Source of school budget problems

We asked our parent panelists: Local school district officials are

decrying the latest budget numbers issued by Gov. Arnold

Schwarzenegger, saying that he is still shorting them $2 billion in

Proposition 98 funds. Assuming that money is not coming, what

measures should district officials take to ensure the funding

shortage does not affect the classroom?

The ever-growing education bureaucracy is an intractable problem

that needs more and more money to maintain and causes teachers’

unions to clamor, all at the expense of the hard-working taxpayer.

Officials should be ever mindful that all tax dollars are entrusted

to them to spend judiciously.

But rather than spend time and energy fighting for more money,

local school officials should take a hard look at where positions or

programs could be consolidated and re-direct that money to the

classroom teacher. Emphasizing student achievement in the basics --

reading, writing, math, science and history -- and eliminating any

other programs would streamline the budget as well as raise test

scores. Voters in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District would like

to see more of our schools recognized for outstanding achievements.

Because Newport-Mesa is a basic aid district and has a different

funding formula and generates more revenue from taxes than most

districts, we may not feel the bite from state cutbacks other

districts may feel. Nevertheless, it would be wise to recall some of

the cost-saving ideas used in 1995 during the Orange County

bankruptcy. Over the years, there has been talk of eliminating

wealthier basic aid districts and our district may one day become

“revenue limit.”

From top to bottom officials should work to contain costs and cut

any unnecessary administrative spending and send any year-end

“carryover” money to the classroom. Administrative positions could be

combined. They might consider a “golden handshake” deal to encourage

administrators and teachers to retire early as younger teachers who

get paid less could be hired and the administrative positions could

be eliminated, saving thousands. Statewide, eliminating an entire

layer of bureaucracy in the county departments of education would

save millions.

Pass savings to the classroom teachers. Teachers are overwhelmed

with extra paperwork and red tape. Instead of filling out forms and

reports to mail to compliance czars, teachers should be focusing all

of their energy on teaching and student learning. Use savings to hire

administrative aides at $10 an hour to do the paperwork. Making sure

each classroom in each school is well stocked with textbooks for each

student is also a priority.

* WENDY LEECE is a Costa Mesa parent, former school board member

and member of the city’s parks and recreation commission.

It’s a disgrace that we’re even asking this question. How can we

continually chop away at public education when we know that it’s such

a key foundation piece of our society? Who can believe that every

year educators can do more with less? One statistic says it all for

me: California’s lowest-percentile ranking in funding per student.

We’re at the bottom, the governor is whacking $2 billion, and things

are going to improve?

There’s one inane irony in this that drives me crazy. The governor

and/or the various political action committees with whom he may/may

not be associated with run endless commercials on television trying

to convince us that we spend enough already and that the real

problems are those pesky teachers and their pensions. This is

especially unbelievable because it’s not even a real election season,

yet the governor and his PACs have plenty of cash to pour into

campaigning. How many scholarships could be endowed or how many

science books could be purchased with one day’s worth of media-buy

dollars?

The governor might convince a lot more people that he understood

the problem and cared if he held a weekly press conference,

announcing the latest endowment or book-buy that his crew funded. And

that air time is free.

We can rearrange all the deck chairs we like, but until we’re

willing to step up to reality and spend more money, not less, our

once-fine education system will continue to sink.

I have one area where I know school districts could help

themselves. We need to get better leverage out of the assets we do

have -- buildings, fields, gyms, pools and land. Groups and people

are willing to pay to use those facilities when the schools aren’t

using them, or they’re willing to pay to improve the facilities in

exchange for use, but the school districts make it nearly impossible

for even completely school-related organizations to use facilities to

raise money. If, by renting out the gym for volleyball tournaments a

couple Sundays per month you could fund school athletic programs, why

not do it? As it now stands, the school district, courtesy of the

joint-use agreement and bureaucratic regulations, either gives away

that usage time for nothing or refuses to even allow it. At this

point, we can’t afford to waste any opportunity to wring every bit of

value from the resources we do have.

* MARK GLEASON is a Costa Mesa resident and parent.