In a year when you have a 8.2 million dollar deficit and you are talking about taking out a school program will save you $500,000(even though you will have to place all these 260 students in other county schools and educate them) Purser has budgeted a whopping $570,000 ($30,000 x 14 schools plus 40,000, 50,000, 60,000 for 3 others) to replace all the lighting(working at this time) with energy effecient bulbs. In my house we don't throw away bulbs that are working but replace as they blow. I think educating our children is more important than changing light bulbs or building auxilary(that means EXTRA) gymnasiums or even remodelling cafeterias. Let us also not forget in the conversation the number of principals, assistant principals, assistant to the assistant principals that there are in our schools. The only increase I saw in the budget was $130,000 at the Central Admin Office which is a second Assistant Superintendant. Sometimes we can't all be chiefs but must be indians. There are many other areas where budget cuts would be more appropriate.
Can you explain how the central office admin increased their budget by 130,000 at the same time as budgeting the loss of a school in an already crowded system. I am pretty sure the 2 cafeteria ladies and a janitor couldn't even touch the salary of a second associate superintendent to assist the one that is doing this incredible budget proposal. BTW we pick up our own pine cones and do our own beautification and pay for our own renovations (like playground equipment,fencing,wheelchair accessible gardens). These kids aren't leaving the county, they will still have to be taught somewhere and that requires teachers who will be once again be over burdened and all children in this county will suffer from the larger class size.
The obvious thing to do is to expand the Year Round Program to accomodate that waiting list so that more children can be given the chance to go to their school of choice and the program they want to be in that is already proving with results in more ways then just EOG scores. Year Round in Middle school would be awesome as well.
http://www.schooldigger.com/go/NC/schools/0309001322/school.aspx go to the bottom of the page. How did these folks get these statistics? 33 black 3 asian and 224 white with total population of 260 (k-5 which is what this school is not just EOG scores). That puts them with a racial minority rate of 14%. The census states that Moore County has a 14% black population.
In this same yearbook my 5th grader had 52 classmates and there were 10 black children and they took the EOG and had a >98 EOG score(this is from 2008-2009 but AHES has been doing this for years). Jr Beta Club that year had 21 students. That is 39 % Honors students.(2 of them black, 1 asian).
Go back and look at the numbers 133 kids took the test(35d-5th grade). There are 2 classes per grade. Approximately 20 kids per class and all those kids took the EOG. Basic math as far as I can tell. I am sorry if for some reason they can't count a kid until there are over X amount of kids in a school. every kid should count. You can look at our year book anytime you want. AHES doesn't just let the non-economically challenged kids take the test. I think you all would be shocked how many Economically disadvantaged or non-white(what a ridiculous way to talk about anyone) get 4's on their EOG not just pass. Remember passing is meeting basic standards. We want our kids to excel not just pass.
According to the MCS budget proposol the direct cost per student at AH is 7717 per year and if 130 AHES move to the year round program at SPP (k-2) where the direct cost is 8881 per year. Using these numbers it would appear that that would increase the cost to MCS approximately $151,000. Anybody else see how that is going to affect Pursers 500,000 cost reduction while overcrowding our schools?
According to Dr Upchurch: There are 14 students from Southern Pines going to AHES. I can not give you the actual numbers of children of color at AHES but that link does not show it. I can give you my son's K class 5 of 20. I can give you my 1 daughter's(1st grade) class (5 of 20-asian, hispanic, black) and my 2nd daughter(3rd grade) is (2 of 17). Seems like greater than 5%. Seems like 25%, 20% and 11%.
momof3atAH 2 years, 1 month ago
A Difficult But Critical Decision
In a year when you have a 8.2 million dollar deficit and you are talking about taking out a school program will save you $500,000(even though you will have to place all these 260 students in other county schools and educate them) Purser has budgeted a whopping $570,000 ($30,000 x 14 schools plus 40,000, 50,000, 60,000 for 3 others) to replace all the lighting(working at this time) with energy effecient bulbs. In my house we don't throw away bulbs that are working but replace as they blow. I think educating our children is more important than changing light bulbs or building auxilary(that means EXTRA) gymnasiums or even remodelling cafeterias. Let us also not forget in the conversation the number of principals, assistant principals, assistant to the assistant principals that there are in our schools. The only increase I saw in the budget was $130,000 at the Central Admin Office which is a second Assistant Superintendant. Sometimes we can't all be chiefs but must be indians. There are many other areas where budget cuts would be more appropriate.
momof3atAH 2 years, 1 month ago
Academy Heights Parents Make Case to Board
Can you explain how the central office admin increased their budget by 130,000 at the same time as budgeting the loss of a school in an already crowded system. I am pretty sure the 2 cafeteria ladies and a janitor couldn't even touch the salary of a second associate superintendent to assist the one that is doing this incredible budget proposal. BTW we pick up our own pine cones and do our own beautification and pay for our own renovations (like playground equipment,fencing,wheelchair accessible gardens). These kids aren't leaving the county, they will still have to be taught somewhere and that requires teachers who will be once again be over burdened and all children in this county will suffer from the larger class size.
momof3atAH 2 years, 1 month ago
Academy Heights Parents Make Case to Board
Just looked at it http://www.moorebusiness.org/2009/07/population-by-race-gender/ and 80.4% white so how could 28% be nonwhite? The data for 2009 estimate was 84+% white so my comparison is valid for that year.
momof3atAH 2 years, 2 months ago
Academy Heights Parents Make Case to Board
14 from Southern Pines. 14% racial minority from statistics for 2009 I could find. Which is consistent actually with the demographics of Moore County.
momof3atAH 2 years, 2 months ago
Academy Heights Parents Make Case to Board
The obvious thing to do is to expand the Year Round Program to accomodate that waiting list so that more children can be given the chance to go to their school of choice and the program they want to be in that is already proving with results in more ways then just EOG scores. Year Round in Middle school would be awesome as well.
momof3atAH 2 years, 2 months ago
Academy Heights Parents Make Case to Board
http://www.schooldigger.com/go/NC/schools/0309001322/school.aspx go to the bottom of the page. How did these folks get these statistics? 33 black 3 asian and 224 white with total population of 260 (k-5 which is what this school is not just EOG scores). That puts them with a racial minority rate of 14%. The census states that Moore County has a 14% black population.
momof3atAH 2 years, 2 months ago
Academy Heights Parents Make Case to Board
In this same yearbook my 5th grader had 52 classmates and there were 10 black children and they took the EOG and had a >98 EOG score(this is from 2008-2009 but AHES has been doing this for years). Jr Beta Club that year had 21 students. That is 39 % Honors students.(2 of them black, 1 asian).
momof3atAH 2 years, 2 months ago
Academy Heights Parents Make Case to Board
Go back and look at the numbers 133 kids took the test(35d-5th grade). There are 2 classes per grade. Approximately 20 kids per class and all those kids took the EOG. Basic math as far as I can tell. I am sorry if for some reason they can't count a kid until there are over X amount of kids in a school. every kid should count. You can look at our year book anytime you want. AHES doesn't just let the non-economically challenged kids take the test. I think you all would be shocked how many Economically disadvantaged or non-white(what a ridiculous way to talk about anyone) get 4's on their EOG not just pass. Remember passing is meeting basic standards. We want our kids to excel not just pass.
momof3atAH 2 years, 2 months ago
Academy Heights Parents Make Case to Board
According to the MCS budget proposol the direct cost per student at AH is 7717 per year and if 130 AHES move to the year round program at SPP (k-2) where the direct cost is 8881 per year. Using these numbers it would appear that that would increase the cost to MCS approximately $151,000. Anybody else see how that is going to affect Pursers 500,000 cost reduction while overcrowding our schools?
momof3atAH 2 years, 2 months ago
Academy Heights Parents Make Case to Board
According to Dr Upchurch: There are 14 students from Southern Pines going to AHES. I can not give you the actual numbers of children of color at AHES but that link does not show it. I can give you my son's K class 5 of 20. I can give you my 1 daughter's(1st grade) class (5 of 20-asian, hispanic, black) and my 2nd daughter(3rd grade) is (2 of 17). Seems like greater than 5%. Seems like 25%, 20% and 11%.