DEAR EDITOR:

The Cobb County School District has loudly proclaimed it has a $137 million budget shortfall (this number has grown from initial proclamations without much explanation as to why those estimates were so wrong). CCSD has asked for input from the public - nay, suggestions for ways to address the shortfall. Although CCSD and the school board have already decided what to do and the survey, this cry for input, is just for optics and perception, I will bite and offer my suggestions via this letter and not simply by completion of a SurveyMonkey survey.

First, the entire organizational structure and staffing needs to be redrawn - but from the ground up (or I should say classroom up). Start with the classrooms and the number of teachers required based upon a hard and fast student-to-teacher ratio, not an average that allows higher numbers to be offset by special classes where the numbers are lower. Teachers are the most important job in the education process. Everyone else is just support staff. Pictorially speaking, think of a pyramid and how they are built, bottom to top and not from the top down.

Second, redistrict the entire county. Cobb has a number of schools that are underutilized and a number that are overutilized from a student capacity standpoint. It is time to stop Band-Aid fixes or adjustments and to swallow the bitter pill that is a county wide redistricting to address population shifts and changes.

Third, the lies and deception must stop. Trust must be rebuilt so that teachers can trust administrators; parents can trust board members, board members can trust administrators and each other; and voters can trust those they elect, both board members and state legislators. False promises, manipulative conduct, secret voting and disregard of the public are counterproductive and must cease.

Fourth, leaders must lead by example and no one should be shielded from adversity that must be born of necessity. For example, if teachers are being required to take salary cuts and furlough days, then so should the administrators at the Glover Street headquarters. Apparently, though, this is not what happened. Rather, information available from the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts indicates that raises/salary increases were common among and for Glover administrators. It has been stated by board members that nothing is off the table. My information is that this is not quite true when it comes to athletics, as coaches and staffs are immune from any cuts. Large is the mantle and great is the protection of "Coach Sanderson" (Superintendent Fred Sanderson).

Fifth, look at your data before releasing it. On the CCSD Web site April 2, it said that among the CCSD's 15,211 employees were: 6,636 classroom teachers, 1,672 special ed teachers and 1,168 bus drivers. That adds up to 9,476 people/positions. That is FAR short of 15,211. Even if we add up all the numbers listed on the CCSD Website for every position including, but not limited to, school counselors, social workers, psychologists, media specialists, etc., the total is 1,433 short of the 15,211 reported employees. That's a lot of people to lose, so where did they go? Are they real, imagined or test subjects on an alien vessel?

Sixth, use the money you have wisely. Be fiscally responsible, not irresponsible. I find it inconceivable and suspicious that estimations could be so far off and so many times wrong. Curriculums do not need to be updated every two to three years, particularly for kindergarten and first grade where there is no great and new body of knowledge to be taught or learned. Is the money spent on all the electronic gadgets and gizmos required for students to learn? How many Blackberrys does CCSD pay for? Do we need Picasso, Bus Radios, GPS units, etc.?

Alan Faircloth
Kennesaw