Some Great Ideas for Trimming the Budget

     Well, it looks as if there are lots of great ideas out there!  Of course, that's one of the things I love about teachers.  They think on their feet and solve problems on the fly, and they do it without forming a committee! Here is a list of ideas I received for trimming the budget without upping class sizes or cutting teachers.  Note:  I have clustered the ideas somewhat thematically, and I have included everything I have received since a brainstorming session should be open to all ideas.  I do not want to stifle anyone's voice since that is happening already.  You may not agree with everything you see here, and you may certainly use this as a forum for debating these issues.  As my pastor recently said to me, "Disagreement can be very healthy and productive because it often leads to necessary change."

1. Have all high school football games scheduled on Saturday afternoon or directly after school on Friday, thus saving the lighting costs. 

2.  Stop paying for the kids' meals on away games.  Parents can go back to packing a lunch.  This goes for all sports or academic competitions. If they kids need to be fed, then parents must send money.  If there is a financial hardship, then booster clubs can kick in.  Let's not forget the Foundation grants, either.

3.  On "away" games, send only the team in a bus to conserve on fuel costs.  Let the band only perform for home games.  Let the cheerleaders' parents be responsible for taking them, or else let the cheerleaders perform only at home games, as well. 

4.  Never have night meetings for parents.  This saves lights and electricity.  Designate one day per six weeks when parents are welcome to come during the school day and meet teachers during their conference periods, and that's it.  With e-mail, the parent portal, and telephones, parents have all kinds of ways of contacting teachers if necessary.

5.  Don't send anyone to in-service meetings during school time.  Either have the meetings right after school, or have teachers clock in and do the in-service online somehow.  Or, hold all meetings in the auditorium.  There's no reason for hiring subs during class time for teachers to go learn some new-fangled idea which is truly only to sell some person's book!  There is usually no good reason for traveling downtown or out of town on school time.  (This goes for administrator and school board training, as well.  If we are truly interested in making cuts, then we need to realize that every dollar counts.)

6. Let's get creative on how we pay stipends.  Stop paying so much of a coaching stipend.  Teachers also spend hours after class time, and they don't ever get a stipend.  

7.  No administrator should make more than the highest paid teacher on the campus.  This would do two things.  Only those called to administration would make that move up the ladder, and good teachers wouldn't feel that they had to leave teaching in order to make better money.

8.  Stop having "away" reward trips at the end of a six weeks.  The kids' reward has to be on campus. 

 (Actually the reward is a good grade, but we seem to have forgotten that.)

9. Create a "think tank" for teachers, students, and community members to brainstorm ideas for handling the budget.  Educators aren't the only ones with great ideas.

10.  Pay one person in the district to arrange for subs get rid of the Kelly program. This would give a person a job, and we would no longer get male subs for girls' PE classes!

11.  Have the administrators (including central office folks) take over at least one class day per six weeks for a teacher who is absent. Can you imagine the savings?  Plus, walking a day in our shoes might just open the eyes of the administrators and remind them of what it was like to be on the front lines.  And, they might actually see that C-Scope can't be taught by just anyone, as one administrator said to a group of our teachers.

12.  Go back to the school's mission statement.  If a program does not directly address that statement, and if it does not fit within the curriculum, then it must be shelved.

13.  Use master teachers to lead in-service sessions. We may even be able to get retired teachers to do this for a much smaller fee than the ESC charges or for free.  They actually know what works!    

     Keep those cards and letters coming folks!  I will be attending the March board meeting with a three-minute condensed list of ideas.  I know that administration is asking for these ideas, but I want to make sure the board hears all of them.  I apologize to all of you who wanted me to run for a place on the school board, but I can't do it at this time.  If I were actually on the board, I could never be your voice because there are so many restrictions on what members of the board can say and do.  Take care and teach your hearts out today!