Nov. 20, 2008

                Cuts coming for Wake schools

Wake County public schools are being asked to find about $11 million in budget cuts as revenues continue to decline at both the state and local levels.

School officials were told this week that the state is requiring local districts to make cuts and Wake’s share will be at least $5.5 million. County commissioners have not yet made a formal request, but they also want Wake to cut its budget.

In a letter to the school superintendent, county officials said all other county agencies would have to cut their budgets by about 4 percent if the school district doesn’t reduce the amount of local money it spends. If the school district took the same cut as all other agencies, it would remove an additional $5.5 million from the school budget.

School board members said they are willing to make some cuts, but stopped short of offering $5.5 million. They have no choice in returning the $5.5 million in state funds.

The request could offer immediate insight into how budget issues will be handled by the county commissioners following the defeat of Republican Kenn Gardner by Democrat Stan Norwalk. In an email to supporters, Norwalk asked for “a large show of support” to prevent the cuts. “These downward trends have to stop!” the email said.

Public schools throughout the country are feeling the squeeze. Alabama’s schools received only 75 percent of the funds they normally get from the state in October. Mississippi is cutting 2 percent this year and 4 percent next year. Some Arizona schools are moving to a four-day week to save operating costs.

Regardless of how the current requests play out, Wake school board members told Superintendent Del Burns to put together a list of priorities if the economy keeps slipping.

       Graduation goal: 100%

The Wake school board set a goal this week that didn’t get much attention, but could have a significant effect on the quality of schools in the coming years.

After debating for weeks where to set its goals for graduation rates, the board decided 100 percent of students would graduate by 2014.

It’s a tall order for a district that currently graduates about 80 percent of it students. Wake’s graduation rate is better than the state average of roughly 70 percent, but it still leaves thousands of students without a decent set of skills for the future.

The goal drew immediate criticism from some parents who say it is unattainable and therefore meaningless. But the standard is also reminiscent of the district’s decision in 1998 to have 95 percent of students at grade level by 2003.

That goal was also a stretch given the passing rate of about 80 percent on reading and math tests in elementary and middle schools in 1998. The district didn’t meet its goal. Just over 91 percent of students passed reading and math in 2003. It was still an impressive showing. Perhaps more importantly, it kept schools focused.

There is nothing muddy – or easy – about setting a goal of 100 percent. But in the end, the board found it harder to answer a different question: Who gets left behind should Wake schools set the bar lower?

Assignment plan takes different tack

Wake County public school leaders released the first draft this week of a student reassignment plan that will affect almost 27,000 students during the next three years. While reassignments are an annual event, this plan is different in several key ways.

The most obvious difference is the time frame. The district is trying to give families far more notice with a three-year plan than the typical one-year cycle. Administrators also started sooner, involved more of the public in early planning and are seeking more comment before passing the draft along to school board members.

Unlike previous years, administrators will answer parents’ questions during a series of meetings in December, and they expect to make revisions based on those meetings. Comments are also being encouraged on the district’s web page. In the past, board members would only hear comments without responding.

It’s not clear if this approach will make things any easier on parents or school officials. And plenty can still go wrong. The county’s ability to finance 10 new schools is uncertain in the current economy. A pending court case involving year-round school assignments could complicate issues.

But the enrollment growth has either already occurred or is still expected. Even in down years, Wake County attracts enough new kids to fill a small-sized school district and the kids have to sit somewhere. The school board will receive the plan Dec. 16. It will then hold its own hearings to take comment with a goal of final approval in February.

The darker areas on the map at the left represent denser growth. The circles show planned schools and help illustrate how growth is moving outward. Larger maps that also show new middle and high schools can be found on the district’s web site.
 

                          Noteworthy

President-elect Barack Obama hasn’t selected an education secretary yet, but former Gov. Jim Hunt says it won’t be him. Hunt told The News & Observer he expects to advise the new president but doesn’t want to move to Washington….The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a significant shift in focus last week saying it wants to more than double the proportion of low-income graduates who go to college, something educators in Wake took notice of given the new graduation goal…..Partnership Trustee Ann Goodnight received the 2008 North Carolina Award for Public Service this week, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the state, for her dedication to education reform and art appreciation.