Long before Tom Cruise, there were mythological Impossible Missions. Hercules performed his seven labors, and Alexander the Great unraveled the Gordian Knot. But these challenges were all kids stuff compared to the real-life, seemingly unsolvable puzzle we face for our kids.
Introducing the QCSD IM team: School Board President Philip Abramson, V.P. Kelly Van Valkenburgh, members Manuel Alfonso, Dr. Julie Fagan, William Laboski, Linda Martin, Zane Stauffer, Paul Stepanoff, and Nancy Tirjan.
Their impossible mission: stuff a proposed $80 million operating budget into a $74 million sack. And still maintain all of the required, and desired, programs. And not raise taxes. And improve the quality of our kids' educations. And make sure No Child is Left Behind. And reach out to those at-risk kids who need specialized motivation and encouragement. And educate those special-needs kids, who can cost 400% more than a mainstream student. And continue to fund all of the programs put in place by prior school boards. And try to please the parents of all 5200-something kids. Are you kidding?
The drama will unfold May 11, at the annual angst-ridden blood-letting known as the budget meeting. A scene repeated throughout the country. Balancing a school budget is like...well, it isn't like anything else. It isn't about winners and losers. Unlike the corporate world, which also deals in budgets, and numbers like $80 million, there are no profits to divvy up, no lucrative contracts or territories to be gained, no CEO's to kiss up to. Everyone in QCSD is actually working for the same goal. But the devil is in the details.
No one wants to raise taxes, but many expenses are beyond the control of the board. Fuel to heat the schools and run the busses. Insurance. Teacher salaries (you want a raise every year, so do they). Books and supplies. Food. Maintenance. Electricity. If it costs you more in your home, it costs the school district more, in spades. So what should the board do?
First, in a situation filled with controversy, it is vitally important to have their facts straight. One novice member has been critical of the number of employees, and the ratio of staff to students. His spread sheets, however, failed to consider factors such as positions paid for by grants, mandated programs, and decisions made by the board before he joined. Too many teachers? Of the 13 districts in Bucks County in 2004, QCSD had the fewest teachers per student. Adults need to do their homework too.
One inescapable conclusion is that taxes must go up, somewhat, until the kids in Harrisburg find a better way to fund education than their property-tax-and-gambling fantasies. But taxes can not - and must not - solve the whole problem. There will be spending cuts. Begin the hand-wringing. Whose favorite programs or activities will be axed, or scaled back? How important are sports, art, music, creative writing, and student government? Do we need all of the elementary schools when there are 125 empty seats scattered about?
And, the overriding question - who should be consulted about the cuts? There are thousands of families affected here, all paying handsomely for the privilege of enrolling their kids in QCSD. The quality and quantity of this education will determine how prepared our kids are for life. There may be no more important decisions to be made than those affecting their schooling. If ever there is a time to be heard, it is now. For this.
And to that end, Superintendent Jim Scanlon did something controversial. When he was requested by the board to put together a list of $3.5 million in proposed savings, he not only did so, but he gave it to the school principals, with the written direction, "Here are some examples that you may share with your parent groups, booster groups, clubs, academic advisors, and students (if appropriate)". Among those examples were closing Haycock Elementary, eliminating sports programs, and cutting staff (meaning more kids in each class). Examples. Some extreme, but none a done deal.
Abramson backed Scanlon's actions, but not everyone agreed. There are people in the community who feel that Jim was, as one man put it, "grossly insubordinate" for releasing the list to the public, and that he should be fired. He likened the superintendent's position in the school system to that of a corporate manager, whose job is to report only to his board, not the people. He feels that the memo was a scare tactic, intended to raise tensions at what now promises to be a packed and lively meeting.
You bet your class it was! Scanlon isn't a corporate shill. He is an advocate for the thousands of kids he is charged with educating. He represents every QCSD family, and does not want to see any of the cuts or reductions he knows are coming. And he wanted to let the public share the same fears, feel the same outrage, lose the same sleep, as our board members, who will eventually have to decide how to divide the baby. Our board members who should not have to make this decision without guidance from those who will be most affected. You. And your kids.
The high school auditorium should not be big enough to hold the Mission Impossible crowd on Thursday night. Parents of every kid in QCSD should be there, with Scanlon's memo in their hands, to help the board sort it all out. Not with disruptions or bad behavior. We are still - in this case particularly - role models for the kids. And while you will hear about mandates, fund balances, and inflation, remember that there are no bad guys here. But if you do not go to advocate for your kids' interests, go sit in the corner.