[Vision2020] suggestions for Moscow School District
Joshua Nieuwsma
joshuahendrik@yahoo.com
Tue, 11 Nov 2003 22:42:42 -0800 (PST)
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I as a member of the community and a graduate of a local private school, as well as an aquaintance of some who graduated from MSH, believe that it is within my legal, ethical, and behavioral bounds to comment upon the current finances and programs of the Moscow School District. (tongue in cheek obviously, Mr. Arnold) My parents taxes pay for them and thereby lose money from their bank accounts that would otherwise have benefited my family in some way. I wish to register my strong disbelief that the MSD is doing "all possible" to tighten the purse-strings and plug the holes in the bottom.
According to the Overview of School District Revenues and Expenditures April 2003, found at http://www2.state.id.us/ope/Reports/Rept0302.pdf
Idaho school districts spent more than $900 million in fiscal year 2002 to cover instructional costs. This represented 61.2 percent of current expenditures that year, which were an amazing $1.47 billion. Reflect on that a little. That's about $1000 of tax money per citizen of the state of idaho. That's alot of money. I'd like mine back...it didn't benefit me in any way...
As the Overview goes on to point out: the statewide statistics show that: {emphasis mine}
Exhibit 4.4 shows that salaries and benefits for certified teachers, aides, and classroom assistants accounted for 92 percent of instruction expenditures in fiscal year 2002. Expenditures for supplies and materials, which included costs for textbooks and audio and visual materials, accounted for 5 percent of instructional expenditures. Purchased services that include professional and technical services and equipment rental comprised 3 percent of instruction costs. Expenditures for insurance and judgments that include property and liability and surety bonding were less than one-tenth of one percent.
The overview goes on to point out that:
The average salary, including extra pay, for elementary teachers was $39,734, and $40,870 for secondary teachers. However, secondary teachers earned a larger proportion, 4.5 percent, of their total salary through extra pay compared to 1.1 percent for elementary teachers. The department defines extra pay as compensation for coaching, debate, special music, drama, driver training, summer contracts, and stipends or bonuses.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it bad business practice to be giving out stipends and bonuses when the business is experiencing budget shortfalls? And yet in fiscal year 2002 Idaho schools were spending extra money they didn't really have to pay teachers for providing special music, drama, driver training (there are private businesses for this, you know...), summer contracts (there's a great place to reduce expenditures. Remove summer programs. They weren't needed until just a decade or two ago anyhow...), and for these stipends and bonuses, of course popular with the Teacher's Union, you know...
Where did the other $262,000,000 of that $900 million go? That's alot of money, you know.
To zoom in on the local district, the Moscow School District had a 2002 enrollment of 2,554 students. Total expenditures for 2002 were $19,219,039. 59.7% of the budget was spent on instruction. 10% was spent on education support. 15.1% was spent on administration. 8.6% on Operations and Maintanance of the schools, 3.3% on Food Services, and 3.3% on Transportation.
That 15.1% spent on administration is one of the higher numbers in this Overview's list of schools. The state average is 10.4%. So I would suggest that the administration may be too big. It needs paring down significantly. If they were to merely drop to the state average, that would free up about 4.8% of $2,906,820, or $140,000. That would definitely make a future levy smaller.
How about some of the programs? Instruction includes: Regular School Programs. Includes elementary and secondary education, alternative schools, and vocational and technical programs. Special School Programs. Includes exceptional child, exceptional preschool, and gifted and talented student programs. Activity School Programs. Includes interscholastic competitions, class organizations, student government, and school publications. Other School Programs. Includes summer school and juvenile detention center programs.
Obviously the regular school programs need to be there. What about the Special School Programs? Why should we have an exceptional school program, or an exceptional preschool program? What ever happened to jumping grades when a student is exceptional? That gets the student ahead without costing any money... but maybe that's too easy. I suggest that we eliminate these special school programs. How about the Activity School Programs? In one of the minutes of the MSD board meetings, they commented that the seniors wanted money for senior sneak. You know, where I went to school, the students paid for their extra-curricular activities. Fees were charged, from $15 to $40. Drama included. All money raised goes right back into drama. It doesn't have a budget from the school. And it creates great plays! And the student body raised its own money to operate, go on outings, etc. The seniors obviously raised their own money for their own senior sneak. Why should the school have to pay for !
any of
this??? Finally we have Other School Programs. Nice generic term, there. Summer school could be eliminated, you know. It's not necessary. And we shouldn't have to pay for people who were dumb enough to get themselves stuck in juvenile detention centers, much less for school programs for them!
The obviously major points of saved money would be in the elimination of staff for these programs. Especially these "special" and "exceptional" programs.
Educational Support. MSD spent 1,922,267 in 2002 on Education Support. But what does it do?
Student Support Services. Designed to improve the well-being of students and to supplement the teaching process. These include attendance, guidance, health services, and other services designed to assist students in the Exceptional Child Program.
Instructional Support Services. Designed to assist instructional staff. These include instructional improvement services that assist staff in planning and developing curriculum and evaluating the learning process. Also included are educational media services, library services, and instructional technology services.
Hmm...reading on we discover that "salaries and benefits made up over 82 percent of all education support expenditures." So again, let's get rid of some extra staff. Student support services? Like attendance services? guidance services? health services? What in the world happened to parents? Maybe those were an Old Wworld thing, but the New and Improved World knows better. Parents don't provide healthcare, schools do. Parent's don't guide their kids, schools do. Parent's don't make sure their kids understand the importance of attending school, school counselors do. Alot of unnecessary money being spent here, folks.
Reading on, we discover that it is lucrative to be an administrator or work for administration. Benefits were a full 20%!! of the local $2,906,820 spent on the administration of MSD. Maybe, like mentioned before, a cutback on benefits and salary hikes in times of financial difficulties, eh? I think the administration and the board are too used to possessing a big bank account, and don't know how to scale back. They keep adding new programs and upgrading old ones. Before the MSD or its associates can begin to criticize the local private schools, they need to try a good deal harder to improve themselves. I sense no urgency in their newsletters to do so, only a behemoth's urgency to get more food.
I think my point is clearly made, though I haven't even touched that crazy little idea of the government's called "Food Services". What happened to sack lunches? And please don't use the excuse that the mother doesn't make anything. I remember making sandwiches when I was 6.
There are alot of places that the Moscow school district could pull the collective belt a little tighter to save money, eliminate unnecessary bureaucratic fluff, and remove silly programs. All this stuff about no money and budget deficits is really silly. Let's see real results, not 23.2 averages on the ACT (82% of the graduating class 2003 took the test) and barely acceptable reading and math skills on the aptitude tests. (a 65% average is nothing to cheer about. There's still 35% to go till you've got a truly amazing program.)
sincerely,
Joshua Nieuwsma
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<P>I as a member of the community and a graduate of a local private school, as well as an aquaintance of some who graduated from MSH, believe that it is within my legal, ethical, and behavioral bounds to comment upon the current finances and programs of the Moscow School District. (tongue in cheek obviously, Mr. Arnold) My parents taxes pay for them and thereby lose money from their bank accounts that would otherwise have benefited my family in some way. I wish to register my strong disbelief that the MSD is doing "all possible" to tighten the purse-strings and plug the holes in the bottom.</P>
<P>According to the <FONT face=Arial size=7><STRONG><FONT size=2>Overview of School District </FONT><FONT size=2>Revenues and Expenditures </FONT></STRONG></FONT><FONT face=Arial><STRONG>April 2003, </STRONG>found at <A href="http://www2.state.id.us/ope/Reports/Rept0302.pdf">http://www2.state.id.us/ope/Reports/Rept0302.pdf</A> </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Idaho school districts spent more than $900 million in fiscal year 2002 to cover instructional costs. This represented 61.2 percent of current expenditures that year, which were an amazing $1.47 billion. Reflect on that a little. That's about $1000 of tax money per citizen of the state of idaho. That's alot of money. I'd like mine back...it didn't benefit me in any way...</P>
<P>As the Overview goes on to point out: the statewide statistics show that: {emphasis mine}</P><FONT face="Times New Roman">
<P align=left>Exhibit 4.4 shows that <STRONG>salaries and benefits</STRONG> for certified teachers, aides, and classroom assistants accounted for <STRONG>92 percent</STRONG> of instruction expenditures in fiscal year 2002. <STRONG>Expenditures for supplies and materials, which included costs for textbooks and audio and visual materials, accounted for 5 percent of instructional expenditures.</STRONG> Purchased services that include professional and technical services and equipment rental comprised 3 percent of instruction costs. Expenditures for insurance and judgments that include property and liability and surety bonding were less than one-tenth of one percent.</P>
<P></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT face=arial>The overview goes on to point out that:</FONT></FONT></P><FONT face="Times New Roman">
<P align=left>The average salary, including extra pay, for elementary teachers was $39,734, and $40,870 for secondary teachers. However, secondary teachers earned a larger proportion, 4.5 percent, of their total salary through extra pay compared to 1.1 percent for elementary teachers. The department defines extra pay as compensation for coaching, debate, special music, drama, driver training, summer contracts, and stipends or bonuses.</P></FONT>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT face=arial>Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it <EM>bad</EM> business practice to be giving out stipends and bonuses when the business is experiencing budget shortfalls? And yet in fiscal year 2002 Idaho schools were spending extra money they didn't really have to pay teachers for providing special music, drama, driver training (there are private businesses for this, you know...), summer contracts (there's a great place to reduce expenditures. Remove summer programs. They weren't needed until just a decade or two ago anyhow...), and for these stipends and bonuses, of course popular with the Teacher's Union, you know...</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT face=arial>Where did the other $262,000,000 of that $900 million go?</FONT> That's alot of money, you know. </FONT></P>
<P>To zoom in on the local district, the Moscow School District had a 2002 enrollment of 2,554 students. Total expenditures for 2002 were $19,219,039. 59.7% of the budget was spent on instruction. 10% was spent on education support. 15.1% was spent on administration. 8.6% on Operations and Maintanance of the schools, 3.3% on Food Services, and 3.3% on Transportation. </P>
<P>That 15.1% spent on administration is one of the higher numbers in this Overview's list of schools. The state average is 10.4%. So I would suggest that the administration may be too big. It needs paring down significantly. If they were to merely drop to the state average, that would free up about 4.8% of $2,906,820, or $140,000. That would definitely make a future levy smaller.<FONT face=ArialMT size=1></P></FONT>
<P>How about some of the programs? Instruction includes: <FONT face=Symbol></FONT><B><FONT face="Times New Roman">Regular School Programs. </B></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman">Includes elementary and secondary education, alternative schools, and vocational and technical programs. </FONT><FONT face=Symbol> </FONT><B><FONT face="Times New Roman">Special School Programs. </B></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman">Includes exceptional child, exceptional preschool, and gifted and talented student programs. </FONT><FONT face=Symbol> </FONT><B><FONT face="Times New Roman">Activity School Programs. </B></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman">Includes interscholastic competitions, class organizations, student government, and school publications. </FONT><FONT face=Symbol> </FONT><B><FONT face="Times New Roman">Other School Programs. </B></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman">Includes summer school and juvenile detention center programs.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT face=arial>Obviously the regular school programs need to be there. What about the <EM>Special School Programs?</EM> <STRONG>Why should we have an exceptional school program, or an exceptional preschool program?</STRONG> <STRONG>What ever happened to jumping grades when a student is exceptional?</STRONG> That gets the student ahead <EM>without</EM> costing any money... but maybe that's too easy. I suggest that we eliminate these special school programs. How about the <EM>Activity School Programs</EM>? In one of the minutes of the MSD board meetings, they commented that the seniors wanted money for senior sneak. You know, where I went to school, the <STRONG>students</STRONG> paid for their extra-curricular activities. Fees were charged, from $15 to $40. Drama included. All money raised goes right back into drama. It doesn't have a budget from the school. And it creates great plays! And the student body raised its own money to operate,!
go on
outings, etc. The seniors obviously raised their own money for their own senior sneak. Why should the school have to pay for any of this??? Finally we have <EM>Other School Programs</EM>. Nice generic term, there. Summer school could be eliminated, you know. It's not necessary. And we shouldn't have to pay for people who were dumb enough to get themselves stuck in juvenile detention centers, much less for school programs for them!</FONT></FONT></P>
<P>The obviously major points of saved money would be in the elimination of staff for these programs. Especially these "special" and "exceptional" programs. </P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT face=Arial>Educational Support. MSD spent 1,922,267 in 2002 on Education Support. But what does it do?<FONT face=ArialMT size=1></P><B><FONT face="Times New Roman">
<P align=left><FONT size=2>Student Support Services. </FONT></B></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=2>Designed to improve the well-being of students and to supplement the teaching process. These include attendance, guidance, health services, and other services designed to assist students in the Exceptional Child Program.</FONT></P></FONT><FONT face=Symbol>
<P align=left><FONT size=2> </FONT></FONT><B><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=2>Instructional Support Services. </FONT></B></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=2>Designed to assist instructional staff. These include instructional improvement services that assist staff in planning and developing curriculum and evaluating the learning process. Also included are educational media services, library services, and instructional technology services.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P align=left><FONT face=arial size=2>Hmm...reading on we discover that "<FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT face=arial>salaries and benefits made up over 82 percent of all education support expenditures." So again, let's get rid of some extra staff<EM>. Student support services?</EM> Like attendance services? guidance services? health services? <STRONG>What in the world happened to parents? </STRONG>Maybe those were an Old Wworld thing, but the New and Improved World knows better. Parents don't provide healthcare, schools do. Parent's don't guide their kids, schools do. Parent's don't make sure their kids understand the importance of attending school, school counselors do. Alot of unnecessary money being spent here, folks.</FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P align=left><FONT face=arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT face=Arial>Reading on, we discover that it is lucrative to be an administrator or work for administration. Benefits were a full <STRONG>20%</STRONG>!! of the local $<FONT face=ArialMT size=1><FONT face=arial size=2>2,906,820 spent on the administration of MSD. Maybe, like mentioned before, a cutback on benefits and salary hikes in times of financial difficulties, eh? I think the administration and the board are too used to possessing a big bank account, and don't know how to scale back. They keep adding new programs and upgrading old ones. Before the MSD or its associates can begin to criticize the local private schools, they need to try a good deal harder to improve themselves. I sense no urgency in their newsletters to do so, only a behemoth's urgency to get more food. </FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P align=left><FONT size=2>I think<FONT face=arial><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT face=Arial><FONT face=ArialMT> my point is clearly made, though I haven't even touched that crazy little idea of the government's called "Food Services". What happened to sack lunches? And please don't use the excuse that the mother doesn't make anything. I remember making sandwiches when I was 6. </FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P align=left><FONT size=2><FONT face=arial><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT face=Arial><FONT face=ArialMT>There are alot of places that the Moscow school district could pull the collective belt a little tighter to save money, eliminate unnecessary bureaucratic fluff, and remove silly programs. All this stuff about no money and budget deficits is really silly. Let's see real results, not 23.2 averages on the ACT (82% of the graduating class 2003 took the test) and barely acceptable reading and math skills on the aptitude tests. (a 65% average is nothing to cheer about. There's still 35% to go till you've got a truly amazing program.)</FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P align=left><FONT face=arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT face=Arial><FONT face=ArialMT size=1><FONT size=2>sincerely,</FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P align=left><FONT face=arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT face=Arial><FONT face=ArialMT size=1><FONT size=2>Joshua Nieuwsma</FONT></P></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT><p><hr SIZE=1>
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