Index of SPPS Budget Discussion
http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/spps-posts.html
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Terri -
I was delighted to see all of the questions you have asked
because it made me ask myself a few questions about the system.
Perhaps we can have a dialog that everyone will find useful. I
will answer your questions to the best of my ability and I ask
anyone else who has any questions or answers about this subject
to weigh in. A few of the questions are preceded by statements
that I will include, if they bear on the question following.
For those who are interested, I went to public school for twelve
years in a southwestern industrial city. I have since earned degrees
from TCC & OSU. I have a child who will soon be of school age, but I
plan to see that he gets a private school education.
Terri Asks: I am interested in knowing how many people are leaving
the system. How many people are satisfied with the
education that is being provided? Have any surveys
been conducted to determine the incidence of students
fleeing St. Paul schools in the last few years?
Answer: A large number. I plan to enroll my young son in a private school.
Judging from the number who are leaving, I would say a large number
are dissatisfied. As for surveys, how many children are being home
schooled today as compared to 30 years ago? 20 years ago? 10 years
ago? Last year? The answer is an almost exponential number of
children are being taken out of the public sector and home schooled.
Home schooling was almost unheard of when I was a boy, now its normal.
That should tell you something -- that with the overbusy, two-income
family and single parent setups that exist in most American
households, that this is becoming more and more common.
Terri Asks: You questioned the legitimacy of spending
money on two health and social service programs. How do
reproductive health and social services such as "Out for Equity"
impact child and adolescent development? What will happen if
they are eliminated? Is this an issue based on values, rather than
on data? What do the health teachers say about the impact of these
programs?
Answer: If you have no idea if they do any good, why spend the money on
them? What if they are eliminated? How many gay Kindergartners will
be impacted by the removal of "Out for Equity"? How do you know these
children are gay? Was this program not instituted to push a system of
values? What does the research say about the impact of these programs
on our children? Don't the health teachers who instruct these forums
have a financial interest in stating that what they are doing is useful?
Terri Asks: Many factors influence how well the budget dollars
impact the classroom. For example, rising health care
costs and an increase in the number of teachers high
on the salary scale are factors that impact whether
dollars make it into the classroom. What are the
factors, and how can they be controlled? How much
money is needed to facilitate a productive, engaged
learning experience for students?
Answer: Since you have not disputed that school budgets have
been rising far more rapidly than inflation, perhaps we need to
look at the reasons why they are rising. Health care for the
teachers should not have that immense an impact when we have
falling enrollment. How much money do you think is needed to
facilitate a productive, engaged learning experience for students?
We are currently spending in excess of $12,000 per student, so
would $25,000 a student help? Would $50,000 per student fix the
problem? Would $100,000 per student be enough?
Terri Asks: What are the benefits and drawbacks of a school district
engaging in political partnerships and hiring political lobbyists?
Who benefits? Who loses?
Answer: There is a body of evidence that indicates that the level of
instruction that children get in school today does not compare well
with the level of instruction that they got some 50 years ago, so I
would say that the Teacher's Union has won and the children have lost.
Terri Asks: You state, "District 625 spends approximately
$3,000,000.00 per year for its 5 Area Superintendents,
their support staff and overhead." You identify this
expenditure as a "tactical financial extravagance."
Given that each school has a Principal in charge of
daily operations, what would be the impact on schools
if the area Superintendant positions were eliminated?
What do area Superintendants do? How would we be able
to determine whether these positions are worthwhile if
we do not work in the system?
Answer: When I was growing up, about 30 years ago, the
principles answered to the Superintendent of Schools, but
were basically autonomous, within their guidelines, so I
have no idea what area Superintendents do. From what I
can find out, they act as a filter for the Superintendent of
schools, which adds an unnecessary addition layer of
bureaucracy to the already overburdened school system.
Therefore, I would suggest that the position and their staffs
simply be eliminated for reasons of both economy and to aid
in efficiency.
Brett Sprangel
East Side Parent
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SPPS Budget Reduction Forum - Feb. 23-27
Co-Sponsored By NEAT: http://www.stpaulneat.org/
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