with $100 tennis shoes on getting all the enrichment programs. While the gifted, above average, and average kid are told to just suck it up. I have taught gifted students who are bored out of their minds yet I have no materials to "enrich" their minds. They have even gotten so lazy that when I have given extra on the side assignments they don't do them. I guess the systems figures since they are already smart why waste the money. Let's not forget the intervention specialist who sits in her office all day on the computer.
Graduation coaches in the middle schools not necessary. Also, two guidance positions in the middle schools not necessary. In addition, if there are any more half day furlough days, the middle schools teachers will get off at noon.
SO if I am correct, we are increasing accountability by changing the new evaluation process (class keys), requiring teachers to maintain a portfolio proving their worth, increasing class sizes beyond belief, with limited or no supplies (not even copies or paper). Classes without enough books, harsh administrators, who are being dumped on by their new executive directors of schools. Endure extremely harsh days with parents who think their little darlings can do no wrong and students who are aggressive and disrespectful, but can not be disciplined because each teacher is told if they send these students to the office it will be documented on their evaluations. NOW we are lowering their pay and furloughing them further... and we expect student to get a better education and meet AYP... teacher morale has to be so low by now that they don't even care anymore... I agree, teachers will be so leave at enormous levels... then who will be there to teach the students.... something has go to give... educators deserve to be able to support their families, and earn a salary deserving of the educational stature... Is any one paying attention? we need a union, AFT ..NOW
Those I know who have chosen to home school have been very pleased with the results. I have seen how well these kids do in college and in the work place. Each one I have met have tons of social skills and are much more mature. You can't solve all the school problems but maybe you can fix your family with home schooling. I haven't anyone that did home schooling that regrets it just like I can't find a working mother who quit to stay home with her children who regrets it. A peaceful, low stress home is a wonderful thing. I am sure there are exceptions but I don't know about them.
Joy and peace beats money for toys and entertainment hands down.
Soldout, you are on the right track. Who wants to work to just pay for material things, you can't take them with you to heaven. And the people with real money are not flashy. Good for you that you have your priorities straight!!!
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