SUN Post RAS Financials
G2A Facing Reality vs Honoring Promises
Thoughts?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Raising social involvement, self awareness and self improvement topics, because our communities are the sum of our personal beliefs, behaviors, action or inaction. Only "we" can improve our family, work place, school, city, country, etc.
Search This Blog
Useful Links
YOU CAN HELP NOW !!!
Tell friends, relatives, co-workers, neighbors, politicians, etc to google give2attain or send them this address now !!!http://give2attain.blogspot.com/ Then I promise to keep posting unique and/or helpful thoughts, and hosting open polite dialogue. Thank You !!!
Trying for Balance
G2A Email and Rules
email: give2get@live.com
G2A will only discuss things that are general public knowledge. (ie no privileged info)
G2A will only link to public / posted documents. (ie school and other websites)
G2A will not post based on singular specific personal conversations or information without permission from the information provider.
G2a will only post after observing common themes, issues, discussions, etc. (ie it is out there and people are talking about it)
G2A will moderate any comments that apply derogatory labels. Be it to G2A, another commenter, group of people, etc.
G2A will moderate any comment that includes offensive language. (ie swearing)
G2A will only discuss things that are general public knowledge. (ie no privileged info)
G2A will only link to public / posted documents. (ie school and other websites)
G2A will not post based on singular specific personal conversations or information without permission from the information provider.
G2a will only post after observing common themes, issues, discussions, etc. (ie it is out there and people are talking about it)
G2A will moderate any comments that apply derogatory labels. Be it to G2A, another commenter, group of people, etc.
G2A will moderate any comment that includes offensive language. (ie swearing)
Blog Archive
-
▼
2009
(191)
-
▼
December
(19)
- RAS: When Reality Hits
- Eulogies, Awareness, Improvement
- Tenure: Golden Handcuffs
- God Works in Mysterious Ways?
- 96% or 4% ? My choice
- Excellent Link
- RAS Musical Chairs or Something More?
- RAS / Education Links
- Now for Something Totally Different
- Why High Educational Stds are NOT OPTIONAL !!!
- RAS: To Build or not to Build
- The Obituary of an Old Friend
- Performance Reviews
- Reader Update & Usual Pleading
- Steps and Lanes
- The KMA Card
- An Incredible RAS Agenda
- RAS Truth in Taxation
- Sir, The Class Is Too Hard
-
▼
December
(19)
About Me
- John
- I am married and we have 3 adult daughters and a dog. We live in Plymouth MN. My interests are learning, communicating, home improvement projects, motorcycling, boating, and other outside activities. Thank you for reading my blog and have a great day !!!
12 comments:
It appears to me that RAS is starting to set the stage for asking for more money, laying off employees, budget reductions and increases in classroom sizes. This ONLY a little over one year after passing a referendum that we were told would last 7 YEARS???
RAS may not be able to last a couple of years on the referendum?
Maybe RAS should put a plan to cut the operating cost of the EXCESS FACILITIES that are still operating at FULL COSTS? Maybe they need to start cutting programs that are not cost beneficial for the whole district? Let me back track. Start to identify programs the are not cost beneficial for the whole district. I have been told that this information is currently not available.
I am glad that Superintendent Sicoli is starting to plan for the issues that appear to be coming. This is a change from the former Superintendent's wait until the problem is on top of the district.
What are your thoughts, other residents?
@ numbers guy:
Can't much fault the district for making cuts when the state funding that existed in their budget projections (I assume) gets cut. Referendum or no, there's fewer funds, so something has to go. Regrettable, though.
As far as cutting excess facilities, seems like they started doing that last year with the school closings/consolidations. Good operational/budgetary decision, imo, but made plenty of people mad.
Programs, I can agree with you there. I believe in growing the ones that benefit many and trimming those that benefit few. Are sports on the table?
And I also agree that Sicoli seems to be on the right track.
I agree with you both to some extent, I just found it fascinating that the Board reinstated some of the spending when they knew the financial crisis was coming....
My favorite of course was the cross district transportation that was supposed to be gone this year, but was resurrected at someone's whim in Feb09... Or Spanish Immersion being moved to PMS...
Of course you can look at past postings for other ideas. What do you think should be cut? (ie before increasing class sizes...)
Once again, the lack of transparent finances makes it difficult to evaluate, let alone debate this issue.
This prompted an amusing thought. Why don't we challenge 281 to eliminate Spanish Immersion, to save the District $ 3 million annually minus some shutdown costs. That figure of course is a SWAG, but it would be the operative figure until the District publishes and shows how they calculated SI's true cost. And that might be difficult with Finance Director Gary Hauan gone.
The challenge is that it is a revenue and cost game... However it would be interesting to see how many run from the district if RSI closed... Based on the linked post, I don't think it would bode well. Too many people are scared of the majority of elementary schools. (justified or not...)
Why Pay More
Anonymous,
The point that I was trying to make regarding the "Excess Facilities Costs" are that the operating cost of the facilities has NOT changes or HAS NOT been reduced. The District has saved "people costs" by closing schools, but that is only part of the savings that was shown at the time the decision to close schools was made..
I am a member of the Divestiture Plan Committee. As of last month's (Dec. 2009) meeting the District may not reduce operating cost of those "Excess Facilities" for up to TWO MORE YEARS if that soon. And Superintendent Sicoli doesn't know if it is in the best interest of the District to sell any of the "Excess Facilities" over the next 10 - 15 years, because we don't know if we MIGHT need them in the next 10-15 years. However, there was no plan or facts to support Superintendent Sicoli statement that the enrollment projections that were part of the Wold study were wrong or the District has a plan to increase enrollment to full those "Excess Facilities".
All who are following this topic may want to read the Star Tribune article & comments written on 1/1/2010 by Norm Draper (see link attached) http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/80485532.html?elr=KArks:DCiUHc3E7_V_nDaycUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr .
If I remember correctly, RAS is keeping all of the vacant buildings heated and maintained. The concern is that if they drain them and let them freeze, other issues will supposedly begin to occur. I assume this is pretty expensive on a cold weekend like this. Please drop a note if I am incorrect on this.
Draper Article
John,
What I am talking about was the "Excess Facilities" are still being used for programs (Winnetka Learning & Cavanagh) and Sandburg is NOT being used as planned to move the programs from Winnetka Learning & Cavanagh. And the PLANNED use may not be done for a couple of years. Also, based on Superintendent Sicoli's statements the "Excess Facilities" maybe held on to for many years (10-15 years) for possible needs if enrollment increases. But no plan for how the enrollment will be increased or that the enrollment projects in Wold study are wrong and why!!!!
Yes, RAS does have to keep the heat and minimal maintenance of vacated buildings (Pilgrim Lane). This information is not made public to date (RAS website for Divestiture Committee has minutes through 8/19/09 and agenda from 9/23/09. However our last meeting was 11/18/09. Our next meeting is 1/6/10 (this coming Wed.) at 7:00 pm. All citizens that are interested should plan to attend.
I hope that this clarifies my points better.
It's the same old problem, namely that school budgets aren't transparent and useful. Private businesses and citizens build budgets so that available revenue goes to fund the highest priorities first. They establish allowable expenditures in each category, look for savings in the largest ones and let the lowest priorities "fall off" the bottom of the list when revenues disappoint.
School budgets are the opposite. They add up all their "wants" and then go looking for the revenue to fund them. There are no priorities, and no one (practically) looks for reasonable savings. Chances are that when cuts are made they will be made to the highest priority items, rather than the lowest, because they simply do not know (or care, I think) what those are. Until they are forced to change, this will be the way of it, it's their nature. Simple solutions exist.
J. Ewing
By the way, I don't have a problem with the "supersized" elementary school. For the first few grades, at least, kids stay in the same room and with the same teacher. As far as they are concerned the school "size" is their one classroom full of kids. The one teacher is going to know them all. When they get to middle school and start floating between classrooms and teachers, where all teachers know of them is in their record and gradebook (unless they stick out, somehow), they're going to get "lost." But that's what we do.
J. Ewing
R5==where do you see the money savings from shutting down RSI? Is it $3M total budget for that school? By my math, that gives a per student cost of around 4-5k, which would seem to be a very realistic (low) number, especially given that it appears to be producing good results? I doubt those same students could be educated for less by putting them in other schools, and there would by no measure be $3M "saved".
Any particular reason (aside from your limited enrollment complaint) that you'd want to take that perfectly good model out of production, to use a mfg analogy?
And then to paraphrase Hiram, is the point of schools to educate kids identically and at rock bottom prices, or to do it well and at reasonable costs?
J--
Re the "supersized" elementary. I'm not opposed to in on principle, but I just don't see how you manage to get, say 1200 kids in and out of a cafeteria, playground, gymnasium, etc. Not to mention pickup/drop off or bus loading safety. There may or may not be an economy of scale there, but the operational issues seem real and complicated. On a related note, however, I don't think this is the time to replace a building. I don't know the nuances of the situation, but I'd rather limp through with the exisiting Northport/Lakeview facilites than build--based on both the economy and the principle of doing so right now.
In general, I think we need to hold the line as much as possible through the tough economic times and trim waste (which Sicoli appears to be doing). I'm not a fan of huge, drastic cuts and changes that will have permanent effects in responding to what will hopefully be a temporary recession.
Post a Comment