School cuts are coming, but it's up to you to help decide what gets axed

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Those must be some huge tables our local school districts have.
After all, in the past couple weeks, we've heard every superintendent in the region say that "everything is on the table" when it comes to finding ways to bridge the funding gap that will apparently exist when the state cuts its support later this year.
Next year's proposed funding levels for area school districts show serious declines; but to be fair, a good portion of those "cuts" stem from federal stimulus dollars that districts knew would soon end.
Regardless, Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed budget will force districts to make some very tough decisions. Local school districts have already said they are looking at staffing levels, larger class sizes, a return to half-day kindergarten, the elimination of tutoring programs, caps on how many students can attend the Clarion County Career Center, scrapping the dual enrollment program which allowed students to earn college credits, eliminating art and music programs, and cuts in sports and other extracurricular activities. Teacher and staff trainings are under the microscope, as are student trips, classroom purchases and just about everything that comes with a price tag.
That's good. It can't hurt for our public entities to closely scrutinize where every dollar is spent, and how much value is returned for the cost. We would expect this to occur each and every year, not just when the state threatens funding cuts.
But while there are some budget items that some may see as "waste" at local school districts, we know that area officials have run pretty tight ships in recent years. Staffing reductions have been made, mainly due to attrition. Tax levels have remained relatively level. And at Redbank Valley, the school board recently voted to close Mahoning Elementary School, which looks like the right decision now that state funding levels have been proposed.
In addition to looking at every dollar spent, the districts also need to examine the missions and goals of our public school system. Obviously, the system is there to educate our children. Therefore, any cuts being made first to the programs and activities that fall outside this primary mission. We love school sports; we love musicals and plays; we love school clubs. But these "extracurricular" expenses should not be taken off the table while "curricular" programs are axed. To leave the sports program intact, while chopping all-day kindergarten or limiting the number of career center students would be a travesty. It might be time to seriously look at sports program mergers with other districts, or to enter into a "pay-to-play" system for extracurricular activities.
It will ultimately be up to the nine-member school board to decide which direction their districts take. However, now is the time for residents, students, parents, taxpayers and business owners to speak up and offer their own ideas for how they wish their school districts to spend their money. The people need to let their leaders know where they are willing to accept cuts, what cuts they won't tolerate, and what programs they want to see preserved even if tax increases are needed. And at Redbank Valley and Union, they need to let officials know how much they are willing to have their districts' reserve accounts depleted in order to preserve programs or prevent tax hikes.
Nothing is final until the state approves a budget later this year, and school districts adopt their spending plans in June. Now is the time for communities to get involved in helping to make these important decisions for our areas and our children.