Fwd: Fw: 2016-2017 FCPS Budget Shortfall - PLEASE READ
geetha thupukari
Thanks
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Anjou Krelovich <anjou.k...@gmail.com>
Date: Friday, September 25, 2015
Subject: Fw: 2016-2017 FCPS Budget Shortfall - PLEASE READ
To: Srinivasan Kamalakrishnan <kamal...@yahoo.com>, Rajesh Aggarwal <pr1...@gmail.com>, Bavani Ramesh <bavani...@gmail.com>, Paramita Biswas <paramit...@hotmail.com>, Gowri Chida <cgo...@gmail.com>, geetha thupukari <geetha.t...@gmail.com>
From: Cindy Ruckert
[mailto:CharmsEm...@charmsmusic.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September
23, 2015 10:12 AM
To: dl...@verizon.net
Subject: 2016-2017
FCPS Budget Shortfall - PLEASE READ
Good morning! As we gear up for a busy weekend to include a football game, TAG Day, and a competition, please read or re-read the last few emails to make sure you understand the schedule, what to bring, etc. We are looking forward to a busy but fun weekend! If anyone has any questions, please let me know.
I'm going to apologize for the long email up front, but please read on because this next topic is VERY important and will have impact on our children.
Not sure if many are aware, but FPCS is anticipating a significant budget shortfall for the next school year 2016-17. I attended a meeting this week with Becky Anderson and other music boosters from FCPS. During the meeting Becky and I were shocked to hear some of the cost cutting proposals. While there are quite a few proposals, one in particular that we found shocking was the possibility of reducing from the current 7 classes per day to 6. This proposed measure is essentially a program change because it would take away one student elective, and, we are told, would result in the elimination of high school band, orchestra, chorus, theatre and other “4-year” elective course offerings.
Anyone is able to submit specific proposals on how to
balance the budget using an online Budget Proposal Tool. The Budget
Proposal Tool
(https://budgettool.fcps.edu/) is a method for stakeholders to provide their
recommendations for how to address the projected deficit that FCPS is facing in
FY 2017. FCPS is gathering proposals for two different deficit amounts:
$50 million and $75 million. The shortfall contains uncertainty because there
are costs and funding that are not determined until later in the budget
process.
The deadline is this
Friday, September 25 to submit any comments to the Budget Proposal
Tool. Be sure to add your comments before you hit submit. Please
don't take this lightly. The county needs to hear from stakeholders.
I personally remember a similar drill about 6 years ago when elementary school
music (band, orchestra, and chorus) and freshman sports were being
threatened. The county was surprised by the response from the
community. Luckily that year, funds were not cut as expected. We've
been told this time the cuts are real.
After our meeting, a member of a chorus group in FCPS contacted a reporter at the Washington Post about the impact that the budget changes could have. Below is the letter that was sent. Becky and I felt it has great information and we wanted to share with all of you.
Thank you for your time,
Cindy Ruckert
President, Westfield Band Boosters
Dear Ms. Balingit,
Thank you so much for speaking to me this afternoon about the risk to
Arts education classes and other electives in Fairfax County Public Schools’
budget-cutting process. Your August 4 piece, “Could one of the nation’s largest
school districts go without sports, activities,” generated extensive coverage by
other media outlets and raised awareness of some proposed cuts, and we’re hoping
you might be willing to do a follow-up piece on this process because much more
is at stake in this process than most Fairfax County community members realize.
Of greatest concern is that fact that buried in the list of potential
cuts is a proposal that is deceptively categorized as a staffing and scheduling
change: “HS Class Offerings — Reduce from Current 7 classes per day to 6.” This
proposed measure is essentially a program change because it would take away one
student elective, and, we are told, would result in the elimination of high
school band, orchestra, chorus, theatre and other “4-year” elective course
offerings.
For many students, these are the classes that keep them in
school and sane (students’ words); they promote cognitive, personal and social
development, and expose students to disciplines which become their college
majors and future careers. (If useful, I can provide you with data on the
benefits of arts education in multiple domains). Cutting school-based arts
education classes and programs would disproportionately affect less advantaged
students, whose families could not otherwise afford to access visual and
performing arts opportunities. But every FCPS student would lose out with the
“6-period day,” which would also reduce course offerings in other non-core
academic subject areas, potentially cutting classes in business and marketing,
technology education, leadership, psychology, and other significant fields of
study.
Since FCPS has not provided clear information to the public on
what this proposal would entail, community members now providing feedback to the
FCPS Budget Task Force via the “Budget Proposal Tool” on www.fcps.edu by September 25, are largely unaware
that these harmful program cuts are even on the table. Disturbingly, the lack of
a clear understanding of this measure extends even to FCPS decision makers: at
the September 9 community engagement meeting, I (and other music parents) heard
differing interpretations of what the “6-period day” would mean in terms of
program cuts from Budget Task Force and School Board members themselves. The
interpretation I shared above was provided by someone with access to Task Force
briefing materials, but it would be great if you could get FCPS to commit to a
clear explanation: I believe the best contact for that is Kristin Michael,
Assistant Superintendent for Financial Services, FCPS (kkmi...@fcps.edu; 571-423-3750).
Clearly, the community members who’ve been invited to make
recommendations to the budget task force – parents, students, teachers and other
stakeholders – cannot make responsible, well-informed choices when even the
people framing the debate are unable to provide clear, consistent information.
Exacerbating this problem is the fact that there are few ready
mechanisms for spreading the word about the implications of the 6-period day to
the FCPS community. Most students and families are completely unaware of what
this proposal means (some mistakenly believe it relates to changes in the block
schedule rather than actual program cuts). Even FCPS teachers and staff are
unaware that such a proposal exists, or report being afraid that they will lose
their jobs if they say or do anything about it. Many school-based activities
that bring parents together – e.g., PTSA meetings – are just getting underway,
and most Fall student performances will take place after the September 25
deadline for community submissions via the Budget Proposal Tool.
There’s
little doubt that an overwhelming majority of FCPS community members would opt
to protect student electives – including arts education – if they were asked to
indicate their priorities via a straightforward survey. (A recent report by the
NAMM Foundation, “Striking a Chord,” shows this to be true for a national
sample, in which parents were willing to cut virtually every other program than
music and arts education). Few would entertain the 6-period day if it were
clearly explained.
However, the Budget Proposal Tool which FCPS is using
to solicit community input on what to cut and what to keep makes the ill-defined
“6-period day” measure (valued at $26 million in savings) an easy target for
respondents desperate to protect another program, who may not understand the way
it will impact their own children (e.g., this is very true of elementary and
middle school parents who don’t know that the high school day isn’t 7 periods
long to begin with).
I earnestly hope that you might see fit to shine a
light on this process, and help inform the public on what’s truly at stake in
the FCPS Budget Task Force’s cost-cutting efforts. Dr. Garza and School Board
Chair Pat Hynes have commented on the public's “complacency” in this process,
and while it’s true that some citizens opt out because of a misguided belief
that “things will work themselves out” without their personal involvement, a
fuller explanation for inaction is that community members lack clear, accurate
information from objective, trustworthy sources – a gap that I hope you might be
willing to address via reporting on this issue.
I have no personal stake
in this: my last school-aged child graduates this year. But as a long-time
Fairfax County resident, I am appalled that this affluent county would even
consider cutting its arts programs or high school electives. I also find it
disconcerting that our elected and appointed school officials would allow such
cuts to be influenced not by well-informed discourse, but by a process geared
towards catering to the squeakiest wheel. FCPS Arts education classes and
programs not only helped my children navigate the social and academic challenges
of high school, but also enabled them to become more fully-realized, creative
and capable human beings. That’s an opportunity that every FCPS student deserves
to have.
Here’s the link to the budget proposal tool, the instrument
being used to solicit community input on proposed budget cuts. You’ll see how
hard it is to understand the implications of many of these proposed cost-cutting
measures — particularly the 6-period day. (The HS Trimesters proposal is another
ill-defined measure which could also result in devastating cuts to arts and
other electives).
We’ve been told by Task Force Members that just as
important as submitting proposals which reflect $50 and $75 million in
recommended cuts is the Comments section, where community members should
indicate their priorities regarding which programs should not be cut.
***Budget tool: http://www.fcps.edu/news/fy2017/budget-tool.shtml
Other informational resources on www.fcps.edu are:
Budget explainer video:
An Explanation of the FCPS Budget
Budget overview factsheet: http://www.fcps.edu/news/fy2017/Budget-Overview.pdf
For purposes of disclosure, I’m a chorus parent of a senior at South
Lakes HS. I’d be delighted to speak with you further on this; I’ll also do some
further checking to try to provide you with Task Force contacts (I don’t know
that the people I’m in touch with can speak out publicly on this), and contact
information of people representing other perspectives in FCPS.
One
excellent resource is Mary Wagner, Co-Chair of the Fairfax Arts Coalition for
Education (msc...@cox.net). She can
highlight concerns about other potential threats to FCPS arts education,
primarily a proposal to “reduce” elementary school band and orchestra by moving
the start of the strings program from 4th to 5th grade and band from 5th to 6th
grade).
Thank you again for your time and interest. We greatly
appreciate your reporting on Fairfax County Public
Schools.