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Published Sunday, October 25, 2009 in Education
Schools: cutting classes not an option
By Jeff Bishop
The Times-Herald
Although school systems around Georgia are looking for every possible way they can to save a dollar, including trimming the school calendar, Coweta County school officials say there likely won't be any reason to do that here.
A sour economy and state budget cuts mean an increasing number of Georgia students will spend fewer days in class, Associated Press reports. Fulton County school officials were expected to approve a shortened school calendar this week.
But Coweta County "has not found that option particularly desirable," said Dean Jackson, spokesperson for the Coweta County School System.
"The Board of Education and the superintendent are aware that folks have done that," Jackson said, referring to trimming the calendar in exchange for lengthening the school day.
Although furlough days and layoffs have been implemented in Coweta, the local school board "has been consistent in saying that they are not going to do anything that would impact instruction," Jackson said.
"So right now we're able to avoid doing that," he said. "It's basically something the school board and the superintendent just have not looked at, although they are aware that it is going on elsewhere."
Fulton County's new calendar would keep students on campus for only 177 days -- three fewer days than the state's standard 180-day school year.
The move will save Fulton County $1.1 million, officials told AP. It will bring to at least three the number of Georgia school systems cutting days to help balance their books."
At a called meeting in late July, the Coweta County Board of Education decided to eliminate the first teacher work day of Aug. 4.
Originally, pre-planning was to run Aug. 4-6 before the start of the 2009-2010 school year on Aug. 7. Teachers instead went back on Aug. 5.
In all, three unpaid furlough days were approved.
Of course, the "off days" come at a price. Coweta Superintendent Blake Bass estimated that teachers will now take home an average of $40 less per month, due to the furloughs. The furloughs followed a wave of layoffs of school personnel.
Coweta school officials have warned that more furlough days may become necessary, depending on the news they receive from the state regarding revenues. Otherwise, the school budget seems to be in good shape, local officials report.
The financial effects of a shorter year are easy to measure, but the effect on students' performance is less clear, AP reports. Research suggests that a few days may not make much of a difference but, in Georgia, one system has dropped more than a month.
The cost-cutting also comes as schools face increased federal testing goals and calls and encouragement from experts nationally to re-examine school calendars and move in the opposite direction, pumping them up with longer school days, lengthening the school year and giving teachers significantly more time to plan lessons.
Georgia lawmakers this year gave school systems the option to shorten their 180-day calendars, as long as kids spent the same amount of time in instructions. For Fulton and other systems, that has meant plans to cut some school days and add 10 to 30 minutes to each day.
Fulton's plan, which will take effect in August with a few extra days of summer break, means its 88,000 students will spend an extra 10 minutes a day in school, spokeswoman Allison Toller said.
JoBeth Allen, a UGA education professor, said, "It's my personal feeling no one is going to learn anything extra by extending the school day by 10 minutes [unless] the instruction is dramatically different."
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i don't exactly understand,my property tax on three acres is $1500.00 a year over a $1000.00 states it is school tax.all my children are grown,my youngest is 22 yrs old.he finished school at 16,and i know many people my age that this holds true for,where is the money for schools going? what about the lottery,i'm in retail,lottery sales have risen not gone down. the first day of school my daughter /mother of 3 couldn't fit the children in the car because of all the school supplies,papertowels ,tissues,santitizer,all purpose cleaners,soft soap,then came pencils,crayons ect.she spent 50.00 per child just for supplies. hello people
Posted by bls at 12:31 AM
Then you come in and teach a bunch of brat kids and put up with their parents.
Posted by Dash Riprock at 11:29 PM
I am all for private schools, but they do not pay teachers nearly what public schools do. What does budget cuts have to do with the quality of education in private vs. public? I have taught in private schools, but found that I couldn't afford it any longer. I needed to make better money to support my family. Even with the furlough days I am significantly better off!
Posted by Sara at 8:50 PM
This is exactley why my daugter goes to a private school. I don't think that Blake Bass is thinking of our children or our teacher's.They are looking at the bottom line, not our children's education or just how much we need great teacher's. Soon these teacher's are going to have to get job's that they can relay on the same pay from year to year and get the respect they deserve for helping us so much for being a teacher. Let's get rid of some paid people that don't teach!
Posted by Debbie Canney at 12:28 PM
I don't believe teachers should have to take any more cuts in pay. I feel like we need to find othere ways to cut the budget. It is ashame we have to make cuts in education at all. Education should be the last thing effected by the poor economy.
Posted by Katie at 11:16 AM
just cut out things like winter vacation and all the other days off during the year and let the kids out earlier, then we could save money on things like a/c, lights, etc..
Posted by Bo at 9:05 AM
Please don't chide teachers about "soul searching." As a teacher, I didn't that several years ago and concluded that my positive impact on students outweighs my personal comfort. I spent $500+ each year for "extras" to improve my instruction in my classroom. I've already done so this year even though my pay has been cut and school budgets have been cut over the past 5 years. Oh, by the way, I've never received any BOE budget monies for my classroom in 7 years.
Posted by bvp at 7:07 AM
While teachers are very important indeed. But haven't other important state workers being forced to take furloughs too? I heard the state troopers got forced to take off a few days too. And well my safety on the highway is important too. I feel sorry for teachers but police ,fireighters and state troopers have lost pay too.
Posted by Think about it at 8:26 PM
Shorting the school year is not the answer. And teachers shouldn't have to work without pay either. I wouldn't mind a tax hike but the government taxes us to death already. I say keep the budget like it is and cut out spending unless its life or death. The school system doesn't need new schools right now til the economy turns around. Cut out anything that isn't needed.
Posted by New Peach at 5:57 PM
If loosing $100.00 a month is going to seriously affect your budget maybe some debt reduction and some soul searching when purchasing non-essential items is in order. Just a suggestion.
Posted by mb at 3:56 PM
If there are more furloughs, you will begin to see some significant impact on students. Many of us have simply absorbed these 3 days and moved forward. Any more layoffs or furloughs and morale will be shot and you will begin to see a very negative impact on students. We are told constantly how important we are, and yet the school system sits on top of millions in reserve while they continue to make cuts to the people who they claim are most important to the instruction of the students. We'll see how important we REALLY are in the coming months.
Posted by another teacher at 2:04 PM
I lost $100 a month....thank goodness for that second job I have to help me make it through the month. If we have more furlough days I guess I can start looking for job number 3.
Posted by CC Teacher at 12:07 PM
Work days allow teachers to collaborate. Curriculum is challenging and teachers support one another to implement it successfully. Some things can't be done from home. And many of us don't have regular planning time during each day. Working extra unpaid overtime can not be the answer either, there are only so many hours in each day. I wonder why office staff was at work on the last furlough day.
Posted by Teacher at 12:00 PM
Most of the teachers lost $70+ per month for 12 months for the three furlough days. I lost $840 for the year. The pay cut does hurt our students since most teachers buy materials to educate our children.
Posted by Teacher at 7:57 AM
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School Cuts
11/7/2009
Link To This Comment
Teachers don't understand it either. We get no supplies and therefore have to either ask for them or buy them ourselves. Usually both. Due to furloughs I have stopped buying anything for my class. This means that almost all my students come with out paper or pencils daily. Their parents just expect teachers to supply them and they don't pay for thier own children. There are many other places money can be cut than education, police, or fire. Stop abusing the groups that are in their jobs as a calling and will do them no matter how much you cut their pay. You know that's the reason you hit these groups first.
Posted by Tired of it all at 6:18 PM