There’s one obvious fix for CMS’ money woes, but no one’s talking about it. If the role of education in the life of the city is to be taken seriously, somebody has to at least bring up the most obvious answer. So here we go.
Superintendent Peter Gorman told the school board last night that CMS faces draconian cuts — on top of this year’s cuts and layoffs — unless more money is forthcoming. “The thought of a strategic cut so it won’t impact kids is not possible at this point,” Gorman told them. He’s talking about cutting up to 658 teachers, closing some schools, and eliminating busing for magnet schools — as a first step. Middle school sports could also be in jeopardy, although nobody’s said anything yet about saving money by cutting out the nearly useless CMS television channel.
This situation isn’t just troublesome; if the cuts being talked about are made, it will be tragic. Tragic for the laid off teachers, yes, but doubly tragic for students, who don’t deserve to be shortchanged by a crisis they didn’t create. And “tragic” doesn’t begin to describe what severe cuts to CMS would do to the soul of a city that was once so proud of its public education system.
So here’s my solution: After Gorman is through cutting the downtown administrative staff, the CMS board has to ask the county commission to raise property taxes, and the commission has to do it. Nobody wants a tax raise, needless to say, but folks, it’s our school system — one of the most important parts of any local government, and one of the most essential for the city’s future. It’s not something you want to play political penny-pinching games with (although it’s already happening, with Queen McGarry and her sidekick Rhonda Lemmon, already shrugging their shoulders over the potential plight of the city’s poorer schools).
County Commission chair Jennifer Roberts should appoint a couple of hotshot analysts to see what kinds of cuts can be made to the schools without damaging students’ — any students’ — education. Meanwhile, she should work to build a political consensus for raising taxes enough to at least allow CMS continue providing its present level of service to students. This is important, folks; as in, “being grownups and getting down to business” important. Let the school board and the county commission know how you feel.
This article appears in Feb 16-22, 2010.
Oops! For some reason, I wrote school board member Rhonda Lennon’s name as “Lemmon.” Sorry. Guess I just can’t connect her with John Lennon or something. Anyhow, again, sorry.
You present some interesting discussion on CMS’s budget woes. While I agree that we should not affect the education dollars CMS spends, you must admit that CMS spends a lot of money that is not education focused. In many schools, this is the major expenditure (ala Communities In Schools, Bright Beginnings, etc.). One might assume not much education, ala curriculum, is going on. CMS can easliy help the county meet its budget obligation by focusing on downsizing and eventual elimination of these programs.
I would also point out that some topics people are pushing for budget cuts like magnet busing, are one of the few escapes the “bright” black families are using to get education for their children.
We know our high % FRL schools have been getting additional per pupil funding for a lot of years without matching educational improvement. I feel we can reduce a large amount of non-education CMS budget without affecting the primary mission of CMS to educate our kids.
So in conclusion, just because CMS gets money, do not believe it is used just for education. I believe CMS can still cut more from non-schoolhouse operations. I still believe in increasing the pay of all of our teachers (not just the premium we pay to teachers in the FOCUS schools).
mr. grooms…
what a moron! who protects the tax payers from the irresponsible members of our local government? who holds them responsible for their inability to manage finances. every citizen in America is having to make tough choices about monetary issues right now and are having to make cuts in their lifestyles. our cms school system and local governements should too. it’s disgusting how similar your articles are to socialist and commnunist ideals.