An interesting note from the RAS LAC. I am not sure why the range is as big as it is, but it looks like the reduction in Integration funding is going to bite us in the Robbinsdale school district. If you support our oppose this, now is probably a good time to weigh in with your Legislator... Thoughts or more details?
"Legislation being considered in the state house and senate right now could mean anywhere from $300,000 to $3,000,000 in cuts to our Robbinsdale Area School District."
RAS Legislative Action Committee Request
Parents United 6May11 Update
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11 comments:
I guess I should say I am impressed by the vastness of the muddled thinking coming out of Parents United. They believe that money determines educational outcomes and that government money is an infinite resource. They believe that integration has nothing to do with "closing the gap" and that spending integration funding to improve literacy in "disadvantaged" schools is a terrible thing. What?
If funding is "cut" for your school district (make sure it's not really just a reduction in what they had wanted to spend before getting excited) then it is reasonable to ask what are the lowest priority budget items that can be trimmed or eliminated, or how higher-priority spending might be reformed to do better at less cost. One good example would be slightly increasing the number of kids per classroom in the upper grades and releasing a few (hopefully the least effective) teachers. Other opportunities abound, I'm sure, BUT... I will bet you that your Board will just look baffled if you ask about "budget priorities." They do not think in those terms. Just a guess, mind you.
My guess is that folks at Parents United are concerned that the nuts will disappear during the GOP shell game. What will get transferred from Integration to ??? seems a bit fuzzy to say the least?
Especially when the GOP tries to slip in their moral/values agenda. I think they are pretty much focused on the lucky 80% and not too concerned about that unlucky 20%. Sounds like the normal Conservative line...
And since RAS has more poverty, minorities and languages than average... I assume the unlucky percentage is higher, thus we will likely see a funding reduction.
MN Student Demographics
RAS Student Demographics
I thought this was a fascinating link that contained many pieces of information. USA Today Tax Burden at Lowest
Revenues at lowest, per person spending much higher, household income way down, tax rates high/low?, etc... No wonder we are going deep into debt...
My understanding of the education bill was that money was being taken from "integration," which accomplished nothing, and would be spent on "literacy," which would be something quite important for communities of color who make up most of the "unfortunates." In other words, most of the integration money would still go to the same schools, but targeted at actual results instead of the race-based approaches of liberal white DFLers.
And I must think you for helping me see the light. If I had known that Republicans saying every child can learn and every teacher should teach were just code words for racism, I would have never joined the party.
I believe the money taken from Mpls and St. Paul schools integration funds (and perhaps to a much lesser extent inner ring suburbs)) is going in part to greater funding for charter schools. I think the funding for literacy comes from freezing the dollars for special ed. (which is like a cut to all districts as they will have to use gen ed. funds for mandated spec ed services.)
It will bite us only if money really matters here. At the work session tonight, they said Integration funds 40+ headcount. Per prior reports to the Board, they aren't having any significant success.
Jerry,
Not racist, just naive in thinking that all kids have Parents that care and are capable...
Laurie,
The good thing about freezing Special Ed dollars is they can look like they are actually controlling costs... While really doing nothing... Since the laws and Parents drive the actual activities. The districts just have to steal from another pocket.
Speed,
Maybe that's why there is such a big range in their reduction estimate... $300K status quo... $3 mil if Integration was where they wish it was... Which would make it one of those $3 mil hypothetical cuts... (ie non-cut cuts)
"Not racist, just naive in thinking that all kids have Parents that care and are capable..."
Sorry, but that's a very racist thing to say. I am going to assume that EVERY parent cares until a court determines otherwise and takes the kids away. You cannot blame parents for not making choices they are not offered. Being forced to send your kid to a failing and possibly dangerous school does not mean you are uncaring. Nor does it mean you are incapable of choosing better if it is offered to you.
As for the rest, I wish we could get through to people that money spent is neither the measure nor the predictor of academic success.
Here is the reason for the disparity. Under the House bill, Robbinsdale schools are cut 300 thousand in the next biennium. Under the senate bill, the cut is 3 million.
"It will bite us only if money really matters here."
I am always comfortable in taking the position that money does matter. If it doesn't, why are so many Republicans working so hard to shift money from among others, Robbinsdale Schools to schools in their own districts?
--Hiram
It seems to be generally accepted within the education community that integration aid, in the past, was not adequately accounted for. Part of the reason for that was that the administration of such aid was left to the discretion of the local school districts; the Department of Education was not allowed to establish rules for how such monies were to be used, nor was it given the resources to review such use. I am all for changing of those things. But what is happening in the legislature is that money is being shifted from the urban school districts, and districts like Robbinsdale to rural districts and charter schools. Since the responsibilities of the school districts are changing, what that means is that the loss will have to be made up in other ways.
--Hiram
"Not racist, just naive in thinking that all kids have Parents that care and are capable..."
Nowhere in this statement is Race implied as the cause of the problem... You keep making that leap to support your sermon...
Maybe I am guilty of being a Poorist... Since it seems to me that the more irresponsible and ineffectual Parents often reside in that economic segment...
Or maybe some of them are poor because they are not too capable, not too motivated or not too productive in general... Or maybe they are poor because they have some bad and expensive habits.
Now let's think about it... Does any race have a monopoly on people who are not too capable, not too motivated, not too productive, have bad / expensive habits, etc? I don't think so...
Now how capable of a Parent would someone with these attributes be?
Should we just forget kids that have Parents like these? That seems to be the GOP mantra.
No, not the GOP mantra, but the cumulative result of liberal education policies and unionized public schools. What was supposed to be the great opportunity equalizer has become a dropout factory for those it most needed to help.
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