To handle a $7.75M cut in requested local funding, Dr. Hatrick recommended today that the School Board take the majority of the cuts from the transportation department by holding the number of buses and bus drivers at this year's level. His proposal keeps the full 3% pay raise for all LCPS employees and holds class size at the current levels.
In his letter to the Board, Dr. Hatrick also recommends reducing contractual services for special education, overtime funds, administrative technology investments, and funds set aside for legal expenses.
The school board will meet on Wednesday April 13th to consider Dr. Hatrick's proposals. Please take a few minutes this week to look at the changes and let your representatives on the School Board know your thoughts.
The fact that LCPS can find $7 million dollars in savings, in the blink of an eye and with minimal impact to students, demonstrates what a bloated $700 million plus organization LCPS truly is. LCPS can easily have its funding reduced by at least $70 million with minimal impact on students. Cut more!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that Dr. Hatrick has prioritized employee compensation and class size when assessing the budget. Both most greatly impact the component of the Loudoun school system that is most important: the children. When we provide for the attraction and retention of great teachers, then give them a reasonable load to work with, we facilitate a strong educational program.
ReplyDeleteIf only class size had much impact on learning, then it might be worth addressing. Using any funds directed at maintaining current class sizes would be better spent on developing staff.
ReplyDeleteClass size has a HUGE impact on learning...the smaller the class size the more attention the children get. The larger the class, the less attention and the more distracted the children get. So holding class size at its current level is a good thing, decreasing it would be even better. Maybe next year. I am glad they are taking a look at the bus routes.
ReplyDeleteHow about payments on the debt incurred by floating so many bonds to build $80M high schools. Do we really need 20+ ft ceilings in the lobby? How does that improve learning? Let's take the $70M savings Anonymous recommends and pay cash for the next high school with 7/8 of the glitz. I got a great education at a very modest Fairfax Co. public high school.
ReplyDeleteThese cuts can probably be achieved if students actually WALKED to school...however parents expect a bus if students have to cross a street (ANY street) or walk up a hill (on a sidewalk) and parents want a bus stop close enough to their home so they can look out their front door and see their child. In one friends neighborhood they actually bus the students directly across the street to their school because apparently the parents there feel they have no responsibility to walk their kids across the street.
ReplyDeleteThe savings wasn't found in a "blink of an eye"-we knoew what would be cut first weeks ago. We've gotten 3000 new students for each of the past two years with projections at about the same increase for next year. Hope they all move within walking distance of a school....
ReplyDeleteYes, let's cut special ed yet again - the neediest ones who can't advocate for themeselves. After all they aren't ever going to amount to anything so they aren't important. Thanks for nothing, Dr. Hatrick and the School Board.
ReplyDeletecontractual services are those services provided by an outside company at usually an increased cost.. those services can be provided by an LCPS employee and a reduced cost. The school system used to have contracted speech teachers rather than have them as LCPS employees. This cut will most likely have no direct impact on special education in the classrooms- something that they really cannot cut because of certain laws.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous @ 4:03, Just do the math. If you invest dollars in developing teachers more rather than hiring more teachers to keep class sizes down, that training can not only include improving every teacher's skills to handle more students effectively, but enhance the learning of each and every student more. This is much more effective than maintaining class sizes.
ReplyDeleteThe class size argument at our current capacity is a farce. If it were true then surely test scores and academic achievement throughout the county would have declined year over year as schools grow in size!
ReplyDelete$7 Million for 34 buses? What are the lease terms?!?
ReplyDeleteA brand new bus costs approximately$67,000.
34 new buses x 67,000 = $2,278,000
Annual Maintenance per LCPS for 34 buses: Approximately $255,000.00
That equates to 18 years of service by utilizing the remaining $4,722,000.
Just another example that clearly illustrates excess built it to LCPS budgets.
Until you teach in a class with 26-28 students of varying abilities- some needing additional help you should refrain from commenting. Class size would not be a factor if all students were average but they are NOT.. all students are different and if the class size continues to increase then there will be a drop in test scores. IF it were your special education student in a class with 28 other kids you may be singing a different tune....
ReplyDeleteAbout the class size argument... I relate this to the many summers and weekends I've spent waiting tables. One server waits on a 4-table section which allows sufficient individual attention to be placed on each table yielding better tips. Another server has a 5-table section which is a heck of a lot more work and not as much attention can be placed on the customers' needs, yielding lower tips. The bottom line is that both servers make the same amount in tips at the end of the night except one worked much harder than the other.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher, the workload of big class sizes can become overwhelming leading to burnout or leaving the profession. I've seen it many times. While statistically class sizes might not have much to do with student test scores, it matters a great deal to the teachers.
You're missing the point on class size. It's not that class size doesn't make a difference, it's that teacher quality makes a BIGGER difference. Invest the money and resources where it will have the biggest BANG. I teach both very large and small classes, and it is possible to keep large classes just as engaged as smaller. Just like the server was pointing out, it's the quality of the interaction/relationship, not just the quantity.
ReplyDeleteThe restaurant analogy raises an interesting point about teaching. jq333 says "The bottom line is that both servers make the same amount in tips at the end of the night except one worked much harder than the other." Isn't that so true about teachers-- No matter how much harder you work than another teacher or how much better you are at teaching, you still get paid the same amount as that other teacher.
ReplyDeletethe difference is that in a classroom the teacher cares for his or her students and over the course of the year develops a relationship with the student and the family. In a restaurant you serve that customer for an hour or so. If that child struggles and the teacher has a large class it is difficult to give that student the attention that is needed and the teacher feels less than adequate. It is not that the teacher is bad but that there are just too many students to teach them all effectively. Again, if all kids in the class were average then there is no problem but more times than not they are not average. You end up teaching to the average and don't get to go above and beyond for the above average and give extra help to those who need it. IF the class size is above 25 an assistant should be provided to help those who can't keep up -a lot of times these are NOT special education students! The children do suffer in over-crowded classrooms- ALL children!
ReplyDeleteStill not addressed is the bloating at the county office. Those people are falling all over each other there. I am still amazed that people are not upset that there are 12 math resourse teachers just in the math department. What a cushy job!!! What a waste of tax money!!
ReplyDeletePlease follow any employees you believe should lose their job around for a week before judging their worth to the county.
ReplyDeleteAnd I would say that the same children described as "suffering" in overcrowded classrooms can also suffer from underdeveloped (or outright poor) teaching. But which situation is easier to document? Sitting at the Admin Building looking at a report that remotely calculates average class sizes, or actually observing a teacher teach? By focusing on class size we get to completely ignore teacher quality. Very convenient.
ReplyDeleteNo one would lose a job. Put those 12 teachers back in the classroom. They will take the place of those teachers that retire and/or quit this school year. These are tough times. Right now, LCPS does not "need" 12 math specialist or other discipline specialists. The subject supervisor and his/her assistant is plenty at a time when budget money is tight! This is a no brainer and NO ONE loses a job. Some are reassigned.
ReplyDeleteAgain...follow them around...see what they do. We have so many self-appointed "experts" on these boards...
ReplyDeleteExperienced and very effective teachers will tell you that an over-crowded classroom is not an ideal environment for the majority of our students. Seems like those who think it does not matter have NO idea what the typical classroom looks like. Students are individuals not robots. They all have different needs that need to be met in order for them to learn. If the teacher has too many kids then those needs are not being met. Please visit a typical classroom and see for yourself. Even the so called "gifted" students need assistance. One assumes that it is a simple classroom management issue. if you have robots as students, then I guess it would not matter but kids are NOT robots and deserve the time and attention so that they can learn.
ReplyDeleteClassroom size does matter in many different ways. When a high school teacher has 5 classes with 30-32 students in each it has a negative impact. It impacts that amount of time one can spend helping a student who does not quite get the objective, it matters when 25-50% of the class is SPED and requires more attention...taking away attention from non-SPED students, it matters when a teacher has 1,500 assignments to grade in a quarter (minimum LCPS assignments per quarter is 10), and it does matter if it were your own child in one of these classes.
ReplyDeleteI actually would be interested in following those 12 math resource teachers for one day. As a math teacher myself I'm wondering how they've been a resource. I know there are a few individuals that are are truely good resources, but when you're not actively in the classroom you loose that knowledge of strategies/methods that are truely realistic and effective. Best resources I've found are the teachers you work with because they know the type of students you are teaching. Let's see here...I know they do trainings for us math teachers, so we can earn recertification points. Many of these presentations/trainings are not top notch...I could do one myself and prepare all necessary materials in less than one day. Then there are also the benchmarks we receive. These typically have typos, errors in the key, and even questions that do not properly match the State's SOL objectives. You'd think if they are the resource that they should really know the details of the SOL objectives.
ReplyDeleteYes I think it is possible to be an effective teacher with proper training, but as the class size increases it also reduces the amount of time a teacher can devote to each student.
Spot on! The 12 math resourse teachers do not help. I find the help I need from my fellow colleagues. They know and that is the best help. I too would like to follow these 12 around. I am sure I would be enlightened... Put them back in the classroom!
ReplyDeleteOn an other note... why all the resignations of department chairs at LVHS? Shouldn't a red flag be flying because of that???????
ReplyDelete