Post by title1parent on Aug 12, 2010 7:17:15 GMT -5
www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=400037&src=
Donation would buy Cary schools time
Daily Herald Editorial 8/12/2010
Get out your checkbook. How much would you write on that check if you knew it would help the children in your school district have as rich an educational experience as they did last year - before teacher layoffs and program cuts - if even for just one year?
A group of people in Cary Elementary District 26 has banded together to present the school board with a $4.3 million promise to do just that.
It's remarkable that people would put their money where their mouths are in this way. We've seen some cases in which parents have gotten together to try to save a program. In Lake Zurich Unit District 95, a group of parents raised and donated $35,000 to help persuade the school board to restore the band program.
But $4.3 million? That's an astounding number. We applaud the fortitude and benevolence of those who've pledged their financial support.
In exchange, the group calls for 68 of the 71 teachers who were laid off to be rehired and the art, music and gym programs restored.
The problem is it would support operations only in the coming school year. It wouldn't fix the long-term financial problems that have left the district on the precipice of a state takeover.
Presented with this bounty, school officials are concerned about a number of things. If one of the promised 12 monthly installments doesn't come through, the district could be sunk. A state board of education official called the proposition risky: If the district hires back almost all of the teachers and the donors don't hold up their end of the deal, it would be disastrous for a district already in danger of losing control to the state.
We share that concern. The group needs to be as transparent as the school board. The board needs to know whether it's simply a group of parents or if there are businesses involved that could create conflicts of interest. And the board needs to know who is accountable if the group fails to come through with what amounts to a legal obligation.
Another concern is that voters may shrug with indifference when faced with a $15 million tax increase referendum in November if they know the district already has a pledge for $4.3 million.
We hope the concerns don't deter the donors.
Should district leaders find no conflicts in accepting the money, we feel, at the very least, it would buy Cary Elementary District 26 some time.
Time to fully examine the problems that led the district to this point - an ongoing deficit, depleted fund balances and lots of short-term borrowing - so that it can get its financial house in order and continue to provide students with the kind of quality education for which the district has been known.
The school board owes the donors, the kids and the taxpayers at least that much.
Donation would buy Cary schools time
Daily Herald Editorial 8/12/2010
Get out your checkbook. How much would you write on that check if you knew it would help the children in your school district have as rich an educational experience as they did last year - before teacher layoffs and program cuts - if even for just one year?
A group of people in Cary Elementary District 26 has banded together to present the school board with a $4.3 million promise to do just that.
It's remarkable that people would put their money where their mouths are in this way. We've seen some cases in which parents have gotten together to try to save a program. In Lake Zurich Unit District 95, a group of parents raised and donated $35,000 to help persuade the school board to restore the band program.
But $4.3 million? That's an astounding number. We applaud the fortitude and benevolence of those who've pledged their financial support.
In exchange, the group calls for 68 of the 71 teachers who were laid off to be rehired and the art, music and gym programs restored.
The problem is it would support operations only in the coming school year. It wouldn't fix the long-term financial problems that have left the district on the precipice of a state takeover.
Presented with this bounty, school officials are concerned about a number of things. If one of the promised 12 monthly installments doesn't come through, the district could be sunk. A state board of education official called the proposition risky: If the district hires back almost all of the teachers and the donors don't hold up their end of the deal, it would be disastrous for a district already in danger of losing control to the state.
We share that concern. The group needs to be as transparent as the school board. The board needs to know whether it's simply a group of parents or if there are businesses involved that could create conflicts of interest. And the board needs to know who is accountable if the group fails to come through with what amounts to a legal obligation.
Another concern is that voters may shrug with indifference when faced with a $15 million tax increase referendum in November if they know the district already has a pledge for $4.3 million.
We hope the concerns don't deter the donors.
Should district leaders find no conflicts in accepting the money, we feel, at the very least, it would buy Cary Elementary District 26 some time.
Time to fully examine the problems that led the district to this point - an ongoing deficit, depleted fund balances and lots of short-term borrowing - so that it can get its financial house in order and continue to provide students with the kind of quality education for which the district has been known.
The school board owes the donors, the kids and the taxpayers at least that much.