April 27, 2011—St. Louis—Dr. Adams presented his 2011-12 budget to the SAB tonight in snap shot form. Far from the highly detailed reports which were presented to the public when elected boards governed the SLPS, this budget presentation consisted of 22 PowerPoint slides which costed out his Creating Great Options district plan with a little additional information about staffing cuts, revenue and expenditures. It was far from the complete financial report we used to receive.
Adams is presenting the first balanced budget since the SAB took over. “The first balanced budget in the last three years,” he said. Local revenue from property and sales taxes remained relatively level but state funding has dropped substantially from $133 million in 2006 to $56 million this year as enrollment has dropped from 32,000 to 23,000. That means we’ve lost about a quarter of our enrollment but 58% of state funding during the past 5 years. Cuts are due to more than a loss of enrollment. Cutbacks in state funding have a disproportionate effect on the district’s ability to educate our students.
Projected enrollment for next year is 23,072 not including pre-k. Since pre-k is not funded by the state, its enrollment is counted separately. It is expected to rise from 1500 this year to roughly 2000 students next year with the opening of 27 more classrooms. The increase in pre-k is anticipated to result in higher district enrollment numbers in the future.
Projected revenue is $272,800,000 and expenditures are $269,800,000 leaving a $3 million surplus. Having a 3% surplus of GOB funds is a statutory requirement to be removed from DESE’s financially distressed district list. About $8 million would do it. The district had a surplus until the 2007-08 school year. For the next two years the SAB and the Adams administration ran up a $52 million deficit which it rectified with massive cuts in this year’s budget, hoping to end in balance.
This year Dr. Adams implemented a new school budget model. Principals were given lump sums to allocate as they saw fit in their schools. That created a situation where staffing cuts were made at the school level, theoretically removing responsibility and possibly the ability to target anger at the superintendent. Principals were directed to discuss their budget decisions with their PTOs and Local 420 union stewards, but the approval of those constituents was not necessary.
An April 18th email addressed to the stewards from Local 420 VP Ray Cummings said, “Principals will come to you requesting your signature on the school budget. Your school will receive a set amount of money for staffing next year. As a result schools will have flexibility to determine certain staffing positions. For example, should they keep an ISS monitor or full time librarian or should they add an additional teaching position. Your job is to engage in a conversation with the principal as to what your thoughts are on those staffing decisions. Although, the principal makes the final decision, they should consider any input you have prior to your signing the document.”
Many schools do not have PTOs. Of those which do, not all were consulted. Several members of the Mckinley CJA PTO reported not being given any information about the school’s budget despite a specific request being made for it at a March 30 PTO meeting attended by Dr. Adams. Parents at other schools who were involved in discussions about the budget had positive remarks about being able to have input. At Wilkinson/Roe a letter from the PTO President addressing apparent underfunding which would have resulted in 53 first graders having one teacher next year, moved the administration to recheck their enrollment calculations and realize a mistake had been made. As a consequence, adequate funding was subsequently provided for an additional teacher. PTO efforts are still in process at a few other schools to resolve budget and staffing concerns.
Cuts
The principals were given some training to help them prepare for the decisions. The results of their decisions are that there will be 141 positions cut from schools, including 108 regular and special ed teachers, 20 librarians and 13 unspecified positions.
Cuts were also made by the administration. 20 safety officers will be eliminated. The central office will lose 10 people. In addition 43 retirees won’t be replaced. 112 continuing subs will be let go and 107 non-certificated or low performing staff will be let go for an additional 262 positions eliminated.
Expenditures
The Early Childhood Education (Pre-K) expansion of 27 new classrooms costs out at $5.3 million. The PIIP program expansion will cost $800,000. Neither of these expenses will affect the General Operating Budget (GOB). They will be funded through “other sources,” Dr. Adams reported.
What will be charged to the GOB is four new alternative schools which will be opened at Des Peres, Madison, Stevens and Meda Washington for a total of $658K.
$75K will be spent on professional development for the staff of the new gender specific schools at Woerner and Yeatman. $75k is also being assigned to the Afro-centric school being programmed for Cole.
Adams announced his intention to open a district sponsored charter high school at Sumner HS for the 2012-13 school year. He will use the 2011-12 year to plan it. The Sumner advisory group which was created to provide resources for the school last year will be re-engaged as well as other groups. He said it would be, “The first district sponsored charter school.” He persists in forgetting about the Construction Careers Academy even though the SAB approved their charter for 5 more years in 2010. This is probably because CCA is its own LEA. Dr. Adams envisions the district being the LEA for his district sponsored charters.
He assigned no cost to charter sponsorship, the 8th grade high school choice program or the performance based school closing program. Stevens Middle is the first school to close under those factors but it is being re-opened as an alternative program.
He mentioned the re-opening of Humboldt as the Academy of Higher Learning, a new magnet school providing continuity for the two Project Construct Early Childhood Center magnet schools at Stix and Wilkinson/Roe. That will cost $184K. 180 students have committed to enroll in Humboldt so far. They are hoping to have 200 students in third and fourth grades by the time school opens August 15.
New Technical High School
It was erroneously reported by other journalists that Beaumont HS will close in 3 years. It will remain open but with a different mission. $500k is being allocated to transform Beaumont into a technical high school. It will not enroll 9th grade students for the fall. Students currently enrolled will complete their education there over the next three years, after which students in grades 10-12 from the three remaining comprehensive high schools, Roosevelt, Sumner and Vashon who choose to participate, will attend their comprehensive high school for a half day and then travel to Beaumont for half a day for employment ready technical programs. This was a surprise. Up until tonight, Dr. Adams has been referring to 8th graders having 4 comprehensive high schools to choose to attend. Now there will be two, plus a charter school.
More Cuts
Budget reductions totaling $10.4 million will be achieved by cutting 34 custodians and 8 tradespersons. Those who remain will become 11 month employees, in effect suffering 8% pay cuts. $1.7 million will be saved from the GOB by buying computers with Prop S funds. Transportation will be cut by $3.4 million by combining 14 schools and rebalancing tiers. Seven schools will have their bus routes reduced. There will also be a reduction in funds available for field trip and after school activity transportation. Activity buses may only be scheduled for Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays rather than the current 5 days /week.
Adams mentioned that Title I, II, and III stimulus dollars totaled $41.1 million last year and will be only $23.8 million next year but that there is $6 million to be carried over. That drop in funding will have the following effects on staffing. The number of Teaching Learning Facilitators will be cut from 83 to 68. Parent Support Community Specialists will be cut from 59 to 20 and classroom size reduction teachers will be cut from 44 to 41. 17 supplemental teachers positions are being cut. That’s another 74 positions eliminated. The net effect will be larger class sizes, fewer people working to increase learning, fewer people working to involve parents in their children’s education and fewer staff available to meet the needs of students that contribute to their success in the classroom.
There was confusing information about nurses. The PowerPoint notes only 25 nurses this year, turning into 20 next year, although Dr. Adams in his remarks said there would be no cuts. The district currently has 54 full time nurses. Only 25 were noted because we were getting a snapshot of how stimulus dollars are being spent rather than the complete budget. 25 nurses are being paid from Title (federal) funds this year. 29 are funded by GOB dollars. Next year only 20 of them will be funded through Title funds and the other 5 are moving back to the GOB. The same is true for a half time social work position. It is moving from Title to GOB funding, not being eliminated.
Closings
Although 3 schools are closing, no buildings are. The 170 8th graders left in the Bunche International Studies magnet school program, which is closing, will move from Soldan HS to the Compton Drew Investigative Learning Center next year. Dr. Adams said they would be able to continue their language studies there. The Watch is trying to learn if the six foreign languages they study, German, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Arabic, will be continued indefinitely as a benefit for all Compton Drew students. That would greatly strengthen the magnetism of that school and provide continuity between the international studies elementary school at Dewey and the Soldan International Studies magnet high school..
Stevens Middle School is being closed for low performance and its students being reassigned to Cole (the new K-8 African-centered curriculum school), and L’Ouverture and Yeatman middle schools. The Stevens building will remain open as an alternative school.
Big Picture Academy, which has been housed at Northwest HS for the past 2 years, will close. Its students will be given the choice of attending a magnet, choice, neighborhood or comprehensive middle or high school. Unfortunately, that may not meet their needs. Big Picture Academy is the last of 3 Big Picture schools opened under the watchful eye of Tom Stephens, who served as Director of Alternative Pathways under Supt. Diana Bourisaw. It appears to be the last vestige of the innovations initiated during the Boursaw administration. The Big Picture program was designed is meet the needs of students who were disruptive or who, for other reasons, did not succeed in the regular classroom but did not meet the criteria for special education services. The high school program used a portfolio strategy to evaluate student learning. Curriculum was individualized and based on student interests. Interdisciplinary projects were developed to engage students. The last time the SAB attempted to close the school, 2 years ago, students attended the public forums held and pleaded for the school to be kept open. At that time, they succeeded. Big Picture HS kept many of these students from dropping out. But, money is tighter now.
Public input is being solicited on the www.slps.org website until May 16. There will also be one public forum at Vashon HS on Monday, May 9 at 6:30 p.m. Vashon is located at 3035 Cass Avenue. There is ample parking supervised by the remaining public safety officers. The SAB is now scheduled to vote to approve on May 26.
Good Cop Bad Cop
After Dr. Adams presented his budget Wednesday night, the SAB peppered him with questions. Richard Gaines expressed concern about Pupil Teacher Ratios (PTRs). A handout was distributed which listed “Budget Highlights”. One of the highlights stated, “All classrooms will be staffed at or below the minimum standards recommended by the state.” It then listed the DESE’s minimum standards which are.
K-2 Teacher: Student Ratio 25:1
3-4 Teacher: Student Ratio 27:1
5-6 Teacher: Student Ratio 30:1
7-12 Teacher: Student Ratio 33:1
That must have attracted Richard Gaines’ attention.
He asked Dr. Adams, “What is the Pupil Teacher Ratio structure that is being proposed?”
Dr Adams responded that, “That is an excellent question, Mr. Gaines. It is one that we are still working through, proceeding with an analysis school by school for the reductions of the number of teachers this school year in every single school….We are still working through the numbers.” He then promised to provide, “a class by class, school by school analysis” “prior to the 26th,” the meeting at which the plan and budget is now scheduled to be approved. Adams said that, I am positive about elementaries and I am positive about high schools that the numbers are not appreciably higher.” (Metro HS incoming freshman parents take note. Article to follow soon.)
Gaines then reminded Dr. Adams, who was on his feet at the podium to make his presentation and answer questions, that, ”We effectively created a policy statement which we as a board voted some time ago….about not reducing pupil teacher ratios to the effect that it ignored those standards.” Previously, the SAB decided they want to meet the DESE’s desirable standards for PTRs. The desirable standards are 5 students per class smaller.
K-2 Teacher: Student Ratio 20:1
3-4 Teacher: Student Ratio 22:1
5-6 Teacher: Student Ratio 25:1
7-12 Teacher: Student Ratio 28:1
Gaines continued, ”We took a very strong position that we did not want to see that tinkered with. Regardless of the things that this school system would have to do, we did not want that tinkered with. One reason that I raise that is that when I see a reduction in the teaching staff, and I understand the problems or the challenges …, but you know that if we are going to convince the community we are serious about providing the best education we are able to provide….. We drew a line in the sand and I don’t care what has to be reduced, if we believe teacher student ratio is sacrosanct. …. We do not want to see that change. We adopted a fundamental philosophy to keep the desirable standard and will not back up on that….. We made that to be sacrosanct,” he repeated. “We’re not moving off that. If we have to go into deficit, we’re not moving off it….student teacher ratio will make a difference in the education process and we’re not backing off that.” He was upbraiding Dr. Adams in public, which is most unusual.
Dr. Adams stood his ground. He reminded Gaines that last year he asked and the SAB approved meeting the desirable standard “based on attendance” rather than enrollment. Most schools lost teachers as a result. Adams said that, “What we are doing this year is similar in that it is based on attendance rather than enrollment.” He reported that they, “are still working on the numbers for five or six schools”, though. He said that they might use a TA to bring the PTR down rather than split a class.
Gaines responded that he understood the difference between staffing according to attendance rather than enrollment but he also thought they should have a better way of projecting attendance as well as enrollment. He also said that, “even though we agreed to staff based on attendance that if we should err, we err on the side of having too many as opposed to having too few and then having to go back and try and find people…
The sound of egos clashing was glaring. Will this mean the SAB might not approve the plan? Absolutely not. They just renewed Dr. Adams’ contract in February. There have been a few public disagreements before. The dialog had all the trappings of a staged drama. Mr. Gaines was playing good cop to Dr. Adams’ bad cop. By filling that role, Dr. Adams, if the audience buys it, will deflect criticism from the SAB, who will be seen, they may hope, as standing up for lower class sizes. But when all is said and done, in the last act, they will capitulate and approve the plan, hoping the audience will remember the fine words said rather than the deed done.
The severance package in the new contract must be exorbitant.
Calendar
May 5, Thursday, regular bi-monthly SAB meeting, 6 p.m., 801 North 11th Street, room 108.
The public is given time to address the SAB at all meetings. To speak, arrive before 6 p.m. and sign the sheet at the rostrum at the front of the room on the right.May 9, Monday, Public Forum on Creating Great Options, Dr. Adams plan and budget for the 2011-12 school year, 6:30 p.m., Vashon HS, 3035 Cass Avenue
May 10, Tuesday, regular monthly meeting of the Board of Education, 7 p.m., Carr Lane VPA Middle School, 1004 N. Jefferson, dance studio. The public is given time to address the SAB at all meetings. To speak, arrive before 7 p.m. and sign the sheet at the rostrum at the front of the room.May 26, Thursday, regular bi-monthly SAB meeting, 6 p.m., 801 North 11th Street, room 108. The public is given time to address the SAB at all meetings. To speak, arrive before 6 p.m. and sign the sheet at the rostrum at the front of the room on the right.
Please note, The Schools Watch has a new mailing address, P.O. Box 1983, St. Louis, MO 63118. Our email address continues to be SLS_Watch@yahoo.com
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