School Committee member Michael Moutsoulas's panel will be looking at the demographics, building and grounds for each school building in Peabody in an investigation into cost savings and educational consolidation.
I am in favor of such a review of our school needs. However I am not simply in favor of closing a school.
Here is the criteria I feel needs to be addressed before any school closing takes place:
- Show through a proper demographic study that the population patterns and projections are being taken into consideration in any such plan
- Show REAL and SUBSTANTIAL cost savings (both now and over time).
A small savings that manifests itself in 10 years is NO REASON to disrupt hundreds of Peabody families. - Show that an EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGE will happen for the students in Peabody... not just cutting teachers or administrators, but improving the quality and quantity of educational opportunities for our students.
6 comments:
I hear crickets.
OG says...
greetings PI--I think that you and I agree in principle how this process should work but I may have a bit more cynical view than you...if the Mayor is looking to close a school then he is looking to save a BIG CHUNK of money both in terms of operating costs (facility) and in terms of labor (school employees)...now I know you have been touting the educational improvement angle and that is going to take some doing...if we close a school and end up with the same number of school employees then there are not labor savings...correct?
OG:
I am thinking about a reduction in staff as well... but not everyone.
My thoughts go like this... (And I know... I am just making up numbers but go with it...)
Say we have 28 math teachers in the 7 elementary schools (4/school)
If we close one school we could fire 4 math teachers...
But why not only lose 2 teachers (still a cost savings) and use the other two in a way that:
1) Improves remedial and/or gifted programs
2) Gives more flexibility to the school department in the deployment of teachers as/when they need them (think of these as floating teachers)
All I am saying is that lets not simply maximize the savings at the expense of the students. Each and every faction of the City is going to need to give a bit in this crisis. Lets not but the full burden (and so far the only public example) on our already underfunded students.
Anon:
Do you mean you see little traffic here? I agree that folks are not posting.
I see people are visiting... then leaving.
I have no control over this and I simply can't put much more time into running the blog.
Plus... I am not running the Salem News blog. I am only going to run posts where I feel I have something to say or, in the case of the Obama speech, think that the story deserves to be spread far and wide.
Please feel free to comment more and tell me (us) what you think.
OG says...your cut 2 and save 2 pro-education approach is commendable but let's get back to reality...the bottom line to all of of this school closing initiative is to SAVE AS MUCH MONEY AS WE CAN...and as long as we can end up with proper class sizes and enough classrooms that meet teacher contract specs then that will be just fine in the mind of Mayor Mike in my view...so the only 'help' I see to our educational excellence is the need to staff, maintain and communicate to one less school population...so maybe I am kind of negative about this whole initiative and not as hopeful and optimistic like you but that's the kind of educational legacy that I am used to here in Dark City.
OG:
I fear that we agree on this.
The overwhelming weight of the issue will be simple to SAVE MAXIMUM MONEY as long as the students meet the minimum state standards.
In other words we will try to ride out this economic downturn on the backs of our most under represented and fragile citizens... our children.
I will do my best to fight this but I simply know what the result will be... here in Peabody students come LAST.
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