By now I think most community members know that school budgets across the state will be negatively impacted by the shutdown of our economy. Forced business closures come at a cost and that cost is decreased tax revenue at the state and local levels. Schools are now faced with very hard decisions as to what to cut in their annual budgets due to lost state revenue. Unfortunately, the budget cuts the Jeffco Schools Superintendent recommended hit students far more than his oversized administration staff.
Did you know the number of administrators in Jeffco has increased 60.6% since 2010 per the 2018/2019 CAFR? (see Schedule 13 on pages 144-145). Did you know the number of Jeffco students has declined per the 2019-20 Jeffco Enrollment Projections Report? Enrollment is down 2.2%, or 1,909 students. Did you know that enrollment is expected to continually drop for the next 5 years by an additional 1,076 students?
Since 2010:
Admin +60.6%
Students -2.2%
Teachers -2.3%
Does anyone else see the HUGE disconnect here? During the school board meeting on June 4th, Superintendent Glass repeated many times, “it’s hard to let staff go and it would be hard for them to get a job elsewhere”. Why would the Superintendent be more concerned with keeping his friends in Administration than keeping funds where they will best support students? No one wants to see people lose their jobs; we all know too many of our neighbors have lost their jobs and businesses because of the forced shut downs. But shouldn’t the priority for spending our education tax dollars be supporting our students rather than supporting administrative positions?
Where should the focus be in Jeffco?
Let’s reverse the pyramid. Start with what is good for the students.
Who is nearest to the students? Who has the greatest impact on a student’s success? It is the teachers, the reading interventionists, the counselors, mental health staff and school nurses. Who is the farthest away from the students? Who has the least impact on a student’s learning success? It is the Central Administration. So why has Central Administration grown over the last ten years by 60.6%? Has there be an equivalent increase in student performance?
We need to demand that the school board drastically reduce expenditures that are farthest away from students instead of cutting programs that are nearest to the students.
Looking at the latest recommendations from the Superintendent, cutting 2 literacy interventionists is “Recommended” but cutting from the Financial Services team was categorized as “Damaging”. I will remind community members that Growth scores in Jeffco have fallen FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW! That means our students are LEARNING LESS than their peers across the state. Is it a coincidence that this is the same amount of time Superintendent Glass has been in charge?
Superintendent Glass makes over $280K a year!
I recommend Glass cut his salary by at least $80K, that would pay for 1 literacy interventionist. He should also forgo his ADDITIONAL 15% into his personal RETIREMENT ACCOUNT. That 15% is in ADDITION to the 20% of his salary that goes into PERA. Combine those 2 superintendent compensation cuts and the other reading interventionist position can be saved and more students can be taught to read. THAT WOULD BE A SMART BUDGET DECISION!!! Why are these positions needed? Nearly 56% of 3rd graders do NOT meet reading benchmarks and 75% of minority 3rd graders do NOT meet reading benchmarks. Remember, grades K-3, students are learning to read because in grades 4-12, students read to learn. Having a strong reading foundation by the end of 3rd grade is imperative for a student’s success down the road. And if Jeffco is really serious about improving equity in learning, then shouldn’t the cuts that negatively impact the percent of minority students who cannot read be avoided?
Additional Central Budget Cuts That Could be Made
Cut 2-3 people from the communications department and 2-3 members from central finance instead of cutting the Homebound Instruction program; heaven forbid we serve students incapable of leaving their homes due to medical conditions.
Sell the Old Free Horizon Montessori building. The district quietly paid cash for this building. This building is used for “teacher training” and since teachers are in classrooms the bulk of their time, this building sits empty nearly EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR. We have so many schools with capacity issues, couldn’t training be held in the buildings that are under capacity? This building could sell for at least $12 million. That would eliminate the need for a furlough day ($3.6 million) and keep money in the Student Based Budget ($5 million) and School Improvement funds ($2.2 Million). And there is still $1.2 million to eliminate other cuts like option school busing and campus supervisors.
What Are Your Priorities?
Do you think Jeffco’s Superintendent should keep cuts away from our students? The title of his budget cut presentation “Driving values in developing reductions: Quality Student Experiences” would lead us to believe his focus is on Students. The title of his presentation does not represent the proposed budget cuts. A better title for his presentation should have been “Driving inequalities in Student Experiences while our Administration thrives”. Jeffco students deserve better. Please join me and email the Jeffco School Board (board@jeffco.k12.co.us) and ask them to keep budget cuts away from our students and focus cuts on administration and selling minimally used property.
