Budget Cuts

[tmare_IHB]

Now that school is starting, I thought it would be interesting to note the changes that everyone sees resulting from budget cuts. Please describe what you notice and experience, especially those of you who are returning to the same school. It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out and I'd like the parent, from experience perspective. I will report what I see in my own job this coming week.

 

[Anonymous_IHB]

Went to orientation at Rancho San Joaquin middle school, principal they there will be no noticeable effect as far as the students were concerned as it wasn't fair for the kids to have a lesser experience because the adults couldn't figure it out. No program cuts. He also said that the state library funding was cut completely this year though (from thirty something cents per student last year, to zero this year), so that was where any extra money (ex. PTA fundraising, etc) tended to go.



BTW - based on what I saw in PTA meetings last year, Rancho PTA is very smart about how they allocate PTA money, all seemed to go for good causes (ex. funding individual teacher requests for various pieces of equipment or other educational materials), there appears to be good accountability there (ex. do smart things, like doing the City of Irvine computer buying match with donated funds; and no wasteful stuff that I could see - the money is spent properly). They are financially conservative.

 

[GraceOMalley_IHB]

[quote author="tmare" date=1251079880]Now that school is starting, I thought it would be interesting to note the changes that everyone sees resulting from budget cuts. Please describe what you notice and experience, especially those of you who are returning to the same school. It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out and I'd like the parent, from experience perspective. I will report what I see in my own job this coming week.</blockquote>


Im interested to know how many administrators and teachers actually lost their jobs? LAUSD laid off something like 8500k teachers & administrators and only a total of 320 actually lost their jobs.

 

[tmare_IHB]

[quote author="GraceOMalley" date=1251102131][quote author="tmare" date=1251079880]Now that school is starting, I thought it would be interesting to note the changes that everyone sees resulting from budget cuts. Please describe what you notice and experience, especially those of you who are returning to the same school. It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out and I'd like the parent, from experience perspective. I will report what I see in my own job this coming week.</blockquote>


Im interested to know how many administrators and teachers actually lost their jobs? LAUSD laid off something like 8500k teachers & administrators and only a total of 320 actually lost their jobs.</blockquote>


The number of job losses has gradually been reduced throughout the summer. At this point, we are still facing about 200 teacher lay offs and numerous classified staff lay offs and reductions in hours in my district. I'll report on the effects I see next week. I'm really curious how the charter schools are going to fare in all of this as they have more flexibility to cut as they see fit rather than accepting the district's decisions. I fully expect to be donating quite a bit to my son's school but I don't mind since we won't be paying his preschool costs anymore.

 

[Anonymous_IHB]

[quote author="tmare" date=1251115508][quote author="GraceOMalley" date=1251102131][quote author="tmare" date=1251079880]Now that school is starting, I thought it would be interesting to note the changes that everyone sees resulting from budget cuts. Please describe what you notice and experience, especially those of you who are returning to the same school. It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out and I'd like the parent, from experience perspective. I will report what I see in my own job this coming week.</blockquote>


Im interested to know how many administrators and teachers actually lost their jobs? LAUSD laid off something like 8500k teachers & administrators and only a total of 320 actually lost their jobs.</blockquote>


The number of job losses has gradually been reduced throughout the summer. At this point, we are still facing about 200 teacher lay offs and numerous classified staff lay offs and reductions in hours in my district. I'll report on the effects I see next week. I'm really curious how the charter schools are going to fare in all of this as they have more flexibility to cut as they see fit rather than accepting the district's decisions. I fully expect to be donating quite a bit to my son's school but I don't mind since we won't be paying his preschool costs anymore.</blockquote>


The most cost-effective donation is just to go give the principal a check. They usually have a special fund set up for just that school (rather than some IUSD wide pool) and you get a tax receipt for your donation that way. The fundraisers are fun (buying cookie dough or whatever with prizes for the kids), but the school doesn't get as much money that way (ex. you can avoid expenses like buying prizes for students who sell or for the cookie dough or whatever from eating into the donation).

 

[Anonymous_IHB]

Schools to open with leaner staffs, larger classes

<A href="http://www.ocregister.com/articles/school-students-orange-2537428-elementary-schools">http://www.ocregister.com/articles/school-students-orange-2537428-elementary-schools</A>

 

[tmare_IHB]

[quote author="Anonymous" date=1251116512][quote author="tmare" date=1251115508][quote author="GraceOMalley" date=1251102131][quote author="tmare" date=1251079880]Now that school is starting, I thought it would be interesting to note the changes that everyone sees resulting from budget cuts. Please describe what you notice and experience, especially those of you who are returning to the same school. It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out and I'd like the parent, from experience perspective. I will report what I see in my own job this coming week.</blockquote>


Im interested to know how many administrators and teachers actually lost their jobs? LAUSD laid off something like 8500k teachers & administrators and only a total of 320 actually lost their jobs.</blockquote>


The number of job losses has gradually been reduced throughout the summer. At this point, we are still facing about 200 teacher lay offs and numerous classified staff lay offs and reductions in hours in my district. I'll report on the effects I see next week. I'm really curious how the charter schools are going to fare in all of this as they have more flexibility to cut as they see fit rather than accepting the district's decisions. I fully expect to be donating quite a bit to my son's school but I don't mind since we won't be paying his preschool costs anymore.</blockquote>


The most cost-effective donation is just to go give the principal a check. They usually have a special fund set up for just that school (rather than some IUSD wide pool) and you get a tax receipt for your donation that way. <strong>The fundraisers are fun (buying cookie dough or whatever with prizes for the kids), but the school doesn't get as much money that way (ex. you can avoid expenses like buying prizes for students who sell or for the cookie dough or whatever from eating into the donation)</strong>.</blockquote>


I truly want to skip the fundraisers entirely and just write a check but I know my kid will get sucked into all of the silly little incentives. We were able to avoid cookie dough, wrapping paper, coupon books, etc.. in preschool by just writing a check but it probably won't work much longer.

 

[tmare_IHB]

Updates from my own school: Library Tech (we lost a real librarian many years ago) works only 6 hours a day rather than 8, library is closed before and after school now. Student activities person works only 4 hours a day, the office staff has cut back on many services they can no longer provide. Health clerk position has been eliminated, nurse now covers 3 schools and is on campus 1 1/2 days a week, office staff is supposed to give medications to students and deal with ill students, teachers have been asked to try not to send kids to the office when they are sick unless they are "really, really sick". Teachers are volunteering to man after school detention in order to keep it going, no funds to pay the teachers who used to do this. Class sizes have not increased and we did not lose any teaching positions at my site, but the class sizes really couldn't have gone any larger than the 35-40 they have been for the last few years. Lunch prices for both students and teachers have also increased. At my son's school it seems that the normal 20 to 1 for all classes now goes up to as much as 25 to 1, still not too bad.

 

[kcmkane_IHB]

Can't speak to much beyond our personal observations, but here goes: First grade class size at Myford is 24, up from I believe 20 last year. There are seven first grade classes, with five traditional 1st grade classes and one K-1 combo and another a 1-2 combo. I believe there were 8 or 9 first grade classes last year. One teacher and one teacher assistant in my daughters room, so we were happy to see there are two *instructors* for every 24 kids. Also do know band and orchestra was dropped from elementary schools in TUSD this year, but the Tustin Public School Foundation is backfilling that with weekly after school music classes for 4-5 graders.