Round One

Last night's board meeting was attended by what looked to be a large crowd of concerned citizens, all eager to hear the discussion as the board processed the superintendent's cost-cutting draft of recommendations. Many good questions were asked by board members (or should I say bored members?) after the lengthy presentation. They seemed to echo many questions that had come their way from concerned families within the last few weeks. They did mention the massive amounts of calls and letters they had gotten, and encouraged more. So they are listening at least. Here's where the recommendation stands at this point:

• FES closes and moves to MVIS building
• Elementaries become K-5
• Intermediate School/program is discontinued for at least 2 years
• MVMS becomes grades 6/7
• 8th grade moves to HS, kept mostly separate from HSers
• elementary and secondary schedules are flip-flopped; instructional day is shortened to the state minimum--ES is 7:45-1:40 for students/Sec. is 8:30-3:30ish
• Half Day kindergarten would still exist, but as 2 1/2 hours in length
• Elementary Art and Music (by specialists) maintained for grades 1-5 (minutes decreased to 90, as opposed to 120 currently)
• Lose 1 each art and music teacher from elementary, other sets share the 3 schools
• Lose one art/music teacher from the Intermediate as result of dissolved school
• Cut 8th grade art
• Elementary teachers do reading interventions while their classes are in specials
• state mandate of 90-120 minutes of uninterrupted reading instruction followed
• shortened lunch/recess for elementary
• Custodial, cafeteria, secretarial staff will be reduced (mostly FES staff)
• All "extra" programming (clubs, sports, academic groups) on "pay to participate"
• Continued freeze of all employee salaries
• Increase of insurance premiums, emphasis on getting people off of family plan
• At least 6 full-time teachers being cut (possibly up to 12 more before this is over)

Unknowns = outsourced transportation, outsourced custodial, state relief on property tax cap, how much more the state will revoke (we were just informed this week of another $15,000 shortfall due to a data error by the state!), CTA outcomes.

This recommendation package included MANY interlocking variables, and only addresses 2/3 of the 1.2 million total shortfall. At this point, it looks hopeful from an arts standpoint, but the CUTTING IS FAR FROM OVER. I am not holding my breath. If any one of these recommendations gets shut down (as a parent, I am having a hard time with the end time of 1:40, like many others!), the superintendent must find more places to cut. We all know where he'll start (or should I say RETURN). I want to be positive, but I am extremely wary about the next month of activity. I am concerned the hard scheduling work our elementary principals have done will be undone and we'll be back to no art and music for elementary kids. I will not be surprised if they slash and burn the arts all the way to HS. It's not pretty folks. Please keep supporting WHAT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF OUR CHILDREN. That has to be the bottom line.