Additionally, the CEO has touted budget cuts will not be made at the school level, but every school has received budgets for 24-25 with far fewer dollars and are losing teaching positions (the district is quietly eliminating positions by not rehiring when teachers retire or resign).
There was a public comment at one of the recent school board meetings that mentioned the district not hiring teachers. I made note of it at the time but wasn't sure how to find out more about that.
The district IS hiring teachers only where absolutely necessary, while simultaneously eliminating as many teaching positions as possible. For example, in a school I know well, a 4th-grade teacher resigned. Instead of hiring a replacement for the next school year, the district decided to eliminate the position. They plan to combine the incoming 3rd-grade classes into one extra large 4th-grade class that exceeds the class size limit. It’s cheaper for the district to pay the teacher an “overage” fee than to hire a new teacher. On paper, this position (and many others like it) no longer exists. The only way to confirm this practice is by comparing the number of positions in schools year over year. I know this is happening throughout the district, although I’m unsure if it’s occurring at Campus…
I'm not in a position to know, though it seems like it would be more likely to happen in our 6-8 grades where it would be less noticeable because that's when our enrollment numbers start to contract.
Does the district pay the overages, or does it come out of the building budget?
I finally got public records on overages for the district. The total for 22/23 was $729,067.27 for 31 schools. Campus had $21,384 of overages. I have so much information from this one request, that it's going to take some time to get through. But I wanted to let you know that I picked up your lead and went looking. Thank you.
The transparency inside CMSD during the cuts and budget "crisis" has been just as blurry as the financial discoveries you've made. A thorough look at the budget and the unconscionable pay increases/promotions for certain central office staff (before the cuts were made or announced) shows the inequity inside the organization.
I just got public records from the salary increases that the ELT got on November 11, 2023, after the discovery of the deficit issue and the "need" to end the Get More grants for general revenue.
Additionally, the CEO has touted budget cuts will not be made at the school level, but every school has received budgets for 24-25 with far fewer dollars and are losing teaching positions (the district is quietly eliminating positions by not rehiring when teachers retire or resign).
There was a public comment at one of the recent school board meetings that mentioned the district not hiring teachers. I made note of it at the time but wasn't sure how to find out more about that.
The district IS hiring teachers only where absolutely necessary, while simultaneously eliminating as many teaching positions as possible. For example, in a school I know well, a 4th-grade teacher resigned. Instead of hiring a replacement for the next school year, the district decided to eliminate the position. They plan to combine the incoming 3rd-grade classes into one extra large 4th-grade class that exceeds the class size limit. It’s cheaper for the district to pay the teacher an “overage” fee than to hire a new teacher. On paper, this position (and many others like it) no longer exists. The only way to confirm this practice is by comparing the number of positions in schools year over year. I know this is happening throughout the district, although I’m unsure if it’s occurring at Campus…
I'm not in a position to know, though it seems like it would be more likely to happen in our 6-8 grades where it would be less noticeable because that's when our enrollment numbers start to contract.
Does the district pay the overages, or does it come out of the building budget?
The district pays them.
I finally got public records on overages for the district. The total for 22/23 was $729,067.27 for 31 schools. Campus had $21,384 of overages. I have so much information from this one request, that it's going to take some time to get through. But I wanted to let you know that I picked up your lead and went looking. Thank you.
Thanks. I really enjoy and appreciate reading your reporting.
The transparency inside CMSD during the cuts and budget "crisis" has been just as blurry as the financial discoveries you've made. A thorough look at the budget and the unconscionable pay increases/promotions for certain central office staff (before the cuts were made or announced) shows the inequity inside the organization.
I just got public records from the salary increases that the ELT got on November 11, 2023, after the discovery of the deficit issue and the "need" to end the Get More grants for general revenue.