School Budget Cuts..help me out

[Dr. HK]

I agree with Cohiba on the surface. There would have to be a study on how to cut cost. In addition I would change how the funds from the lottery are spent. Meaning I would get those funds and fund elementary, middle, and high schools, and forego funding of colleges. Colleges in my opinion can get their own funding through alumni, tuition, sports programs, etc.

heck why not put a special tax on all the thunder tickets sold to have additional sources of revenue. Put a 20% tax on box seats, and 10% on season tickets.

 

[Dr. HK]

http://ok.gov/sde/sites/ok.gov.sde/files/Salary-Supt.pdf

looks to be around $70's - $144k from a brief look and this was in 2012.

 

[Jwryan84]

In Kansas you actually pay a tuition, it's not a ton of money but it certainly helps if every family pays $100 per kid if you have multiples it's $85 etc etc. This also gives parents a reason to care about their kids education, if they're putting up money they have a vested interest in making sure they attend as well as succeed and pass their classes. If you have extra money in the coffers you can afford to pay your teachers better thereby creating a more competitive job market where you can get quality educators. Just my 2 cents but a free education is like free daycare to some people.

I like this, but it will,just turn into another welfare system with some paying the bill and others not. The ones paying will have cost double in the first year to pay for the ones who "can't" or won't pay.

 

[Dr. HK]

In Kansas you actually pay a tuition, it's not a ton of money but it certainly helps if every family pays $100 per kid if you have multiples it's $85 etc etc. This also gives parents a reason to care about their kids education, if they're putting up money they have a vested interest in making sure they attend as well as succeed and pass their classes. If you have extra money in the coffers you can afford to pay your teachers better thereby creating a more competitive job market where you can get quality educators. Just my 2 cents but a free education is like free daycare to some people.

BTW Oklahoma already does this. It is just another form of tuition. At the beginning of the school year there is a big list of things to buy. Things like the usual paper, glue, crayons, markets, dry erase markers and eraser, tissues, hand sanitizer, sanitizing wipes, etc. All in all it is around $150 per student for the brands and quantity the schools ask for.

 

[bettingpython]

Florida uses county level districts, I don't know how happy they are about it but the administrative organization is quite large for their districts, at the state level they utilize the same SIS that we do here and it's a massive undertaking in a multimillion student district.

Typically Oklahoma districts do not have empty superintendent positions while searching for a new one, the goal is to have a business continuity plan in place, as an example Dr. Hartzler had already been selected as and approved by our board of education as the replacement for Dr. Burden well in advance of her retirement. Unless a superintendent just quits, is removed, or incapacitated unexpectedly that's not an issue, in cases where that does happen typically an assistant superintendent or 2 can act as the interim superintendent in an emergency until the B.O.E. can pick a replacement.

The superintendent is not just a figure head, it's lot's of hard work and long hours.

As far as funding cuts the cost of doing business increases each year we have to pay utilities, purchase food, account for and sell that food at 0 profit, maintain vehicles and property, etc. We are also not a business as a governmental entity we don't get to make a profit to carry us through lean times, by law we are only allowed a small amount of carryover from year to year, we have to spend our budgets every year we can't bank it if we don't use it. Across time a district grows it's student population increases, requiring more teachers, more infrastructure, more support. Their are laws governing the usage of bond funds (ad valorem tax dollars), we can't use those dollars for payroll.

The general fund, and for some programs grant funds, are what pay salaries which are usually the largest annual expense a district has. So if you increase staff to educate and support a student population which has grown over time, and you factor in state mandated salary tables , then cut the funding that pays for those salaries to below what it was 5 years prior you place a district in distress.

In a state where we already have one of the lowest expenditures of dollars for students yet have to meet a national college and career ready graduation expectation this is a serious issue.

Working inside the educational system really changes your view of the system.

 

[bettingpython]

I think you would be surprised what some supts make. Some too low but some definitely too high also. Perks can be a surprise too. Guesses anyone????

Theres no need to guess the entire compensation package of every school employee in Oklahoma is public information and published online.

 

[crrcboatz]

I agree with Cohiba on the surface. There would have to be a study on how to cut cost. In addition I would change how the funds from the lottery are spent. Meaning I would get those funds and fund elementary, middle, and high schools, and forego funding of colleges. Colleges in my opinion can get their own funding through alumni, tuition, sports programs, etc.

heck why not put a special tax on all the thunder tickets sold to have additional sources of revenue. Put a 20% tax on box seats, and 10% on season tickets.

Good intentions, I agree however the words new taxes in this state will bring the wrath of every conservative in the state down on you like stink on a stink bug. Colleges have the ability to generate donations from wealthy graduates, keep large endowment funds, garner money for research, etc. Public schools don't have that. Also no one has mentioned the budgets of area vo tech schools. They are also a well kept secret with their funding. Their average per pupil expenditure is over $9000/ student yes I said that right over $9000 per student. Public schools in Oklahoma spend about $4000/ student. Also they build what many of us in public schools call "palaces" all over the state. They have an avg class size of 11 while your local school has one of 29 or more. They hand pick their students every year. By that I mean the interview each prospective student, check their discipline record, check their transcripts for academic performance and "choose" their students individually. In addition to that they take NO physically handicapped students. They have very limited programs for handicapped students. They can send their students back to their home high school for discipline reasons, as well as attendance, etc.

This is one of the GREAT fallacies of public education in Oklahoma. Vo tech has managed to keep all this out of the public's eye for a very long time. Their pay scale will knock the public's lights out too. Avg teacher pay upon retirement at metro area votechs is $60,000 dollars. The really sad part of all this is that Oklahoma's vo tech system is consistently rated number ONE in the nation while our public schools are in bottom 10. Help me understand that.

 

[crrcboatz]

Theres no need to guess the entire compensation package of every school employee in Oklahoma is public information and published online.

I know that quite well thank you very much. I still say if I posted some I am familiar with people on this site would be VERY surprised because 9/10 of the public never check that.

 

[Old Fart]

Way back in the day.....
Administrators got paid the same as a classroom teacher with 3 extra months pay for working the summer.

My how times have changed.

 

[JonDough]

Back when my kid was in school, we got hit with the old "our school doesn't have enough money for supplies...well first of all we the parents were buying more than enough supplies for our child, PLUS buying extra. We bought extra and delivered the stuff. We were always willing to help out as were MANY MANY other parents and grandparents.

Then i sent two emails out to the super's office offering to raise supplies, funds, whatever they needed. JUST NAME IT. I was at that time in a situation to raise a LOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT of anything they needed...and yanno what, no one would even return an email. After putting in a phone call, getting my message "taken" by a worker, i STILL didn't get any reply, so screw'm. The next time i got one of those letters that was sent home with my child, i turned it over and wrote them back telling them that they can go buy the stuff themselves.

I Also once went and bought 30 pairs of safety goggles for the elementary school because the science teacher was doing an 'experiment" and some little girl got vinegar in her eye (while not vision threatening, i guess it caused strife) and the reason for not having eye protection was that the school "couldn't afford it". REALLY???

Bottom line on our deal was, while always pleading poverty, the school system here balked at accepting the help they actually ASKED for. When it came down to it, I THINK that if they received LOTS of help, they wouldn't be ABLE to plead poverty, therefore would be off the financial giving radar. And if it got out that the community was so willing to help (NOT THRU TAXES) It would hamper the amount of money they could get thru the SYSTEM. Hmmmmmmmm

Who knows.......