Most District administrators are aware of the service FCMAT (Fiscal Crisis Management Assessment Team) provides each day in the way of the top education related headlines throughout the state. If it involves schools, and was in the paper, you can be sure that FCMAT captures the link and makes it very easy to read how school districts up and down the state are making the news. Usually, it is a good day when you don’t see your district as a link on this website.
That being said, an article caught my eye today that speaks to the dilemma we face in California better than anything I have seen in years. The article, “What happens if city schools go insolvent?,” describes the San Diego Unified School District’s possible financial collapse that could require a state takeover to keep the district afloat.
As a district administrator, I know well what state takeover would mean. It is a cliff you walk over and seldom fully recover. Here are the first actions that you can look forward to.
- The superintendent would be immediately fired and replaced by a state appointed administrator.
- The school board would lose all powers and become an advisory panel.
- The state administrator would essentially become the district’s new leader and have the power to unilaterally make decisions, such as which property to sell, what academic programs to cut, which schools to shutter and who to lay off. After labor contracts expire, the administrator could impose district-wide cuts to pay and benefits.
Very depressing! But this doesn’t tell the entire story. Earlier in my day of reading, I had read with great envy an eSchool News special report on a visionary technology program that was being implemented in—you guessed it—the San Diego Unified School District.
Two years ago, the district embarked on a five-year journey to transform its classrooms and completely revamp the way San Diego students learn. Since that time, the Interactive Classroom Initiative (i21) has expanded into more than 1,300 classrooms and has distributed some 78,000 netbooks and other mobile devices to teachers and students.
I can only imagine the planning, effort and vision the district has into this project. To get all the stakeholders together on the same page to move forward is amazing and should be applauded. The professional development alone in this program would be the envy of school districts who dream of one day moving their teachers and administrators forward embracing the appropriate use of technology that helps teachers teach and students learn.
So here we have the problem facing most schools in California. Schools have to live within their means to make it in this economy. With triggers about to be pulled and mid-year cuts on their way, we can in no way pull off projects like the i21 program and expect to stay away from state takeover.
Would financial insolvency mean the end of the SDUSD i21 program? I hope not. Unfortunately, the lesson many district officials may read into the San Diego Unified School District financial problem is: don’t risk any new initiatives; fund highly traditional low-tech expenditures; and make it through the toughest times ever experienced in California public education.
The better lesson is: we can’t do it all, and sustaining is the name of the game. We must strive to prepare students for the technology-rich world our kids will enter while managing to stay solvent in these turbulent and trying economic times.
It is hard to believe that summer is almost over. Like most districts in California, ours has been under intense fiscal pressure due to ongoing budget cuts. This influence, coupled with increasing expectations for student achievement, led us to redesign our summer school options. We now have an opportunity to reflect and evaluate the merits of our decisions.
Bored by tedious PowerPoint presentations? Recently, I learned about two alternatives worth your consideration.
Research shows that language development up to the age of five impacts a child’s success in school throughout his or her academic career. Children who spend these critical years in language rich environments are far more likely to be successful students than are children who do not. But with 20 children in a class, how can teachers insure that all children have ample opportunity to be exposed to high-quality language experiences? And how can teachers increase the likelihood that children will have similar experiences at home?