Local School Budgets:Seperating Salaries from Programs

JimVT | 04/03/05 | JImVT

[JimVT]

Mine is obviously just one community that is trying to pass school budgets that have escalated far beyond COL numbers!

[JimVT]

Have any Freeper communities been successful in getting the "Personnel Costs" i.e., teachers salaries, insurance, professional training, sick days, personal days, etc....separated from the total budget?

Have any communities had the option of voting for two separate budgets?

If so...can you provide information?

[Jaysun]

http://www.state.vt.us/educ/new/pdfdoc/pubs/expenditures_96_01.pdf

Start on page 7

[Jaysun]

Also, look on the State of Vermont Dept of "Education" Page

http://www.state.vt.us/educ/index.htm

[ASOC]

Take a look at Anchorage AK and shudder.

87% of the budget is "labor" in a district that spends $8K per student/year - and the teachers are getting ready to go on strike as they don't make enough.
With State and local spending, Anchorage puts out $5,120 per student - and still have students who graduate and cannot read.

Question back to you - what do you pay in property taxes to support local education? And we do not get to vote on the budget, only on bonds and board members.

[Mark49]

I served on my local school board for 4 years. In my area (SE Michigan) approximately 85-90% of the operating budget is for personnel costs (salaries, insurance, retirement, etc). This was true for all the districts in my area. Thus there can be no real cost cutting without impacting personnel.

Cutting personnel costs is immediately translated as cutting the quality of education for the children. The system is so fortified that the only way to escape always rising costs is the implementation of competitive choices.