Life could get rougher for Wake's teachers over the next few months.
As noted in today's article, teachers are right up there among the list of employees who could be laid off or not rehired because of the budget crisis.
Teachers could be forced to transfer to other schools involuntarily to keep their jobs.
Right now, Wake is only looking to fill 95 percent of openings at schools. This is a hedge against a possible 5 percent cut in state funding.
Supt. Del Burns explained that Wake's first obligation is to protect the employees with continuing contracts. A big chunk of this group consists of the tenured teachers.
Burns said that filling that 95 percent of positions could require involuntarily transferring some teachers. He said that he rarely transfers teachers involuntarily.
Burns said what he's trying to do is avoid hiring new teachers and then having to lay them off soon afterward. That's why, he said, they're postponing the spring teacher job fair.
Only after the continuing contract employees are taken care of, which might not even happen if state funding is cut too much, will the people on terminating contracts be taken care of.
Of the 1,496 employees on contracts that expire June 30, Burns estimated that half are teachers. This includes the probationary teachers.
Burns said that they normally try to slot in terminating contract folks to replace people who retire or resign. But he said fewer people are leaving this year.
The number of terminating employees who are rehired will also depend on the level of state funding.
All the while, who knows when the General Assembly will adopt the budget. It could go well past July when year-round schools begin.
Comments
Ken Its comments like yours
Thu, 03/05/2009 - 22:09 — vsheehanKen
Its comments like yours that make life MISERABLE for parents of special ed kids,. let me tell you something Wake does not hand out IEPs like candy. You can come here with an IEP that the child has had for 6 years and they will still try to take it away.
That said parents of kids with special needs parent more then any human being you will ever meet. Our lives are turned upside down inside out all in hopes of maybe our kid will have a purposeful life. We have behavior plans, consequences ,rewards, social development plans, other therapies that we do at home, therapies that we pay for out of pocket, extra school work, meds, way to many doctor visits that again we pay out of pocket for, and a whole list more that we do beyond the average parent. We give up our lives, the jobs we love ,the little things that helped us get up in the morning, lose all time with friends, any chance of ever not being in debt, ect just to help our kids learn and behave in a manner that will lead them somewhere in the future.
Please think before you speak and I do plan to send your comments to a bunch of Wake special ed list so expect some more feed back.
well I wont send it to
Thu, 03/05/2009 - 22:12 — vsheehanwell I wont send it to other parents why add more crap to their day. I will tell them to stay away from Thales.
V that is harsh If
Thu, 03/05/2009 - 22:33 — user1234V that is harsh
If Kent can offer a $8000 education for $5000 he can probably develop some thing far more affordable than the $24,000 spend on average for special ed. I think he could come through for you.
No...
Thu, 03/05/2009 - 12:40 — RiversideRealist"You need a better plan and clever people to get more for less normally."
Competition usually FORCES that to happen... or you fold your tent. Some people are even willing to pay MORE (a Mercedes vs. a Pinto) for a superior product.
Since schools are pretty much a monopoly, with the NEA in the pocket of the Democrats (or is it the other way around? :) ) that will never happen without a SERIOUS change in leadership and approach (school competition/vouchers).
Correct!
Thu, 03/05/2009 - 21:06 — kmisegadesBingo. Americans demand choice in nearly every product and service. Free markets deliver, with a dizzying array of choices at ever lower prices. So why do so many parents accept a monopoly, a government one, no less?
Fact is, nearly 20% of all parents in Wake County do not accept the premise that we must give up our children and have found alternatives, often at great personal sacrifice.
But with three grown children who suffered through the malaise of Wake County schools until their parents figure out that WCPSS was mostly hype, I can confirm that you'll all pay now, or you'll pay much more later.
Educators who are terrified at the notion of accountability and competition should probably seek a different career. Those who don't need to look all the options now available to them outside government schools.
I know, V
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 13:57 — RiversideRealistThat was my point... People in support of the policy continually argue that diversity is a "minor" cost, and a "secondary" concern to education and admin/operation... and CLEARLY, based on action (or, inaction, as the case may be) the PTB consider diversity more than just your average "frivolous" "extra" expense.... Even when it comes to TEACHERS!
How can some people be SO obtuse....
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 13:04 — RiversideRealistIt makes me think it's deliberate...
If my husband makes 60,000 and I make 10,000 in a dual-income home, and his money, we decide, is used to pay MAJOR bills (mortgage, etc..) and mine is used, we decide, to pay for MINOR bills (internet, cel phone, going out to dinner..) and he comes home and says "Honey, they're cutting my pay, and I will no longer have enough to pay the electric and gas..."
Is my response to say "Ok, but, we still have enough for steak and beer at The Outback next week!" ????
Naturally, TEACHERS in an EDUCATION SYSTEM should be more important, like ELECTRICITY in a HOME, than BUSES AND FUEL, like Outback dinners...
I mean, it's so clear... Truly, either I am brilliant... or people are PURPOSEFULLY 'arguing' points they KNOW are illogical and fiscally irresponsible.
Those behind the busing for
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 13:44 — vsheehanThose behind the busing for Diversity do not see it as an extra like a night out.They see it as the grocery bill . To bad they did not see Academic excellence for all kids as the rent.
Here is a reference on who
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 11:47 — user1234Here is a reference on who pays what and how much … I have been adding any system people reference as being better than Wake to compare their cost.
Can you provide the source of the data?
Thu, 03/05/2009 - 03:19 — FalcWere you able to find them all in one place? What year are they from? What was the source for Wake? Sorry, if you've posted it before and I have forgotten. I'd like to verify the $500 more for my home district that I'd come up with using the same source. Thanks.
BTW - I never got a chance to respond to your post about throwing more money at it. I think the gist was that it may not significantly alter outcomes because there is only so much a school can do in 6.5 hours a day for 12 years and that may not be enough to overcome all the other factors in people's lives. I wish I could disagree with you and throwing more money at educating ED students or giving ED students a great education without more money was like some automatic magic pill, but in my experience it is not always the case.
Schools can instill certain values in students, provide positive environments and solid instruction that result in college scholarships and a chance for a brighter future. However, ultimately the individual must take advantage of those opportunities. Two of my ED friends that never had discipline problems in K-12, took honors classes and got college scholarships blew their chance - both on drug use in college (one on full blown addication). Drug use and distribution were extremely prevalent in their families. I know ED kids that did move on to a better future, but they came from hard working families that were not involved with drugs. I also know NED kids that became addicts, one was AG (unrelated to whom they did or did not sit next to in class for those wondering about the reverse osmosis theory angle). Goes back to you can't make assumptions about someone based on only thing about them and you need to deal with them as individuals.
I've also begun to figure out in part how my home district does what they do. The good news is that it is free, the bad news is that it is not something that can be stolen. It has to be developed. It's attitude.
The district performed around state average last year despite the fact that the district ED percentage at 45% is about 10 pts higher than state average there and the district spent $1,700 less per student than state average there. The school system, however, is "frankly, quite disappointed" in its performance. They want to do better than average, even though by the theories here they have excuses to be and should be below average. Of course, considering one of that district's 54% ED ES schools was rated in the top eight ES in the entire state some years back, average would seem disappointing in that district. Guess my family is not the only family there that considers "can't" a four-letter word.
There are pockets of a can do attitude in the system here, but that is not the prevailing attitude I have noticed in the higher levels.
Source
Thu, 03/05/2009 - 12:14 — user1234"Were you able to find them all in one place? What year are they from? What was the source for Wake? "
All of the NC data is at:
http://www.ncschoolreportcard.org/src/
Other States can be found at:
http://www.schooldatadirect.org/
"BTW - I never got a chance to respond to your post about throwing more money at it."
I don't think throwing money at things will improve them but I do think it is a pipe dream to invest less money than your competition and hope your product turns out better. You need a better plan and clever people to get more for less normally.
Thanks and lets hope Wake County works toward a better plan
Thu, 03/05/2009 - 13:02 — FalcDatadirect was the source I'd been using for both Wake and home district.
"pipe dream to invest less money than your competition and hope your product turns out better" - not sure I fully agree, part of it depends on how the money is invested (i.e. if one competitor invests in higher NPV projects than the other, they could produce better results with less investment). For some districts Datadirect has a "return on investment" stat, my home district ROI was 20% higher than the state average there.
"You need a better plan and clever people to get more for less normally"
Agreed - so let's find those clever people and get a better plan in place!
your numbers for VA are
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 13:32 — vsheehanyour numbers for VA are WRONG. VA takes all county property taxes puts them in one pot then spreads them across VA equally. The counties are not allowed to come up with a new tax themselves with out state approval. Therefor your numbers for both VA are wrong
DC spends the most per student in the nation but has the worse school system riff with graft. It was taken over twice but still they could not stop the thievery . Johnson county pays less per student has a much better Special ED then Wake and similar scores.
open to correct numbers
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 14:33 — user1234"your numbers for VA are WRONG. VA takes all county property taxes puts them in one pot then spreads them across VA equally. The counties are not allowed to come up with a new tax themselves with out state approval. Therefor your numbers for both VA are wrong"
If you can tell me the right numbers, I will update them. Here is where I found the Fairfax and Arlington County numbers.
http://acta.us/growls/2008/12/most_is_from_our_pockets.html
The WABE Guide, which we used, contains a great deal of information that Arlington County taxpayers may find of interest, including the sources of revenue for the school districts. In the case of APS, 83.0% comes from local sources, 13.4% from the Commonwealth, and 3.7% from federal and other sources.
In growling about APS’ $19,538 per student spending on December 7, we raised a question taxpayers might want to ask Arlington School Board members. Well, here’s another way of looking at per student spending. First, multiply the number $19,538 by 83.0%, which means that Arlington taxpayer are spending $16,217 per student. On the other hand, multiply Fairfax County’s cost per student of $13,340 by 73.2% (percentage of local source revenues), which means Fairfax County taxpayers provide $9,765 of their cost per student.
Doesn't look correct
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 13:08 — kmisegadesLast year I found the sum of state county & federal at $9,461 per pupil in Wake County for 2006-2007. Bill Lynch has estimated it at nearly $14,000 when capital costs are added.
You may add to your list the annual tuition of $5,000 for our Thales Academies in Wake County, K-8 schools. The average of all private and parochial schools in NC is between $5K - $6K annually.
Spinning the numbers
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 15:48 — supportwcpssAdding in capital costs is apples and oranges. It doesn't make any sense to include it.
Can you provide the research on the estimated costs for private schools. Besides Thales (which is a different framework that not all agree) I checked out schools 4 years ago and they all started at 8-9K.
No Spin Zone
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 22:02 — kmisegadesSince we all pay for capital costs, they should be included, especially in wake County which has a history of over-paying for land and building unique palaces for each new school.
Thales is a different framework? I do not understand the comment. We aim to educate children, period. Is that not the purpose of government schools, too? Shouldn't we be focusing on the outcome : cost ratio, and not on the frills? How one provides this outcome is left to the provider and should not adhere to some ad hoc government template. Whether we succeed is totally at the discretion of our parents, aka customers.
Here is what Darrel Allison of PEFNC.org recently sent me on the subject of private school costs. I have received similar figures from two other sources in te past two weeks. Cary Academy and Ravenscroft are not typical. Thales is at the lower end, as we focus on the essentials and know how to build inexpensive, efficient buildings. Although the school only opened last fall, we already have a waiting list for this coming fall.
"With the exception of over 10% of private schools (over
100 or so that are on the higher tuition range like Ravenscroft or Durham
Academy) the other 500 plus private/parochial schools, I think it safe to say,
fall in the average range of between $5K - $6K per year (total of 600 plus
private/parochial schools in the NC)."
Kent another difference is
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 23:31 — user1234Kent another difference is that WCPSS has 18% Special Ed with a national average of $24,000/year (3x) to educate. I am guessing you could not have too high a % at your school and keep tuition at $5000, right?
Good point
Thu, 03/05/2009 - 12:36 — kmisegadesThat's a good point, I do not know anything about special ed. As a Trustee, I don't get involved in such things anyway.
But I do know that there are many classifications in public school as to what is considered Special Ed. Barring severe physical handicaps, I suspect that most of these SpecialEd kids are in fact problems due to lack of discipline at home and in the school or they are bored to tears and resort to class disruptions. When I was in school in the 60s and early 70s, the only special ed kids in my small Southern towns were those with severe mental or physical handicaps and they were sent to special schools where they could receive special attention. The discipline problems were generally solved quickly - a paddling at school followed by another behind the woodshed when you went home.
When kids are challenged in school, there are few issues with discipline, regardless of the childrens' backgrounds. That is what I have observed at Thales, whose student body comes from all income levels and cultures.
Wow
Fri, 03/06/2009 - 01:03 — supportwcpssNothing much more to say except wow. And this is a guy a lot of you (not all) praise as fighting the power.
This comment alone scares the sh1t out of me.
Kent provides an alternative
Fri, 03/06/2009 - 07:21 — Voice_of_Reason_He doesn't fight the "power", he shows the "power" the error of it's ways. He along with others provide a reasonably priced alternative for those sick and tired of the "power". I have an elementary child in a highly regarded religious private school and he has friends of the same age in one of of Kent's school; I can tell you the academic standards of Kent's school is higher. They do a great job.
Supportwcpss, guess what, after attending the meeting last night in Wake Forest I'd like to give you a bit of advice....Find a nice rock to hide under, only 9 months to find one, your status quo's days are numbered. PS- Kent has nothing to do with it.
I'll second vsheehan's post
Fri, 03/06/2009 - 00:00 — FalcWhen you start your post with:
"I do not know anything about special ed. As a Trustee, I don't get involved in such things anyway."
You should probably stop and think before you say:
"most of these SpecialEd kids are in fact problems due to lack of discipline at home and in the school or they are bored to tears and resort to class disruptions"
Please do not judge a situation that you, by your own admission, know nothing about. Until you have been the parent of a child with extra challenges, you should not judge and make assumptions about those who are. Be thankful that you were fortunate enough not to be born with or have a child born with extra challenges.
SpecialEd kids are not "in fact problems," they are children with extra challenges. Attitudes like yours ARE a problem.
Ken Its comments
Thu, 03/05/2009 - 22:08 — vsheehanKen
Its comments like yours that make life MISERABLE for parents of special ed kids,. let me tell you something Wake does not hand out IEPs like candy. You can come here with an IEP that the child has had for 6 years and they will still try to take it away.
That said parents of kids with special needs parent more then any human being you will ever meet. Our lives are turned upside down inside out all in hopes of maybe our kid will have a purposeful life. We have behavior plans, consequences ,rewards, social development plans, other therapies that we do at home, therapies that we pay for out of pocket, extra school work, meds, way to many doctor visits that again we pay out of pocket for, and a whole list more that we do beyond the average parent. We give up our lives, the jobs we love ,the little things that helped us get up in the morning, lose all time with friends, any chance of ever not being in debt, ect just to help our kids learn and behave in a manner that will lead them somewhere in the future.
Please think before you speak and I do plan to send your comments to a bunch of Wake special ed list so expect some more feed back.
Kent to avoid the
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 14:45 — user1234Kent to avoid the arguments (e.g. operational, capital, accrual) I just stick with the NCDOE report cards to be consistant ...
http://www.ncschoolreportcard.org/src/
The numbers are not perfect but they do show quite a range of costs to educate a child.
Your school appears to be the lowest cost in the nation, lower than Utah and Mississippi which is amazing.
Ok, now
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 12:01 — stoopsOk, now add per pupil capital outlay to each total and include adjustments for cost of living differences.
Protect the classroom
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 11:20 — stoopsTime to trim the following (salary only):
Area Superintendents ($722,813)
Career Development Coordinators ($2.7 million)
Guidance and Media Assistants ($2.9 million)
"Other" Professionals ($3.5 million)
Parent Liaisons ($402,178)
Tutors ($821,897)
Curriculum and Instruction staff ($3.1 million)
Growth and Planning staff ($1.2 million)
High School Education staff ($489,983)
Print Shop ($288,233)
Public Information ($755,500)
Staff Development ($745,908)
Wake Early College of Health and Science ($536,248)
Year Round staff ($140,037)
Did you actually read the article?
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 11:12 — MarvinSchwartzI know many of you who post here are used to such knee-jerk reactions, but did you actually read the article? Do you know how teachers are actually paid? They are usually paid from state funds.
The source of this crisis is from the STATE level, not from WCPSS budgets or Wake County funding. For example:
"Wake Superintendent Del Burns warned Tuesday that because of the STATE'S BUDGET SHORTFALL some of the 1,496 employees whose contracts expire June 30 might not be rehired."
"Instead, Wake is preparing for a 5 percent STATE funding cut." (emphasis mine)
Wake schools are already postpoing construction projects, which is where the bulk of local appropriations (i.e. from county commissioners) goes.
What's the difference?
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 13:15 — kmisegadesState money? That comes from taxpayers just as county money does. In fact, given Wake County's aflluence relative to others, we are probably net payers when it comes to schools.
The billion dollar school construction bond was strictly for Wake County taxpayers to pay. OK it is not for teachers, but still, County money remains a large portion of funding for schools.
Teacher salaries
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 11:39 — stoopsLocal dollars can (and probably should) be used to make up for projected state shortfalls in position (teacher) and dollar (teacher assistant) allotments. After all, much of the administrative bureaucracy is funded using local dollars. For example, around two-thirds of the money for "other professional" staff comes from local sources. Around half of the "consultants" and clerical staff are paid with local funds.
FYI, State pays for
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 11:20 — btwalshFYI, State pays for transportation costs too. Would be worth looking into.
but the choice to use funds
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 11:18 — AngelaWbut the choice to use funds for UNNECESSARY MYR is at a LOCAL level.
As are the constant
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 11:20 — SouthEastWakeMomAs are the constant reassignments and busing in the name of diversity.
would request that EVERYONE
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 10:33 — AngelaWwould request that EVERYONE write them and ask them just that!!! how can they continue with MYR with NO justification, cost OR growth, in light of the increasing economic woes?
all email addresses can be found here including the CC's
boardmembers@wcpss.net, aburns@wcpss.net, achooker@wcpss.net, dcooke@co.wake.nc.us, joe.bryan@co.wake.nc.us, Tony.Gurley@co.wake.nc.us, Harold.Webb@co.wake.nc.us, lindy.brown@co.wake.nc.us, paul.coble@co.wake.nc.us, Stan.Norwalk@co.wake.nc.us
save face
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 10:26 — loriacHere is a chance for the school board to save some face and do the right thing. The opening shot was fired from Del Burns threatening to lay off teachers. How about not doing the costly year-round conversions, where they can't hire teachers to fill the slots anyway? As btwalsh said - cut transportation costs by eliminating unneeded busing. The school a mile from my house has 400 empty seats, but they bus our kids right past it 8 miles down the road. The board has the perfect storm of events - they can use this to back down on MYR and busing, and still save face.
Why cut teachers & not buses?
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 10:11 — btwalshCutting teacher positions and student services should be the last resort, not the first. Examining ancillary services, like transportation, could save millions without classroom sacrifices.
Here is what I learned during the recent reassignment process:
16,725,288 miles WCPSS Buses drive in 2008-09
2,534,134 gallons of gas used by WCPSS buses in 08-09
$7,186,805 spent on gas ($2.84 price/gal & 6.6 mpg)
For our node alone, reassignment tripled the distance and cost from $500 to $1,500 annually or $65 per student.
Keep in mind, WCPSS just implemented a $7.25 per student cut in expenditures at the school level in Jan. 09.
Net result: a $57.75 increase in per student costs.
Net result: under capacity schools located close to students homes.
Here are a few recommendations to save on transportation expenses:
1. Accept all students applying for voluntary year round school seats. This will resolve undercapacity issues, fill local buses and keep children in their community.
2. Implement express bus service (one stop) for each magnet school this will eliminate half-filled buses meandering throughout the county.
3. Utilize business principles, flatten the mgmt team to cut expenses (start with the 9 area superintendents), develop an academic gain/loss statement for each WCPSS division, cut programs that don't directly contribute to academic achievement.
You all are smarter than me, I am sure you can find additional cost cutting opportunities in the following sources:
http://www.wcpss.net/budget/2008-09-official-plan.pdf
Wheels of Education, Winter Edition 2008, Vol.4, Issue 1. WCPSS, Dept of Transportation.
nails it
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 09:13 — AngelaWhttp://venitapeyton.com/2009/03/wakes-credit-card-mentalitynew-taxes.html
We've been waiting with bated breath. And now, Act I of the most uninspiring soap opera performance to occur in Wake County, North Carolina.
Wake County Public Schools Superintendent Del Burns says he 'may' have to lay off nearly 1500 employees and contractors. Teachers, assistant principals, tutors, school resource officers, and others.
Remember the bitter, but hard won fights a year ago between the County Commissioners and School Board was over their over-spending behavior? The warning from our most frugal, conservative County Commissioner Paul Coble. Making the budget conscious conservatives look like the bad guys.
Mindful of his purse string controlling commissioner bosses, County Manager David Cooke would challenge the school’s budget, question their funding formulas, how they anticipated future enrollment, and recommend less money.
School board members (again, little more than a year ago) hollered, screamed, nearly swore and nearly cried. Despite the behavior, Wake Schools begrudgingly accepted the county funds, knowing that they were still receiving more than they needed.
The public never asked if the school budget was padded to begin with. David knew it, based on their past shenanigans.
Now comes School Superintendent Del Burns saying that they must reduce their spending.
Huh?
Of course there was little handwringing when they were forced to pay back millions to the State of North Carolina for overestimating the head count. Now, with likely less state funding, their head cheerleader holding the scissors, their buddies on the North Carolina Association of Educators growling in the background, Wake Schools may indeed receive much less money than initially expected.
Talk about REAL crocodile tears! Oh what to do? What to do? What do we do?
Well, of course! Take it from the people!
Remember how liberals last year were saying that the Wake County Board of Commissioners needed to fully fund public schools? How they loudly proclaimed ‘new taxes’, regardless of spending? Now they’re ready to unleash their new weapon:
A Democratic majority on the Board of Commissioners.
Naturally the school board's first preference would be to have taxing authority themselves. However, even their Democratic buddies on the NC General Assembly know that they probably would abuse such a privilege. And this could (would) lead to the dethroning of those legislators during the next election cycle. Too risky.
Expect a minimum 3 cent property tax increase request. The usual exhortation that "we have no choice". Expect a heated, though more muted response from the only 3 conservative, Republicans who have warned their colleagues in times past.
Expect the property increase to pass. And, again, an overly zealous projection of how much money will be raised. Wake Schools has always prided itself on high numbers.
Expect too that they won’t consider the new number of foreclosures, and that government agencies (like VA, HUD and FHA) that own homes don’t have to pay taxes on those properties. They'll believe the national numbers, suggesting that fewer than 10% of the homeowners are behind on their mortgage payments or projected for foreclosure.
Besides, for homeowners with insufficient escrow account balances to fully pay the latest tax bill, some mortgage companies have already paid it and charged the homeowner with higher mortgages. However, unpaid taxes by others has likely increased. I don't think the County has released that information yet.
Does Wake Schools worry about backlash against the incumbent school board members who may run for re-election? Oh no! The public is expected to empathize with the school's position. How dare they threaten teachers? Remove school resource officers? Limit a child's right to a well rounded public school education, with all the frills?
After all, we need all the eyes and bodies that we can to police behavior in the middle and high schools against fights and gang activity, right?
Yep. Time to pull out all the secret weapons. Time to pit elderly taxpayers who can barely eke out a living, against employed homeowners with equally high tax bills!
By the end of the wrangling, taxpayers may finally admit, “Yes. We really should have paid more attention to the county and state elections last year. And asked more questions. And considered who and what were behind the endorsements.
Because Wake Schools has always operated with a credit card mentality. Buy now, pay later. Well, SOMEBODY pay later. That somebody is us. Much like the State of North Carolina, where the politicians can’t figure out why they can’t balance the budget by cutting and increasing spending at the same time.
Yes. Time for the REAL crocodile tears. Stay tuned for Act II.
Cuts in Specials
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 09:14 — MudcrutchI think cuts could be made to the specials programs. These teachers could go to half time or split their time at two schools. The art teacher at my kids school does nothing but sit on her laptop while students sit doodling at their tables. There is one salary that could go and no one would miss it.
When I was a student in WCPSS (a long time ago) if there were budget cuts specials were always the first to go. Not pleasant but at least it will not impact core subjects.
And the scare tactics propaganda begins......
Wed, 03/04/2009 - 08:24 — SouthEastWakeMomI just love how there's no mention of transportation costs or administrative personnel in the proposed cuts. One would think that with the mission of WCPSS being education, teachers would be last on the list to be cut. Silly me - this Wake County after all where diversity trumps all.