No matter what..
... don't cut sports!
Last (this was written on Wednesday, but posted Thursday) night's BRRSD Board of Ed meeting had 3 main messages.
* One was from parents to the BOE - keep sports. Don't cut trainers, don't cut awards , don't cut middle school sports.
* One from the BOE to parents - we care about sports. Christine Schneider gave a heart wrenching plea to demonstrate how vital sports are to her. She thanked several big-wig sports families in the audience (I've never seen a BOE member thank individuals at a meeting, they normally barely recognize the public) for their support.
* Everyone's message was VOTE YES on the BUDGET.
In fact, several members of the BOE reiterated their support for sports, recognizing hard financial times. The BOE expressed their happiness that no one got as nasty as those pesky (my word, not theirs) library-fighting parents. Several BOE members compared the civility of last night's meeting to the messy bookie-vigilantes meetings 2 years ago. Of course, the situation is completely different. These are hearings before cuts have been made. That was after being blindsided by unexpected cuts.
Schilder presented the same Powerpoint that is on the website (www.brrsd.k12.nj.us) and that I mentioned a few weeks ago. This included the "doomsday" slide - the contents I have pasted here (in italix - red is my emphasis not in original)
0% Budget Options
PERSONNEL Cut all new personnel requests Eliminate all non special education teaching assistant positions Increase class size (6 teachers)
PROGRAMS/CURRICULUM Eliminate all new curricular adoptions Eliminate all summer curriculum writing Reduce staff development Decrease elective offerings at High School Eliminate non-mandated programs, K-12 Eliminate district sponsored field trips
FACILITIES Suspend all facilities improvements
ATHLETIC/ CO-CURRICULAR Cut all sports, grades 7-9 Cut all after-school activities/transportation (non-athletic), grades K-9
SERVICES Restructure custodial and maintenance services Eliminate all courtesy bussing
The purpose of this slide is to show what would have to be cut in order to achieve a
0% tax levy increase or if deep cuts had to be made for any reason. It should be
made clear to the public that neither the Board nor administration endorse making
these cuts and in fact, it is our belief that doing so would greatly undermine the
quality of education in Bridgewater-Raritan Schools.
Isn't everyone's first priority LEARNING? People were complaining that they are potentially spending $400K on math. God forbid we spend money on MATH! Now, I'm not saying I am sold on whatever program(s) they are looking at (that's still to be presented - they won't even tell what they are considering), but it is the principle of the matter. Shouldn't money be focused on academics first and foremost.
The Superintendent said that if the "doomsday" financial situation comes true, there would be other consequences: the high school may be forced to go from a 9 period to a 8 period day eliminating at least 1 elective per child (not to mention cutting access to academic non-electives). This will hinder many of the suggested options to alleviate overcrowding in this HS during the "bubble" years with this upcoming extra large class.
Parents hardly mentioned this, though! Parent after parent came in support of sports. I guess if they can organize themselves well enough, we don't have to worry about the budget passing. Maybe this is a good thing - this us-against-them mentality?
So in the end, completely unprepared to speak and with a lot of ums and uhs, I said "I'm here to remind the board that no matter what they cut, we expect that nothing will directly impact learning the basics of the core curriculum." (Or something like that).
The next few BOE meetings will be must-see events. They will be presenting the math findings and will discuss what the strategic planning has presented to the BOE and give time for comment. At least this time we got an advance notice of what is on the table for cuts if the budget doesn't pass. That is progress.
Last (this was written on Wednesday, but posted Thursday) night's BRRSD Board of Ed meeting had 3 main messages.
* One was from parents to the BOE - keep sports. Don't cut trainers, don't cut awards , don't cut middle school sports.
* One from the BOE to parents - we care about sports. Christine Schneider gave a heart wrenching plea to demonstrate how vital sports are to her. She thanked several big-wig sports families in the audience (I've never seen a BOE member thank individuals at a meeting, they normally barely recognize the public) for their support.
* Everyone's message was VOTE YES on the BUDGET.
In fact, several members of the BOE reiterated their support for sports, recognizing hard financial times. The BOE expressed their happiness that no one got as nasty as those pesky (my word, not theirs) library-fighting parents. Several BOE members compared the civility of last night's meeting to the messy bookie-vigilantes meetings 2 years ago. Of course, the situation is completely different. These are hearings before cuts have been made. That was after being blindsided by unexpected cuts.
Schilder presented the same Powerpoint that is on the website (www.brrsd.k12.nj.us) and that I mentioned a few weeks ago. This included the "doomsday" slide - the contents I have pasted here (in italix - red is my emphasis not in original)
0% Budget Options
PERSONNEL Cut all new personnel requests Eliminate all non special education teaching assistant positions Increase class size (6 teachers)
PROGRAMS/CURRICULUM Eliminate all new curricular adoptions Eliminate all summer curriculum writing Reduce staff development Decrease elective offerings at High School Eliminate non-mandated programs, K-12 Eliminate district sponsored field trips
FACILITIES Suspend all facilities improvements
ATHLETIC/ CO-CURRICULAR Cut all sports, grades 7-9 Cut all after-school activities/transportation (non-athletic), grades K-9
SERVICES Restructure custodial and maintenance services Eliminate all courtesy bussing
The purpose of this slide is to show what would have to be cut in order to achieve a
0% tax levy increase or if deep cuts had to be made for any reason. It should be
made clear to the public that neither the Board nor administration endorse making
these cuts and in fact, it is our belief that doing so would greatly undermine the
quality of education in Bridgewater-Raritan Schools.
Isn't everyone's first priority LEARNING? People were complaining that they are potentially spending $400K on math. God forbid we spend money on MATH! Now, I'm not saying I am sold on whatever program(s) they are looking at (that's still to be presented - they won't even tell what they are considering), but it is the principle of the matter. Shouldn't money be focused on academics first and foremost.
The Superintendent said that if the "doomsday" financial situation comes true, there would be other consequences: the high school may be forced to go from a 9 period to a 8 period day eliminating at least 1 elective per child (not to mention cutting access to academic non-electives). This will hinder many of the suggested options to alleviate overcrowding in this HS during the "bubble" years with this upcoming extra large class.
Parents hardly mentioned this, though! Parent after parent came in support of sports. I guess if they can organize themselves well enough, we don't have to worry about the budget passing. Maybe this is a good thing - this us-against-them mentality?
So in the end, completely unprepared to speak and with a lot of ums and uhs, I said "I'm here to remind the board that no matter what they cut, we expect that nothing will directly impact learning the basics of the core curriculum." (Or something like that).
The next few BOE meetings will be must-see events. They will be presenting the math findings and will discuss what the strategic planning has presented to the BOE and give time for comment. At least this time we got an advance notice of what is on the table for cuts if the budget doesn't pass. That is progress.
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