Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Draud eyes textbooks, staff development and tech funds

Education Commissioner Jon Draud held a webcast this afternoon, to keep the state's superintendents well informed on the budget crisis and to allow for suggestions regarding the 09-10 budget, in particular. He indicated that the request for budget reductions for this year came up over the holidays and too quickly to gather input from superintendents before his response was due to the governor.

Draud stated that his objective is "to have the least amount of impact on the school districts and the children of the state that we possibly can have."

"We've been given...two charges...one of them dealing with a 3 percent cut for the 08 fiscal year, and a potential..12 percent cut for...09 and 10," Draud said. "I want to make this very clear. The governor's office has not said that they are reducing SEEK or... any part of education." Draud previously asked superintendents to prepare possible scenarios, but in his opinion, does not anticipate that cutting SEEK will happen.

The cuts for 08 included:
  • Teacher Professional Growth Fund - about $10 million
  • Part of Read To Achieve - about $1.3 million
  • Both had funds that were available and had not been used by the school districts.
  • "We also lost $43.8 million of excess SEEK funds. You know, we had some plans. We were going to do some creative things to help our growth districts and districts that were going above 4% in their revenue but that will be...impossible now," Draud said.
  • Another 400,000 in restricted funds from agency accounts.
  • And $1 million was taken out of the emergency school loan account.
Since becoming commissioner Draud said he has learned that since 2001 the department of education has lost 219 positions (Over $10 million on an average salary of $42,000). "I know there's not always a lot of empathy...for the Department of Education but facts are facts...and most likely will lose another 28 with this current reduction, if it occurs."

It does make it kind of difficult to provide the kind of service you'd like...

I'm going to repeat that often "because it has been my experience in Frankfort that you have to repeat things a lot of times before people actually internalize it.

As for 09-10 the Commissioner is considering
  • delaying textbooks, $21.7 million
  • staff development activities $13.6 million
  • technology operating fund $10.8
= about $46 million, which would make up education's 12%.

2 comments:

KY Curmudgeon said...

You are falling for Gov. Beshear's carefully orchestrated efforts to persuade everyone why the additional tax revenues which could be generated by expanded gambling are needed.

"Delaying textbooks" - Our children won't have books to study from??? "Staff development cuts" - insufficiently trained teachers? Oh no! These are simply targeted cuts to raise sympathy.

Kentucky's economy is not producing the tax revenues this administration wants because of the anti-entrepreneurial policies invoked by previous ones.

Expanded gambling is a horrible excuse for the absence of productive economic development in Kentucky.

Beshear can't fool all of us...

Richard Day said...

Falling for it?

Heck, put it on the ballot and I'll fall for it again.

I'm not all that partisan by nature and I'm not trying to fix the blame. I am interested in fixing the problem, however.

If you are suggesting that the state's economy should be more productive, I agree.

But I promise you this (as one who has been through budget cuts before - while trying to increase productivity) the cuts they are talking about are real and they will impact the students.

I just don't share your cynicism on this point.

Thanks for the comment.