On 6/30/04 3:50 PM, "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Board members say the bigger schools are more cost effective. Or could it be > that the district is simply able to cut more money budgeted for teachers by > closing the smaller schools? That would be the case if the average length of > service and salary of teachers who would be laid off at the small schools is > higher than at the bigger schools. I was under the impression that Minneapolis public school teachers enjoyed "bumping" rights through their contracts that would allow those teachers who have more service time to displace teachers with less service time when layoffs occur. If that's correct, then how would this save any additional money? Even if teachers at the small schools that get laid off make more money than the teachers at the larger schools, they could just bump their way back into a larger school and maintain their higher salaries. > The district hasn't actually come up with a detailed financial analysis to > show whether and why the small schools generally cost more to run per student. > One of the selling points for small schools is that money saved in > transportation costs can offset higher operating costs-per-pupil related to a > smaller economy of scale. All other things being equal, the smaller the > school, the smaller the attendance area, and the more students you have living > within walking distance or a short bus ride from the school. It's not that hard to figure out. Certain costs are fixed with regards to schools. You're going to need a principal and other administrative staff regardless of whether you have 80 students or 400. But spreading those costs over 400 students makes it cheaper on a per-student basis than spreading those costs over 80 students. So while it may well be true that having more smaller community schools can save on transportation costs, it seems either disingenuous or ignorant to suggest that "all other things being equal" because all other things are certainly not equal. That's not to say I favor closing small schools. I'm just saying this argument, along with the one above about teacher layoffs, doesn't do it for me. Also, in reference to the City Pages article about Peebles and the Broad Foundation, I thought this was interesting: "On the other hand, there isn't enough on the record to conclude that Peebles and other Broad alumni are swallowing the foundation's agenda wholesale. Even those with questions about Broad's agenda note that its pupils are accomplished professionals capable of ignoring bad advice. (Peebles, for example, is credited with raising test scores and sharpening discipline in failing schools in first Harlem and then Cleveland before encountering Broad.) And not all of the presenters at Broad's academy are grinding radical axes: Attendees have also heard from St. Paul Superintendent Pat Harvey and Minneapolis Federation of Teachers President Louise Sundin." Having been a volunteer with the St. Paul Public Schools for the past few years through a program at my office, I'm pretty comfortable that SPPS is not being run by whack jobs bent on destroying the public school system. Until I see something in Peebles' actions or statements that suggests otherwise, I'm going to be reasonably comfortable that MPS is not being run by whack jobs bent on destroying the public school system, either. Drawing tenuous connections to some foundation training she happened to attend isn't going to be enough for me. I could just as easily take an organization like the JFK School of Government at Harvard and say it turns out cookie-cutter liberal policy folks, so beware anybody who has that on their resumes! Until I realize that among their alumni are Lamar Alexander, Katherine Harris and Andrew Card... Mark Snyder Windom Park REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
