Response to Potential Budget Cuts to California IB Program Grant Recipients
Janice Luszczak
From: David Mathews <dmat...@sanjuan.edu>
Date: Wed, Mar 4, 2009 at 1:36 PM
Subject: FW: Potential Budget Cuts to California IB Program Grant Recipients
To: janice....@gmail.com
Janice,
I just received this from Ed M. – seems like a good thing to send out to our parents.
DM
From: Edward Marquez
[mailto:marqu...@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, March 02, 2009 6:40
PM
To: undisclosed-recipients
Subject: Potential Budget Cuts to California IB Program
Grant Recipients
If you would like to add or delete a person to the list of California Association of World IB Schools members who receive this message service, please reply to this message with your request.
Developing a Local Response to Preserve My IB World School
Talking Points for IB Schools on Mitigating the Possible Effects of 2009 California State Block Grant Budget Cuts to IB Programs
The following talking points are provided to enable California Association of IB World Schools to craft a local response to possible cuts or elimination of existing IB school budgets. Each school has a unique political circumstance that requires a customized local strategy to be developed by students, parents, educators, and community members that will result in an uninterrupted continuation and growth of California’s unmatched international leadership in providing a world class education for our students. Each California IB school should use items from the list provided below and/or develop its own response to preserving our local programs.
Students
o Students will seek other opportunities at private schools because of the loss of a rigorous academic program resulting in the loss of ADA revenue Limit access to quality programs to low-income students
o Limit access to quality programs to low-income students
o Independent research projects will be lost resulting in a lowering of expectations for students
o Loss of courses listed on the University of California A-G lists will reduce student acceptance rates to UC campuses and other selective universities across the nation
o Loss of access to international standards will lower expectations for students
o Credibility of student achievement will suffer from the elimination of the review of instruction by independent outside experts
o Students will be less well prepared for universities
o Community involvement and preparation for a Global economy will suffer from lowered student expectations
o School rankings will drop
o Student behaviors and attitudes toward learning will suffer
o Loss of support for a college going culture
o Graduation rates will drop with the loss of students to private schools
o Pre-K through 12 continuums will be lost
Parents
o Districts violate the trust of parents and students who made long term commitments and were guaranteed the availability of an IB program
o Parents have been given a commitment providing from 4 to 12 years for the provision of an IB program
o Parents have made a financial commitment based on District promises
o Parents will move students to private schools
Teachers
o Loss of access to quality professional development
o Networking with other schools including international partnerships
o Loss of teacher performance accountability provided by independent outside experts
o Teachers lose the support from Online Curriculum Centre resources
o Teacher recruitment of highly trained teachers to the district will suffer
Budget
o Currently the IB grant offsets expenses for many of the IB Schools
o When the Block granting sunsets on June 30, 2013, districts who have not kept their programs will lose continued additional funding
o Loss of ADA
District Office and District Budget Office Strategy Suggestions
o Cultivate district office supporters who will help shape the decisions that protect IB funding
o Develop a local plan to gain support from budget office staff
o Remind Boards and the Superintendent that a contract was signed to maintain and continue their IB programs