Friday, April 9, 2010

Central Office Reductions

Author:
Many have asked where the Central Office cuts are in the Option #1 List.
  1. 3 personnel in Administrative Technology: $208,000
  2. 7 personnel in Instructional Technology: $446,000
  3. 8 personnel in Support Services: $524,000
Per an email to a constituent from the Public Information Office:
This follows a year during which no administrators were added and several jobs were left vacant (despite adding more than 3,000 students). LCPS has only 7.9 percent of its employees in non-school-based positions, the second-lowest ratio in the Washington area.
Other Central Office reductions were included and remain in the original base budget, and in the previous year's budget.
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7 comments:

  1. Let's not forget that even the people who work in the administrative offices are people with families to support, mortgages to pay, taxes to pay, etc. Cutting any employee is not something to take lightly or to be cavalier about. I am not saying that the school board or LCPS is acting in this manner, but various tax payers speak about the LCPS staff as though they are a sub-class in our society.
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  2. I consider most everyone at the central office to be non-essential for teaching the children.

    Profe
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  3. Yes Anonymous. It's very disappointing that some of the citizens of LC seem to want to throw all LCPS employees under the bus. They haven't had a raise in years, work tirelessly for our children, yet they want to add even more furlough days to their burden. Wasn't there a recent statistic that showed LCPS employees are actually our neighbors? Creating even more of a financial crisis for our teachers, administrators and their families is not the answer. How long are LCPS employees going to have to bear the burden of this recession?? The same people who cry about spending money for sports participation are the same people spending upwards of $300-$400 for a two hour birthday party for a three year old at places like Pump It Up. Priorities people, priorities.
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  4. I think we all understand that these are tough economic times for everyone...as an LCPS employee - I understand why I won't get a COLA....however, it just seems as though we're expected to DO more. Our responsibilities as teachers grow each year - and we take on those challenges...and then get beat down by people who don't respect or appreciate what we do for their children. THAT is what's frustrating to me. I certainly didn't get into teaching because I thought I'd make a lot of money - I do it for one reason only - the kids! I chose teaching as my career, just like doctors and lawyers do - I went through 6 years of schooling (I have an MS in Reading) - and I'm on the tightest budget to survive in this area (as well as possibly losing my position as a reading specialist). I am also a taxpayer and parent - so I'm not asking for much! I just want this to be done so all the bashing can stop - I know what I have to work with and we can move on to the more important things - like our kids! So until you've spent a day in front of a classroom - on your own, planning and implementing meaningful lessons - please don't make judgements on us. You have NO IDEA.....and that's okay. This is just how I feel, so - as I've taught my own daughter...."if you don't have anything nice to say - don't say anything at all!"
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  5. Mr. Stevens is often a bit slippery with his facts, so please forgive me if I don't take these central office reductions at face value.

    Are these positions currently filled with salaried personnel or are they simply budgeted positions?
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  6. I am the first anon who posted on this thread. I am back to say that I support the employees of LCPS to the fullest and it sickens me to see and hear what is going on right now. I hope you will remember that there are many more people who do appreciate what you do. By the way, I was a teacher and both of my parents were teachers.

    Regarding central office staff and their role in the school system. I believe they are essential to the school system. We are not running little one room schools. We have a complex system of schools. The school system is responsible for education, yes, and along with it transportation, safety, facility management and maintenance, food services management and procurement, and on and on. All of these are necessary and without them the school system could not function.

    The administrators who deal with content keep up with the latest developments in the subject matter, teaching resources, and methods of instruction. These folks have everything to do with the teaching of children. They are seasoned professionals who assist in guiding the content for the school system. Two reasons why principals and/or teachers can't do this 1) it's too time consuming and 2) the central office staff ensures that all students in the county receive the same content.

    I could go on but I urge those who think the central office staff is unnecessary to take another look.


    Elle McG
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  7. Elle makes an excellent point about central office staff, especially those who directly support teachers and students. But what about other departments that could be folded into the County government - that would improve efficiency, save taxdollars and reduce the overall LCPS budget. Consolidate departments that do the exact same thing. It makes no sense to have duplicate departments in LC + LCPS in charge of capital improvement construction, maintenance and IT. Huge multi-national corporations much larger than LC + LCPS government combined operate that way. Hatrick says it wouldn't save money - that's just because he doesn't want to lose control, including control of land development throughout the County.
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