Numerous Allatoona High School students, teachers, parents and supporters turned out for Wednesday’s Cobb School Board meeting to express their disappointment over teacher cutbacks, particularly the loss of the majority of their sports coaching staff.
Photo by Kim Isaza
Photo by Kim Isaza
Following a more than 30 minute discussion, the board voted 6-1, with member Alison Bartlett dissenting, to approve a tentative budget proposed by Superintendent Fred Sanderson.
The budget includes five furlough days for all district staff; a reduction of five school days to the calendar; increasing class sizes to the maximum student-to-teacher ratios; cutting more than 1,000 teachers; and eliminating 100 buses and corresponding routes.
The district is facing a $126.7 million deficit as a result of a reduction in both state and local revenue, chief of finance Mike Addison said. The proposed budget includes a property tax increase of 1.1 mills, to the maximum allowable rate of 20 mills. But Sanderson has also put forth a proposal for the board to immediately vote to reduce the millage rate back to 18.9 mills, which would subsequently free up $23 million in excess funds in SPLOST II to be transferred to the general fund.
The phantom tax hike would not actually raise property taxes, but would reportedly be a legal way for the district to gain more money in its general fund for the FY 11 budget, which begins July 1.
Following the meeting, Bartlett said she opposed the superintendent's budget because it was set at the maximum millage rate.
"My understanding in February was that we were going to get a budget that was balanced on the current millage rate. I didn't agree to an increase in property taxes," Bartlett said.
Sanderson said the board's approval for the budget was necessary to advertise plans to the public. The district will display its budget on its official website and each individual school website. A one-page summary of the budget will also be advertised in the Journal, and a booklet will be available in the county's public libraries.
Also during the board's budget discussion, Bartlett asked the superintendent and the associate superintendent of leadership and learning, Dr. Steven Constantino, if there was a cap on class sizes. Constantino said that while it was hard to pinpoint that maximum number at this point, he has looked at preliminary numbers from several high schools and that early projections of 40 students per teacher are too large.
For the sake of clarification, Dr. John Crooks, the board's budget liaison, pointed out that the budget included the new 175-school day calendar that Sanderson presented to the board at its last budget meeting on May 4. In what would be a major change in how Cobb students have attended school, Sanderson's 2010-2011 calendar would push the school year start date back to Aug. 5, instead of Aug. 2, and move the last day from May 27, 2011, to May 25, 2011.
While the board was in its meeting on Wednesday afternoon, more than 100 students from Osborne High School walked out in protest of teacher cuts at the school.
According to district spokesman Jay Dillon, the protest began at 1:45 p.m. and lasted about an hour.
"We're just pleased that students were respectful and they were allowed to make their point, and they dispersed after about 45 minutes to an hour," Dillon said.
Bartlett, whose Post 7 includes Osborne, said that she heard one student set off a firecracker and was detained by police for his actions. Despite this, she said she thought the students did a good job of showing their dissatisfaction.
"I am proud that our students are understanding the impact of these budget times to their education," she said.
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Last Chance, unless you decide to sue because of their violation of due process:
6/9 CCSD Board Meeting
Public Comments - 7:30 AM sign in to speak
Board Meeting, comments - 8:30 AM
514 Glover St. Marietta, Georgia 30080
(Legal Adoption of the FY2011 Budget at Regular Board Meeting)
Go to the CCSD website and pull down departments - all of the people that aren't clerical or secretarial are making salaries beginning around $100,000/year - these people are not being RIF - and they have staffs of people that make teacher salaries (for instance, literacy coaches) - but they wouldn't have "leadership" jobs if they got rid of those people -
If CCSD hurt the child and the front line classroom teachers, parents will want to do something - just don't let them fool you - the cuts that need to be made to keep lower class sizes and teachers aren't having - it is just politics
VOTE THEM OUT BEFORE WE ALL GO BROKE!
I worry about my children, who are students in Cobb, and the large class sizes they will face next year. The School Board is allowed to take out a "TAN" (tax anticipation note) and pay it off with excess SPLOST II funds. Please contact the members of the Board and urge them to take this action, which would allow approximately 50 million dollars to be put back into the general fund to hire back teachers and reduce class sizes for next year. GET INVOLVED, PLEASE!
Teachers do not go into education for the "perks." Only administrators have that luxury (apparently $8 million worth in Cobb). "Perks" have never included 8 hour days plus 3-4 extra hours grading essays at home. "Perks" have never included dealing with parents who think their children turned in work, when we know and can prove they did not. "Perks" have never included not knowing if you have a job even though you are evaluated at the highest level of performance. Look up "perks." Teachers do not get them. To us, a bathroom break between classes is the biggest "perk" we will ever see. A functioning copying machine is an unbelievable "perk," and one rarely found these days in Cobb County. We have learned to rely on Kinko's instead, using our own money. That's our warped idea of a "perk."
So why do we teach? Because we love to see young people learn. But with class sizes exploding, next year we will be little more than paper pushers and babysitters, jobs we definitely did not sign on for, but people like you are forcing us to accept because of your ignorance of the situation. Think before you agitate.
Walk by many classrooms - the kids are doing stuff or sitting at desks or have DEAR (drop everything and read) time what are the teachers doing then - sitting at their desks doing paperwork and searching the web.
It isn't that they cannot teach 30 kids, they can. But the paperwork has to ease up!
The county claimed they used the money from the reserve instead of furlough days. However, we were STILL docked three days pay. The board decided that back in January, right before we were finally going to get our yearly step in pay and/or the raise if any. Timing was interesting. They decided to use the two days we had off for weather issues and President's Day, days we normally get paid for. The money for those three days has been deducted from the last few checks and in our next check as well, as far as I know. So right when we were supposed to get our raises, they took it all right back with the furlough days.
Thank you so much for the spelling lesson and correction. I guess you have never made any sort of mistakes in your lifetime. With everything else going on right now in our community I would think that you would have something a little more meaningful to comment about, rather than just cut someone up and find it necessary to point out a stupid spelling mistake. You lack class and seem to be quite rude. Go ahead now and do another spell check!
The difference between experience and seniority.
Experience as a general concept comprises knowledge of or skill in or observation of some thing or some event gained through involvement in or exposure to that thing or event.
Seniority is the concept of a person or group of people being in charge or in command of another person or group.
So a great teacher gains experience each year they teach. An old everyday lazy teacher just gains seniority by standing in front of the class.
My child's second grade teacher had 10 years experience. My child's thrid grade teacher had 10 years seniority. Guess which one he learned more from and remembers fondly today?