NEAT - info about SPPS budget: http://tinyurl.com/3gt66 _________________________________________
Chuck makes a good point about documenting unfunded mandates, staff time for grant applications and teachers' time on such tasks. Towards the end of Superintendent David Bennett's tenure (around 1990 or so), his staff assembled a document titled, "Ties That Bind". This document broke down and listed all of the mandates costing us money to implement but where no or insufficient funds were sent to carry them out. Many of them were in special education, a powerful group that fought for many of the changes although legislators withheld the money. There are certainly other mandates associated with facility operations, testing, background checks and other areas with a financial impact. I have asked for this document to be re-examined and updated, but there has been little enthusiasm or time on administration's part to do so. I believe I gave my copy (or asked administration to get a copy) to Mary Gilbert, our school district's lobbyist, to review and see what is still an issue, what's new since 1990, and what is no longer an issue. These are many of the hidden costs of district operations -- unfunded mandates, or adding district funding to programs that were initially begun or funded by grants, but that no longer receive grant funds. Teachers clearly have an added administrative burden in their jobs today -- the Profiles of Learning and work sampling added a big burden, and now accountability efforts and other standards require more documentation than before. This is not necessarily all bad, but does impact time and creativity that teachers could otherwise be putting towards direct instruction. Mandates or laws also restrict some of the things they once had authority to decide on their own, particularly in special education and in areas of discipline. My guess is you would get different opinions on the added time from different staff, depending on their subject area, age of students, school principal and other variables. It may be hard to quantify. I'm less familiar with the grant making staff, although as more and more grant funds are needed in tight budget times, I would assume more time and staff are needed for those purposes, measurable perhaps (or in theory) by how much they bring in that we otherwise wouldn't have. Good questions for us to think about, and ones that need further analysis, especially in today's fiscal environment. Tom Conlon School Board Macalester-Groveland OK, I have a question for our school board member/s on the list. Has the district ever broken down how much of the budget is to pay for "unfunded or under funded mandates?" Also have we ever broken down how much of the budget is paid for support staff who's job is to fill out the forms necessary to get Federal or State dollars? Staying on the train of thought have we ever tried to compute how much of a teacher's time is spent on those tasks? _____________________________________________ SPPS Budget Reduction Forum - Feb. 23-27 Co-Sponsored By NEAT: http://www.stpaulneat.org/ _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
