“We will continue to identify and implement cost-saving measures and frugal spending as a means of focusing the available resources on classroom instruction.”
~Penny Hodge, Assistant Superintendent of Finance
Do those words resonate with you? If so, welcome to the 2009-2010 school year.
Schools all across the county have redoubled efforts to pinch every penny and to scrape every scrap of savings out of the local school budget. Most schools have instituted strict copying policies in order squeeze out any savings they can. Some schools have gone to copy number limits while other schools now require prior approval for each copy. Most schools have also halted discretionary spending for office supplies and professional activities. High schools are reallocating human assets at athletic games by stepping up the use of teachers and reducing the number of paid security officials. All of these and a myriad of other local school cost-saving measures are being implemented all across the county.
You no doubt already are experiencing the byproducts of last spring’s round of cuts. Teachers in middle school are now teaching an extra period thus increasing their workload and reducing their planning time. All schools are suffering from markedly increased class sizes. This is especially felt in the early grades. Numbers in some kindergarten classrooms have skyrocketed and class sizes in all grades are at levels not experienced in over thirty years.
While no doubt the cost-saving measures and personnel changes save the school division real money, they do impact the instructional program, profoundly. Quite simply, teachers are being required to do much more with much less.
As an association, we remain dedicated to advocating for our members at the local level. We will continue to be a strong presence at the School Board level while increasing our visibility at the county supervisor level. As always, you can take comfort that you have someone who has your back, our Uniserv Director, Pat Wood.
