Many people have been wondering what the heck is going on in Anchorage that has Educators, Parents and Students in an uproar. Basically there are two items: first, the district’s response to budgetary issues and second, the decision from district officials to switch from a 6 period day to a 7 period day. Let’s break it down.
The Anchorage School District is a spendy operation. It is a huge employer in the city and has many departments. Some estimates put the expenses each year at nearly a billion dollars. To put that in perspective, it costs as much to run the Anchorage School District as it does to run the rest of the Municipality of Anchorage in its entirety: Cops, Fire dept., snow removal, city offices, etc. This is a given.
In recent years, the district has continued to spend large amounts of money when it was becoming clear that their sources of money, especially money coming from the State of Alaska, were getting tighter. There is a whole lot of finger pointing that could be made here about who is responsible and why. But that isn’t what this blog or the hoopla is really all about. So let’s stay focused on what it is.
In short, the District estimates that over the next two years, they will need to cut $49 Million from the budget to meet expected revenue streams. This comes out to about $25 Million each year over the next 2 years. In 2012-2013 there were drastic cuts made then as well, but mostly this was covered by attrition. Some jobs were lost then, but most of them were not teaching positions and most were not a real loss of personnel, but more a cut back of unfilled but budgeted for positions, and not hiring to replace retirees. There was pain, but it was a gouge in the eye, not a shot in the head.
This time around, though, things are different. LARGE cuts are being made, and almost all of them are in the teaching arena. In fact, in a recent meeting with school staff, one district official stated that cuts would be made in teaching staff and nowhere else.
Now let me take an aside here to talk about how I’m going to manage my comments. Some will say “Hey! If you know who said it, why not just say the jerk’s name.” My response to that is the following: First, I will not make any assertions or claims of quotes unless I was actually there in the room or heard/read the quote myself in email or from a recording. I will not make an assertion unless I can back it up. And if someone wants to come speak to me privately about the sources, I’m glad to provide those. BUT, I’m not making this about name calling and finger pointing. It is about ISSUES. It doesn’t matter WHO said it, only that it was said. Any information that is available publicly, I will show my source directly. If this makes my commentary unbelievable, I invite you to check the information yourself. Or come talk to me privately and I can provide details. But I will not be the source of gossip or ruining a person’s name. Even if they are mistaken about what is right and wrong. Ok.. back to the story…
Subsequent to this statement about teacher cuts (this includes counselors, etc.) it was made public that there actually WERE some cuts in other areas, but the majority were indeed teaching staff. Principals and related administration have been left alone. Most programs have been left untouched. There have been some “cuts” which on their face appear to be smokescreens rather than real dollars. For example, one proposed cut is to eliminate swimming classes, which will save dollars that the district pays to Municipal Parks & Recreation. This is really just a accounting transaction shifting money from one pot of taxpayer money to another. It isn’t a real decrease in what is ultimately collected from property tax.
In any case, the vast majority of pain will be felt by teachers, counselors, aides, etc. These are the people that are actually working with kids.
The other large cut will occur when Middle School teachers lose one of their “conference hours” and replace it with a class. This will result in a decrease in staff because fewer teachers will be needed to teach the same number of courses.
Finally, cuts will be made down at the grade school level as well.
Principals were told last week (Last week of January) what their numbers would be and were told to start making plans regarding who they would give pink slips to. Currently Principals are hoping that those who are thinking of retiring will make their decisions soon, so that as much of their reduction in force can be taken up by attrition from retirements as possible. This has created a great deal of uncertainty amongst teachers, especially new teachers as they will likely be the first to go.
But there is a second change in the wind. And nobody is quite sure what the purpose of it is. The district informed teachers 3 weeks ago that high schools would move to a 7 period day over the current 6. And the reasoning behind it is… well… a mystery.
In this system, high school teachers will be teaching an additional class with no additional pay. Students will take an additional class during their day as well. This SOUNDS like a contract issue. But the Anchorage School District argues that it is not. Their argument is that they pay teachers to teach for 6 hours a day, it shouldn’t make a difference as to how those hours are broken up. Many teachers say this is a contract breach. The Union has not really responded. Things are in a bit of an uproar.
The worst part of the “7 period” issue is… well… nobody really appears to know what the heck is going on. Principals and teachers have asked, what is this 7 period day supposed to look like. Administration has responded with, “we don’t know… you figure it out.” And have given a fairly ridiculous timeline to do it in as well.
Oh and… one last thing… this decision was never mentioned in any public meetings, public announcements or anything even remotely “transparent” until weeks later. At least two members of the school board have said they knew nothing about the decision until well after teachers were informed it was the new law of the land.
And IS it the law of the land? That’s unclear too, as some principals have told their staffs that until the Board votes on it, it isn’t real.
For families and educators in Anchorage, the Education system in Anchorage, always a bit confusing, is now a sea of chaos and uncertainty. What is worse, rumors and lies are further confusing the waters.
Over the next several days I will blog here on this issue and try to provide some information that you may not have direct access to. I will NOT be allowing comments. I’m just posting what I know. If you find it interesting, do with it what you will. I urge you to get involved in the process. I also STRONGLY urge you to fact check EVERYTHING. Get your calculators out. READ. Do not accept what you are being told, EVEN BY ME.
See you at the other end of this…
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