School cuts unite community

As I wait for the meeting to begin I am thinking: The Reorganization proposal has produced many heated debates. Sometimes unkind words were tossed between Bargersville, unincorporated White River Township and Greenwood. But, when it comes to schools, it is the one issue that unites us all. The border of White River Township and Center Grove School district cover exactly the same area. While we may not all agree on what needs to be done to address the budget crisis, it affect members of all the communities within WRT.

Tonight’s School Board meeting was moved from the administration building to the high school auditorium to accommodate the expected crowds. Good decision. My guess is there are nearly 800 people attending. About 36 people signed up for a two-to-three minute window to speak to the board and community.

Earlier the Board published a list of proposed cuts in an attempt to make up the $3.6-million shortfall in next year’s General Fund. While other “funds” still have money available, the law does give the School Board the flexibility to move money from the General Fund, which comes from the state, to other budget funds. (Just before the meeting I heard that there has been legislation introduced at the state level to allow these moves, but I don’t know the current status of that bill.)

Tentative Contract Approved
The first order of business was addressing the tentative teacher’s contract. The Teachers union has reached a tentative agreement with the School Board for the 2009-2010 school year. It was presented to the Board for their full approval. While one board member thought there was a clause that might conflict with the proposed legislation mentioned above, others noted that there are no significant cost increases in the agreement. The Board also commented that the teachers were particularly flexible during the contract negotiations. The agreement carried on a 3-to-2 vote.

The Board is waiting on other outside reports and will not be making a vote tonight. The intent of the Board tonight is to listen to comments and will not answer any questions nor provide any comments of their own. The speakers signed in before the meeting and each comment is limited to two-to-three minutes.

The speakers were uniformly opposed to cuts in staff or programs, with a single exception when Vaughn Moore encouraged the Board to “Live within our means.”  And reminded the crowd that cuts may be hard, but sometimes they need to be made and that tax increases cannot be put on the shoulder of the population.

Here are some of the highlights of the comments by the speakers:

There was a call to not neglect the Library and Media Services area because more than learning rote facts, students need to learn how to use the research tools available today.

Peggy Young, a Fifth Grade teacher, mentioned that over the last few years the system has lost 15 teaching positions, added 11 administrators resulting in large class sizes, up to 35 or more in some classes.

Mike Yohler, who recently moved to the community, spoke to the importance of saving the musical ars program. His family specifically moved into the district for the music programs. He works on the northwest side of Indianapolis, but chose to live here because of the music program. His son wants to be a band director, something that would not happen without a strong band program.

Robert Smith, a student, spoke in support of the Art program and how the teachers have allowed him to find his passion and find an outlet for his artistic capabilities. Jacquelyn Fowler, an Art Teacher, also mentioned that students have told her that the arts are the only reason the students come to school. Cutting elementary and middle school cuts will ripple though the system.

Alyshia Kisor: Arts help graduation rates go up. Not all students are cut out to be engineers, math majors or scientist. Cutting arts will result in less well rounded students who will be at a disadvantage when apply to colleges and work.

Becky Kaylor: Family and Consumer Sciences brings in money to the general fund through a public grant program.

Tom Heerman: General fund referendum is tantamount to giving the Board a blank check to spend money where they want. It could be fixed through a carefully worded proposal that would place more control on the spending of the funds, with many flowing to the teaching staff.

Melanie Norman: President of the Center Grove Choir Parents Organization mentioned that Center Grove Show and Concerts choirs have earned 17 national titles in the last seven years. Those in choir learn not only music but leadership and teamwork. All fees are paid by the members (and their parents) for costumes, travel, competitions, etc. The only significant cost to the school is for the directors, who put in many additional hours for practice and contest appearances.

Time Cummins: Vice President of the Center Grove Band Boosters, said that the Marching band is essentially self-supporting. Funds come from fees and fund raisers and pay for the daily operation of the bands and the contests. He joked that students at other schools, with lesser bands, have the opportunity to experience something that the CG Marching Band does not: Fall Break.

Matthew Riggs: Asked for equity among school programs. Specifically he questioned why the fees on sports are so small or none existent but the band and choir programs require significant funds from the parents or teachers.

Nilofer Raipurkar: This energetic student presented an on-line petition to the board and made an impassioned plea to keep the arts.

Terry West: Urged them to seriously consider the cuts proposed by the teachers union while he acknowledged the difficulty of the decisions that need to be made.

Other Comments
“If we can spend the money that we did a few years ago on the football field, surly we can avoid cutting teachers.” “Imagine the teacher that made a difference in your life, what if that teacher had not been there when you were because of budget cuts, where would you be now?”

Teachers were the only group in the district that did not receive a pay raise this year.

Additional statistics can be found on the Indiana Department of Education web site. (http://www.doe.in.gov/)

Related posts (Automatically generated):

1. State budget shortfalls could force real change…for the better!
2. A challenge to the Center Grove community
3. School board member says resident is “completely outrageous and wrong”
4. Killing the school referendum message?
5. Merger vote to move to November?