Wednesday, September 24, 2008

My Recommendations To Tweed For Reducing The Budget Without Affecting The Classroom


New York City is facing a serious fiscal crises and Bloomberg has asked for cuts of $580 million for the next two years. This is serious money and I have some real suggestions how the DOE can solve the budget crunch without affecting the classroom.

First, freeze hiring of all new teacher hires until all excessed teachers are placed in their subject area. Savings; $148 for the next two years.

Second, let the DOE live up to their promise to review all reassigned teachers under 3020-a charges and send the 90% of them back to school. Savings; $116 million for the last two years.

Third, eliminate all F-status individuals that only drain the school budgets. Savings; $70 million, maybe more, for the next two years.

Finally, eliminate the no-bid, highly-paid consultant contracts that only eat into school budgets. Savings; greater than $ 250 million for the next two years.

In my world of real math, not Tweed's fuzzy math, these recommended actions would result in savings of $584 million dollars, More than enough to meet the city's goal of $580 million in budget cuts. Better yet, none of these cuts would affect the classroom.

Of course, Tweed, in its ever continuing search to cut the school budget in their "children last" program will seek the bulk of the cuts from the schools and of course the classroom.

5 comments:

  1. Get rid of the F-status people? Who will fetch the principal's lunch and dry cleaning?

    It's almost absurd how easy it would be for the DOE to save loads of money.

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  2. Chaz,

    What is an F-Status person?

    Patrick

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  3. An F status person is a retired teacher or administrator (usually an administrator) who comes back to school to do work that supposedly no one in the school can handle.

    In my school the F status people have done test coordination, mentoring and guidance work. All have been good friends with the Principal. They are paid a pretty large fee. I'm not sure but I think it might be around $400 per day.

    One of the F status people in my school used to come in late, leave early, spend one period in the cafetertia, one in lounge with her friends and a third napping in the English office.

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  4. Anonymous9:28 PM

    Good analysis. You forgot to mention the Australian Teachers = AUSSIES that make $900 dollars a day and drink coffee all day. The chancellor does not need them because the workshop model did not improve reading skills in NY and the other states.

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  5. Thanks po. I couldn't have explained it better.

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