Here's something to throw into the discussion of Minneapolis school budget cuts:
This was my experience with the survey (which I think was a good idea in principle): I started to fill out the survey on the MPS web site, but for some reason it saved my survey before I had reached the requisite $30 million and wouldn't let me back in to revise it. (Perhaps the MPS computers are taking revenge for those mean things I've been writing about computers lately.:)) Before the survey disappeared, I was able to note that the "site" allocations for individual schools may be cut by $4 million. Ouch! It wasn't totally clear in the survey, but I understand that this fund allows schools to buy extremely basic things like textbooks and paper. And, contrary to Dan Maguire's commentary in the Strib, art and music do compete directly with computers for money from that fund, according to the principal at my child's Minneapolis elementary school. I hope our principal recognizes that she can cut back on the computer teacher's time and lose no benefit to young children. It should be left to the teachers - not a pre-determined computer schedule -- to decide when to use computers for age-appropriate academic objectives. I hope that next year, I won't have to argue with the school that drawing with a mouse and typing are not important basic skills for a six-year-old, requiring weekly or daily attention. Anyhow, faced in the survey with cutting funds for individual schools or early childhood education, buses to high school, or teachers, I sure wondered if there were other options. A couple of list members seem to be wondering if there's a slush fund somewhere. If there is, it sure would be helpful to know about it now. Maybe that could help solve our budget woes, especially if we also get some new people in state government. I have two questions I hope somebody can answer: 1) I heard that, at the first public meeting on the budget, one member of the citizens' advisory committee on budget cuts said the survey does not place all possible budget cuts on the table. Does anybody know what items he was referring to as "not on the table?" 2) Given recent rumblings in the legislature, what are the chances that Minneapolis won't actually have to cut $30 million? Heather Martens Kingfield (currently experiencing the California school system) _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
