I thought another perspective might be in order on funding.
First, let’s remember that the public schools took, I believe, a 4 percent cut in funding already at the beginning of the year. This was to be offset by federal stimulus monies.
However let’s remember that this is only a temporary fix for two years, and that the stimulus monies will not match in all districts the amount of monies that were lost.
I would suggest that instead of concentrating on cutting salaries, which are critical to bringing and retaining quality educators into the state, we should look at programs and unfunded mandates first. Examples of what we should consider are:
• Class-size increases, which would equal fewer teachers.
• Cutting back on the additional math, science and social studies classes that the Public Education Department is requiring, which would also decrease the number of new teachers required to teach these classes.
• Cutting back on testing to grades three, eight and 11. We are over-testing and have more data than we need to make sound judgments on curriculum and delivery systems.
• Doing away with required short-cycle assessments in the high schools. The cost savings here would be substantial.
• Cutting out the required teacher-mentoring program and the money that goes with it.
• Combining the lower 48 school districts’ administration functions.
• School districts are being forced to increase administration with the myriad of new regulations/requirements from the PED. A review of these non-funded mandates needs to be undertaken and many need to be done away with. This includes the many new reports that are being required.
• Letting school districts close schools without political interference.
• Requirements for OT/PT/speech have become so high that this has caused districts to pay significantly higher wages for these positions to the point that they cannot afford to have these specialists.
• Doing away with physical education in the middle and high schools.
• Unions and special-interest groups have literally taken over education. This includes gifted programs that come at a very high cost and produce few tangible results.
The last is so highly politicized that no one even wants to mention it; however, before we want to use a “meat cleaver” on education, we need to take a real, critical look at what is going on in education.
Kakuska is executive director of the New Mexico Association of Secondary School Principals.