Oil City School Board Meeting: March 28, 2011

With the PA State Budget cuts to education looming on the horizon about 50 concerned parents(me for one), teachers, taxpayers(?)attended the school board meeting hoping to hear how the (approx.)$3 million dollars- you know, I never understood the EXACT amount of money we were losing and exactly the amount of money that needed to be replaced so lets just say a few million, give or take- how the money would be replaced. We were disappointed in that respect. Not one board member seemed to be willing to outright state what they felt was negligible. I'm hoping that means that they will wait until a work session where each item can be freely and fully debated. Here are some details they were specific on:
If you were at the meeting and see some inaccuracies PLEASE email me at the above address or in the "comments" section. -Thanks.

1. There will be no school tax increase. According to Superintendent Carrico it's been 10 years since the last tax increase and they don't intend to push one through now.
2. Carrico felt they could save $400,000 in "teacher realignment." I should have asked exactly what that meant. There were some other cost-cutting measures that were spelled out that didn't appear to detrimental. But they were going to use money that had been put aside but will only be available THIS (2011-2012) school year.
3. No school district employee will be asked to take a pay cut.
4. Transportation will not be eliminated.

The following seemed to be more negotiable issues:
5. A 50% cut in money paid for school supplies.
6. A(possible) 15% cut in the Athletic Department expenses
7. A (possible) 10% cut in building/? expenses. I didn't hear clearly.


These areas were mentioned but the board did not indicate their inclination on these issues:
8. Kindergarten- Go to half-day or eliminate it entirely. I did not realize Kindergarten was paid for by the state through a block grant.***** More about Kindergarten and my personal opinion at the bottom.
9. Consolidation of schools IN Oil City. (Oakland is safe and will remain in operation!)Discussion centered on the cost of repair and upkeep of buildings.
10. Venango Technology (VoTech)- over $1 million to send (122) kids here. Now that I've typed that I wonder if that is a mistake...that seems excessive. Carrico was quick to defend the usefulness of the skills being taught there and how they lead to "lucrative" jobs. He went on to state how some of the "brightest kids" are at Tech.
11. Intermediate Unit (membership?) was $850,000. Again, I do not know all that entails. But it's cost was mentioned and I wrote it down.
12. Art, music, library was brought up by a guest. No board member initiated discussion about cuts to these programs. One board member asked my friend which she would rather: Half-day Kindergarten of cut the art program. My friend was very diplomatic in her response and stated she didn't have any children entering K. I jumped in and said I did have a child going to Kindergarten and would willingly accept a half-day if it meant maintaining an art program!That's called compromise.

Dr. Carrico said that he would be meeting with teachers and the community to reveal/discuss what the school budget/school board- now that I'm typing it, I don't know if he's looking for opinions or if he's going to spell out what steps are being taking to make the budget balance. Hmmm...if anyone knows the answer to these things please let me know.

Carrico also quoted from a study done by the Education Law Center www.elc-pa.org
(Here is the link to the page that was copied and distributed to those who wanted it- http://www.elc-pa.org/pubs/downloads%202011/KeyFacts_CorbettEdBudget.pdf ) that criticized the formula Governor Corbett's lynch mob used to determine how much each district WOULD receive from the state. In a nutshell, students in the Oil City School District will be losing $864 per student. While students in much richer districts will be losing less that $100 per student. And it's not just Oil City it is any district that received money from the federal stimulus. That money is no longer available. Here is an IMPORTANT excerpt from that document mentioned above:

13. Corbett’s cuts are largest in the poorest school districts, because of a miscalculation.
The starting point of the new budget says, “Each school district will receive an amount equal to its 2010-2011 Basic Education Funding allocation” of state dollars. The Governor overlooked the fact that $655 million in federal stimulus dollars were also allocated to districts last year through the Basic Education formula. The formula intentionally allocated the most stimulus dollars to districts with the most poverty and the highest property taxes. The state then made huge cuts in its own funding to these poor districts and made up the difference with the federal stimulus dollars. Using 2010-11 levels as the starting point for the new budget penalizes the neediest students and schools, because this starting point is much lower for the poorest school districts with the highest taxes. Governor Corbett should have picked a different starting point for determining the 2011-12 state funding levels for each school district. This error should be corrected.

This is where we need to take up the fight with our congressmen through phone calls, letters, and emails. Mary Jo White and Scott Hutchinson are our local legislators.

On a personal note, the school board has been put in a very difficult situation due to the inequity of state funding for education. They have no choice but to make fiscally responsible cuts. It's hard to make everyone happy in times of prosperity so I'm sure there will be complaints from some group/s in this time of hardship. If you intend to be a complainer please do so AFTER you have respectfully made your opinions to the board  clear.

On a PERSONAL personal note, I mentioned my feelings about Kindergarten earlier. After me, another woman voiced her concern over the parents who would have to find babysitters for kids NOT in full day Kindergarten. At first, I thought that was a valid issue. But, with more thought, no, that is NOT a valid issue. Because she's saying that full day kindergarten is simply a way to keep kids busy until their parents are available. (Having helped in a K classroom the kids did do well-thought out educational activities. Even then, I thought half-day Kindergarten would have been exactly what my daughter needed.) Now that my son, who will turn 6 this July, is headed for Kindergarten I think he would benefit from a full day. He could have started school last year but we chose to hold him back. I think ALL the K teachers at Hasson are phenomenal.  I would hope if Kindergarten does go to half-day they are able to be absorbed into other areas of the school because they are definitely some of the good ones.

I'm quoting from the ELC's document listed above: "Governor Corbett said that local schools should make up for the state funding cuts by lowering teacher pay and laying off teachers." I would LOVE to know what school district salaries he looked at to come up with that plan? I'm going to quote what a friend of mine so eloquently said, "NEVER, have i met a public school teacher who was in it for the money, because there's no money in it. so tiresome is the rhetoric spewing about underworked, overpaid teachers! by the time grading, planning, continuing education, meetings, parents-teacher conferences, attending extra-curricular events, coaching, running clubs, chaperoning dances, etc, etc, the hourly wage (not counting using their own money for supplies) falls below minimum wage, well below."
I think the Governor has/will set back education for years just because of those sentiments. It's bad enough that teachers have lost respect from much of the public due to practices beyond their control. But to have a government official MAKE it an official political view, that just infuriates me. 

I'm going to air some gripes about Hasson here because they aren't about any employee only some school practices?
1. My daughter did not go outside for recess once in almost 4 months! I cut an article from a weekly reader Sarah brought home that quoted a principal from Minnesota saying that his students go outside for recess everyday unless it's more that -15 degrees!!! Cold weather doesn't cause sickness- bacteria and viruses do.
2. Kids MUST be allowed to talk when they eat lunch. Yes, it's going to get loud when 200 kids get together. But when do they get to talk to friends? I don't like to complain unless I have a solution and the only one I can think of is open the second gym for kids to eat lunch. That's a loss of student Phys. Ed time but maybe they could GO OUTSIDE!!! I'm kidding. I just worry that noise is being equated with delinquency.
3. Showing movies is NOT a treat. This is one of my biggest pet peeves from Hasson and ALL the schools I taught at- I will bet almost every kid has access to a TV. No matter their parents income level. And I'll bet they spend plenty of time in front of it. Study upon study has shown that the more time kids sit in front of a screen the lower their achievement. If the kids earned a special treat TAKE THEM OUTSIDE AND PLAY A GAME WITH THEM!!! Plus, I THINK it's a federal crime to show movies in a group setting like a classroom- but I would hope no one would try to enforce that, at least not without a warning first .


Hormonally yours,
Peg