What is getting cut next year? What are the impacts of these cuts? In fiscal year 2011, the schools face a projected deficit of $3.9 million. The School Department expects to balance the budget by cutting 40 teaching positions, which will:
Increase class sizes at all grade levels.
Cut elementary art, music and physical education by half.
Leave elementary libraries unstaffed.
Eliminate middle school drama.
Reduce library staff at both the middle school and high school.
Eliminate 6th grade world languages.
Eliminate elementary and middle school gifted programs.
Reduce high school electives.
Additional cuts will:
Eliminate all crossing guards.
Decrease resources for textbooks and supplies.
Reduce professional development funds.
Reduce the size of the Metco program.
Fees will be raised for Instrumental Music, Full Day Kindergarten, riding the Bishop bus and High School athletics. For a detailed list of the changes to the budget for next year, please follow go to the Reductions in the FY11 Budget.
What will change if the FY11 School Gap Fund reaches its goal of $1 million? A complete list of what will be funded is available on What would $1M Mean.
Who decides how the FY11 School Gap Fund is spent? The principals and administrators met to determine which items would make the most difference to students given the projected goal of $1 million. This list was presented to the School Committee, which voted on April 27th to authorize it.
Why are so many teachers being cut? For several years the schools have cut non-teaching budget items to compensate for the rise in areas that cannot be cut such as utilities, health care and special ed. At this point, there is little left to cut except the teachers. The following graphs show the allocation of costs and cuts in the school budget.
FY11 School Budget, Total Budget: $44M
FY11 School Budget Cuts, Total Cuts: $3.9M
What is the suggested household donation? If 2,000 families give $500 we will reach our $1 Million goal. Please consider giving whatever you can, even a nominal amount. If we all work together we can raise the necessary funds to save teacher jobs.
Can I designate how my money is used? No. Although you can express preferences with your donation, the money will be distributed based on the amount of money raised and the priority list. The only way to guarantee the entire list is funded is for the full amount to be raised.
What if less than $1 million is raised? After the campaign closes on June 7th, the funds will be allocated according to the priority list and the amount raised.
Will you run a fund raising drive again next year? This is a special one year fundraiser to give the town time to find long term solutions to the schools’ fiscal problems. There are no plans to run a fundraiser next year. What can I do to help? We’re so glad you asked. Every gift, no matter how large or small, makes a difference and so does every volunteer. Help us spread the word! Tell others about the campaign. Help us get the word out on the street. You can go to our How You Can Help page to sign up as a volunteer and for a list of other ways that you can help.
Where can I get more information on the FY11 budget? You can get more information on the official Arlington Public School web page.
