Floyd County Board Of Education
The RIF plan is affecting eight employees at Model High School, where a teacher is shown Friday, Feb. 15, leading a group through the atrium. (Brittany Hannah, RN-T.com)
As a part of the Reduction In Force plan aimed at trimming $10.4 million from the school system’s budget, 68 full-time certified employees, 35 full-time classified employees, 12 certified part-time employees and four part-time classified employees were RIFed.
Reduced and reassigned
Certified personnel can be defined as a classroom teacher or someone with a teaching certificate. That can include administrators, teachers and even some paraprofessionals.
Someone who does not have a certificate to teach would be a classified employee. On the school level, that can include maintenance workers, secretaries and parapros. On the central office level, that includes secretaries, transportation workers, maintenance workers, employees in the finance department and more in other areas that don’t require a teaching certificate.
Once positions such as assistant principals and media specialists were eliminated, people who held those positions who had teaching certificates were entered into the pool of individuals considered during the RIF process.
Although a position was eliminated, that doesn’t necessarily mean the person who held the position will lose his or her job.
Thirty-four certified employees whose positions were eliminated were considered for teaching positions and were reassigned to the classroom, said Tim Hensley, assistant to Superintendent Jeff McDaniel.
The school system did not release specific positions that could be trimmed.
According to the restructuring plan outlined in an email issued by McDaniel on Friday, the estimated savings from restructuring total $10,591,424, although McDaniel said earlier that $7 million had to be trimmed. The email said the system projects a $10 million shortfall next year.
Administrative contracts were reduced, nine assistant principal or instructional coaches with administrative duties were eliminated, contract days for head football coaches were reduced, 16 positions at the Floyd County Education Center were eliminated, and the K-12 counseling program was restructured so that nine positions were eliminated.
The RIF process was conducted on a systemwide basis and wasn’t looked at on a school-by-school level. Hensley emphasized on Friday that no school was targeted during the RIF.
Though Armuchee High School had two certified positions RIFed in comparison to Pepperell High School’s seven certified positions, that decision was made without bias, he said.
Hensley also explained that tenure and the number of years someone had been with the school system were considered during the process.
However, that aspect was looked at based on the most recent hiring period for an employee.
That means that if a teacher had worked with the school system nearly a decade, then left for a period of time and returned, they were considered based on their more recent hire and not on their cumulative years with the school system.
RIF reactions
Principals were given the task of notifying the employees Friday, while others were reassigned Thursday.
Glenn White, principal at Model High School, said it was one of the most difficult days of his career.
“It was very hard … and something I hope I never have to do again,” White said Friday afternoon. “It’s a very, very, very sad situation, especially considering the fact that I’ve known most of those people just about all their lives. I’ve seen them grow up, and I’ve seen them go through Model High School and graduate and get teaching degrees and come back. But it was not a good situation, that’s for sure.”
In his email, McDaniel articulated that it was with much regret that the RIF was executed.
“To those we are not able to offer a contract or a position next year, no words can express the sorrow that I feel in my heart that this decision had to be made at this time,” he wrote. “You and your family are in my prayers.”
A teacher who was told his position was gone called the Rome News-Tribune on Friday and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“Roger” said he had been teaching at his school for three years.
“My wife and I may lose our house,” he said. “I may get out of education and try to find something to pay the bills. If I get a job in retail that makes enough to pay the bills, I would stick to that.”
TREAT FOR TEACHERS
The Chick-fil-A at 264 Shorter Ave. will be giving away free chicken sandwiches today to teachers of the Floyd County and Rome city school systems and local private schools.
Day Manager Ben Farrer launched the give-away Friday afternoon, saying the restaurant just wants to show support for teachers and what they do. Teachers will have to present school identification to get their free sandwich.
PREVIOUSLY POSTED:
Approximately 119 employees from Floyd County Schools have been told they will no longer work with the school system next year, said Assistant to the Superintendent Tim Hensley on Friday afternoon.
Those who were informed of the bad news were 68 full-time certified employees, 35 full-time classified employees, 12 certified part-time employees and four part-time classified employees.
The measure is part of the school system’s Reduction in Force plan aimed at trimming $7 million from the budget.
School officials said earlier that some of the employees who have been told they won’t have jobs could find that changes because of others who might voluntarily leave the system.
The Rome News-Tribune newsroom has received a number of calls from upset people who have expressed their frustrations with the school system and the situation at hand.
One caller, who spoke anonymously, said some positions in the arts have been cut from an Armuchee school.
The caller said that, in years past when school personnel attended budget meetings at the Central Office, they felt as though the wool had been pulled over their eyes when it came to the extreme financial problems the schools were experiencing.
“There’s not going to be anything left here in the arts,” she said. “And I just feel like the county office is not being straight.”
A more detailed story regarding the Reduction in Force plan will appear in Saturday’s edition of the Rome News-Tribune.
If you would like to speak to the Rome News-Tribune and share your story with the community contact Managing Editor Mike Colombo at 706-290-5279 or Lauren Jones at 706-290-5250.
Letter from Superintendent Jeff McDaniel To our Floyd County family
First, let me say that this was an arduous task that we have undertaken in the last few weeks. Actually, it has been an issue I have been struggling with since I first looked at the budget process shortly after December 1. There have been many sleepless nights and days scouring budget line items that did not match expenditures and expected revenues. Now those numbers have names and faces that make these decisions all too real and painful. This is something that no one wanted to do from the beginning. The process has been difficult and it will be felt in our school system for some time. We entered this process with the goal of retaining the integrity of our education programs for children as the top priority while meeting revenue projections. I feel that this process, while very, very hard to implement, will help us meet those objectives.
To those we are not able to offer a contract or a position next year, no words can express the sorrow that I feel in my heart that this decision had to be made at this time. You and your family are in my prayers. It is my pledge that this school system will help you in any way possible in this transition. I have already been in touch with professional associations to enlist their help in assisting our employees with information and services. I trust that by making this decision early, we have given you the best opportunity to secure a new position for next school year. That was my intention in beginning this process so early and not waiting until closer to the time contracts are due.
For those not impacted by the reduction in force, there will be restructuring and sacrifices still required to continue quality educational services to children in our schools and balance the General Fund Budget. We have come a long way together since these budget reductions from the state began in 2003. The actions taken this year will allow us to stay fiscally sound while keeping our programs and services in place for children. Although delivery of some programs and services will certainly change, we have not completely eliminated a program or service. Providing a quality education for a quality life for the children of our community will continue to be our mission.
At this time, I would like to outline the framework of our restructuring efforts to meet the needs of children and our community. The RIF and restructuring will impact every level of our school system. There will be reductions and changes in the central office, school administration and in the classroom. I will share details of our restructuring plan in outline form because this will include a great deal of information and will be difficult to share in a narrative format.
First, let me address why this was necessary. I gave an extensive presentation to the board at the February meeting that outlined our budget situation but I think it is important for everyone to understand where we stand with our school system budget. I want you to understand issues we are dealing with on the revenue and expenditure side for 2014 budget projections.
Why a RIF and restructuring is necessary
Budget
The system’s budgeted expenditures for 2013 was $94,526,867. That was the original budget plan before we were able to reduce those expenditures with Reduced Work Days (commonly referred to as furloughs). Anticipated revenue for Fiscal Year 2014 is $86,072,000. Right away, you see that just budgeting to keep everything as is in the system would leave us close to $8 million short in revenue to cover costs. We all know that keeping things “just as they are” in a budget is pretty much impossible due to increased costs in operation. Additionally, we have cost increases we know are coming for next year. Those include: increases in certified step raises, TRS matching increases related to step raises, classified health matching increases and other costs that would push our expenditures more than $2 million higher. That means that the school system would actually need approximately $10 million dollars in additional revenue to meet expenditure projections for next year. Reduced Work Days would clearly not make up that difference.
Where could we get the money?
Tax Increases
The board could consider tax increases, and still may look at that to offset some expected shortfall in revenue. However, the school system is currently at 18.588 mills and can only levy a maximum 20 mills by state law. A maximum tax millage increase would not bring in the increase in revenue to have a major impact on the budget deficit.
Reduced Work Days
Each day saves only $300,000 and we can only reach this maximum amount of savings if the Reduced Work Day is taken from the school calendar for students when all employees would be working and eligible to be included. Clearly, making budget this year using just Reduced Work Days alone would not balance the budget. Reduced Work Days and reducing the school year will be a part of the answer but it would not cover the entire shortfall.
Using Ending Balance funds
The school system seeks to have an ending balance at the end of the school year to make sure we are able to pay bills between the end of the school year and the time we begin to collect taxes again. The system needs at least $7 million in ending balance to allow us to make payroll and pay bills without borrowing money during the summer. Taxes come in primarily in the time period between November to February. The problem is that bills continue to come in and must be paid throughout the year. We use Ending Balance Funds to pay bills during the low times of cash flow for the system. In optimal circumstances you want to replenish those funds so that we will be able to pay bills again the next year. We are working with vendors and those we pay on an annual basis to reschedule bills to become due at other times in the year to reduce the demand during July and August. This will help but we still must have the funds available to meet payroll for our employees. This past summer the system came very close to being in the position of having to borrow money to meet obligations. At one point, the system had expended 90 percent of our Ending Balance before new revenue began to come into the school system in the fall.
If you looked at the Rome News article this week about Ending Balances of local government agencies, you saw that our ending balance is much lower than the City of Rome or Floyd County government balances. We do not hold a “rainy day fund.” We keep just enough in ending balance to meet our obligations and keep us a fiscally sound school system.
With these options clearly not able to get us to a balanced budget, the only other option was to look at how we are spending money and how changes in that area may help us to get our budget expenditures in line with anticipated revenues.
Where money is spent
90 percent of the system budget is spent on salaries and benefits. When you look at the overall budget for 2013 ($94 million)and the shortfall we were projecting for 2014 ($10 million), you can see that we could cut almost all spending not associated with personnel and still not be able to balance the budget. Of course you can’t have school without opening the buildings, running the buses, and providing the materials needed to operate a school or class. Some funds must be expended in the non-personnel related budget side.
Our system has experienced $50 million in budget reductions from the state since 2003. We have seen our expenditure percentages for salaries and benefits rise from 87 percent of the budget to the current 90 percent by cutting or delaying spending on non-personnel items. Other school systems in our area have made cuts to personnel and dealt with these difficult decisions in recent years. We had been able to avoid making significant cuts to staff. As we looked at how other systems across the state have reduced personnel cost and the percentage of our funds committed to personnel in our school system, it was clear, the time had come to look at personnel to get our system budget back in line with the new reality of school funding in Georgia.
With that information in mind, the next area I will cover is the planned restructuring of our service delivery in schools to help us continue to provide the programs and services vital to the education of children while coming in line with our revenue projections.
Restructuring Plan
Central Office and Central Administration restructuring
There has been significant savings in positions at the central office since December of 2012 and the savings that the elimination or non-replacement of nine positions will continue. Positions reduced or unfilled included: 3 Directors, 5 Coordinators, 5 Certified, and 4 Classified.
17 positions eliminated
Savings = $990,000
Administrative Contracts Reduced
Central office administration and school administrators will have contract days or supplements indefinitely reduced by 5 days for 2014 and 5 additional days in 2015.
5 day adjustment in administrative contracts for 2014
Savings - $127,200 (FY2014)
Savings - $92,000 (FY2015)
Restructure K-12 assistant principals elimination of Instructional Coaches with administrative duties
Assistant principals will be restructured to have two assistant principals at the high school level, one at the middle school level, and ½ time assistant principals at the elementary level. Instructional Coaches had replaced assistant principals in some elementary schools and held similar responsibilities. (Certified personnel in the restructured positions were considered for teaching positions according to the system-wide RIF Plan process.)
9 positions eliminated
Savings = $567,100
Change in Contract Days for Head Football Coaches
High school football head coaches will be indefinitely reduced 5 days in 2014 and another 5 in 2015.
Savings = $15,322 (FY2014)
Savings = $15,322 (FY2015)
Eliminate Interventionists
These positions were added with ARRA Federal Stimulus Funds two years ago. The ARRA funds were only provided for two years and are no longer available. (Certified personnel in the restructured positions were considered for teaching positions according to the system-wide RIF Plan process.)
6 Positions eliminated
Savings = $346,200
Restructure services provided by Floyd County Education Center
The programs and services of the Floyd County Education Center will be restructured but services will continue for students in the alternative setting and for those in the PLC graduation program. The alternative program will relocate adjacent to the Compass program on the Coosa High campus. The PLC will move to the College and Career Academy campus. The restructuring will allow for better utilization of staff with other programs. (Certified personnel in the restructured positions were considered for teaching positions according to the system-wide RIF Plan process.)
16 positions eliminated
Savings = $1,104,020
Restructure K-12 Counseling program
The restructure will provide one counselor at the high school level on a 195 day contract, one counselor at the middle school level on a 190 day contract and a half-time counselor at the elementary level on a 190 day contract. The half-time counselor situations will be filled with one counselor serving more than one school. All schools will continue to have counseling services. (Certified personnel in the restructured positions were considered for teaching positions according to the system-wide RIF Plan process.)
9 Positions eliminated
Savings = $624,844
Eliminate positions not funded by FTE
These are system-wide certified positions not funded by FTE. (Certified personnel in the restructured positions were considered for teaching positions according to the system-wide RIF Plan process.)
20 positions eliminated
Savings = $1,140,000
Restructure K-12 media services
Media services will be restructured to provide a ½ time media specialist and ½ time media specialist paraprofessional for each school. One media specialist and one paraprofessional will share services between two schools. School media centers will continue to function the entire school day at each school. (Certified personnel in the restructured positions were considered for teaching positions according to the system-wide RIF Plan process.)
9 media specialist positions eliminated
10 media center paraprofessionals eliminated
Savings = $768,262
Eliminate High School 101 course
(Certified personnel in the restructured positions were considered for teaching positions according to the system-wide RIF Plan process.)
4 positions
Savings = $228,000
Communities in Schools Funding
The funding to the Communities in Schools program will be reduced.
Savings = $33,600
Restructure K-12 Secretaries
Secretaries in schools will be restructured to have three secretaries in high schools, two in middle schools and two in elementary schools. One secretary will be utilized at the College and Career Academy.
11 positions eliminated
Savings = $318,481
Restructure of scheduling in middle school
(Certified personnel in the restructured positions were considered for teaching positions according to the system-wide RIF Plan process.)
8 positions eliminated
Savings = $456,000
Restructure custodial/maintenance services
Savings = $150,000
Restructure Fine Arts and Physical Education in small elementary schools
Fine arts and PE will be restructured to provide one fine arts teacher and one physical education teacher at small elementary schools. The schools are Cave Spring Elementary, McHenry Primary and Midway Primary. (Certified personnel in the restructured positions were considered for teaching positions according to the system-wide RIF Plan process.)
3 positions eliminated
Savings = $171,000
Restructure elective classes K-12
(Certified personnel in the restructured positions were considered for teaching positions according to the system-wide RIF Plan process.)
4 positions eliminated
Savings = $228,000
Reduced Work Days
The system will have 10 Reduced Work for the 2013-2014 school year. (5 planning days and 5 school days)
Savings = $3 million
Freeze Step Raises for classified personnel
Savings = $214,595
Eliminate Board Paid Life for employees
Savings = $108,800
Total Savings from restructuring = $10,591,424
Certified personnel in the restructured positions were considered for teaching positions according to the system-wide RIF Plan process. Thirty-four (34) personnel were reassigned to teaching positions as the employees were considered using the system-wide RIF Plan process.
Number of Personnel Impacted by the RIF at each school
Alto Park – Full-time (3 certified, 3 classified); Part-time (1 certified, 0 classified)
Armuchee Elementary - Full-time (4 certified, 0 classified); Part-time (0 certified, 0 classified)
Armuchee Middle - Full-time (3 certified, 3 classified); Part-time (2 certified, 0 classified)
Armuchee High - Full-time (2 certified, 3 classified); Part-time (0 certified, 0 classified)
Cave Spring Elementary - Full-time (0 certified, 1 classified); Part-time (1 certified, 0 classified)
Coosa Middle - Full-time (3 certified, 1 classified); Part-time (0 certified, 0 classified)
Coosa High - Full-time (7 certified, 2 classified); Part-time (0 certified, 0 classified)
Garden Lakes Elementary - Full-time (5 certified, 0 classified); Part-time (0 certified, 0 classified)
Glenwood Primary - Full-time (5 certified, 0 classified); Part-time (1 certified, 0 classified)
Johnson Elementary - Full-time (2 certified, 3 classified); Part-time (0 certified, 0 classified)
McHenry Primary - Full-time (1 certified, 1 classified); Part-time (0 certified, 0 classified)
Midway Primary - Full-time (3 certified, 2 classified); Part-time (0 certified, 0 classified)
Model Elementary - Full-time (1 certified, 0 classified); Part-time (0 certified, 0 classified)
Model Middle - Full-time (2 certified, 3 classified); Part-time (0 certified, 0 classified)
Model High - Full-time (5 certified, 3 classified); Part-time (0 certified, 0 classified)
Pepperell Primary - Full-time (6 certified, 0 classified); Part-time (0 certified, 2 classified)
Pepperell Elementary - Full-time (1 certified, 1 classified); Part-time (0 certified, 0 classified)
Pepperell Middle - Full-time (7 certified, 2 classified); Part-time (0 certified, 0 classified)
Pepperell High - Full-time (7 certified, 2 classified); Part-time (0 certified, 1 classified)
Other programs - Full-time (1 certified, 3 classified); Part-time (0 certified, 0 classified) including College and Career Academy and FCEC programs.
Central Office - Full-time (0 certified, 2 classified); Part-time (7 certified, 1 classified) other Central Office cuts were vacant positions.
Total personnel impacted by the RIF
Full-time (68 certified, 35 classified); Part-time (12 certified, 4 classified)
How decisions were made
The Reduction in Force plan outlined in my presentation to the board at the February Board of Education Meeting was used to determine personnel included in the Reduction in Force. You will find the PowerPoint outlining the complete RIF plan on eBoard located on the Floyd County Schools website. The PowerPoint is under the Reduction in Force agenda item on the February agenda on eBoard.
I know that everyone is exhausted and this was a lot of information to digest. Please take time to look this over closely more than once. I just wanted to make sure that every employee knew why this difficult process was necessary, how we plan to restructure and continue to deliver a quality educational program for children and the impact this RIF has had on each school.
We have been told by media representatives in town that a list of names included in the RIF will not be published. We applaud the media for being mindful of those individuals and families impacted by this RIF. I feel that this was a very appropriate position. This is a very private matter than should be left to the individual to share as they feel appropriate and necessary.
If you have questions, please contact our Human Resources Department. As I stated earlier, we will work with area agencies and professional organizations to help our people in any way possible.
May God bless you and your family.
Dr. Jeff McDaniel
Superintendent
Floyd County Schools
She has worked hard to get where she is at. A lot of her friends and co-workers have found out they lost their jobs for next year and the last thing she needs is some hot head like you coming to RN-T running their mouth about if she deserves her job over someone else. Grow up. When you meet a student who has been in/ends up being in her class and she made a difference in their life then you come back to this site and read your silly little words.
Go write your friend a letter instead of coming here to be ugly about someone else. Tell her to get better soon and get back to helping students who need her. Heck maybe she will teach you a thing or two about being a better person one day.
Grow up!!!!
School officials let these teachers know now when they legally could have waited until May 15 to do so. Those teachers have six more months of salaries and six more months of health insurance and some could end up getting rehired if things change. Contrast that with the typical private worker who is laid off or fired for economic reasons who gets at the most two weeks of pay.
Posters need to refrain from the baseless, accusatory and uninformed and unsubstantiated accusations made on here. Support these teachers instead of dragging their personal lives through the mud. Encourage Gov. Deal and legislators to do the right thing and raise state taxes enough to fund schools properly. No intelligent person would be opposed to that.
Do you think there are multitudes of teaching jobs out there? Because they're not. I was RIFed several years ago from a northwest Georgia district, along with dozens and dozens of others. Because our RIF coincided with class size limits being done away with, few of us (even those who are in critical fields) have found jobs. Even those who are able to move have found little to nothing. The number of jobs available in Georgia, even in critical teaching fields, has plummeted.
We were told that most would be rehired. Didn't happen. Some of the few who were were let go a year or so later anyway.
Once some principals heard that we had been RIFed, they didn't want to interview us. Clearly, something was wrong with us.And now we had to check "yes" in the boxes of applications that asked if we had ever been nonrenewed.
Don't minimize what has happened to us. We can't afford to retrain to go into other fields, we can't move for whatever reason, we haven't been able to discover fabulous new hidden talents that led to incredible new careers. We've tried. God help us, we've tried. Some of our crew had nervous breakdowns. None of us were able to blithely toss it off as a new opportunity.
God help us, we've tried.
Flipping out? Is that your term for a nervous breakdown? Do you even understand what one is? Do you think it's a dramatic hissy fit that losers have when they don't get their way? Um, no. You're wrong on so many counts.
How about reforming pay rates and retirement benefits.
School Teachers and administration have enjoyed pay rates 2 to 4 times of what the average tax payers that are paying them make.
Look at the Firemen and Cops that put there lives on the line every day making an average of $14.50 an hour while Teachers Making an average of $35 and administration making $60 an hour. And they don't get to retire in there med 50's with a 30 K year retirement package. Where is it written that people working in education should make so much more then the others in public service ?
Also, I am sure that FCBOE would rather keep it quiet that a coordinator at the College and Career Center has since been hospitalized due to a near nervous breakdown from being RIF'd. Shameful that McDaniel and others will neglect to recognize that she built this program from the ground up and deserved to keep her job.
Let me start off by saying that your friend is no more special nor in worse shape than the other 119 employees that lost their jobs. I have been reading all these post for the last week and this is the first that I’ve been inclined to reply to. I do not know your friend (MP) personally but it did not take but a few phone calls to find out her name. Let me share what information I have dug up about your friend (MP). You say that she has not received a raise in 6 years but according to the Open Georgia web site in 2008 she was making $77,182 and in 2012 she made $80,440.32 that sounds like a raise to me. You say that she has Bachelor degrees in business and economics and a M.B.A. in Management that the school system has never recognized as an administrative degree. Well guess what it is not an administrative degree, you have to have a degree in Educational Leadership for it to be recognized as a administrative degree in a school system. According to the Georgia Professional Standards Commission your friend (MP) does not even have a Teaching certificate in the state of Georgia. She has not completed the Exceptional Children Course, all she has is a Support personnel license and is not even qualified to work with children.
Georgia Professional Standards Commission
8. Support Personnel Licenses are issued at the request of an employing school system to
Individuals who serve in positions of leadership over support functions in the local school system.
Such positions include but are not limited to: finance, transportation, public relations, personnel,
Staff development, facilities, planning, evaluation, research, assessment, and technology
Coordination. See Rule 505-2-.13 for requirements. The Support Personnel License has no assigned
Level. These licenses are issued for 5 years and are renew able. These licenses are identified by the
Letters “ SP”. (See Rule 505-2-.13)
She is not a Coordinator she is a Youth Apprenticeship Program Director and when you look that title up on the Open Georgia web site most of the people employed in the state of Georgia have teaching certificates in Business Education or has the Work Based Learning certificate. The average salary for these jobs is $61,822 so I think you friend (MP) was way over paid. So as to your WORDS “this is far from being over” and that “the Board really screwed up this time” means that someone that is over paid and has no teaching degree should have been left to continue to receive my tax dollars bull crap on that.
I don’t think this is the BOE’s job to tell everyone in Floyd County about your friend (MP) and I don’t think they care that it is in the Media. I think that anyone that loses their job and has a full nervous breakdown and is put on suicide watch Should not in any way be left supervising students until MAY 30.
Tim Hensley’s job is in Public relations not teaching so he does not need any degree above a Bachelor. I keep hearing about substantial pay increases but non that makes these claims ever show proof of it.
Lindsey Barcomb signed her 4th contract with FCBOE giving her tenure your friend (MP) is not a certified employee so she had no tenure.
If your friend (MP) is as well liked and is as smart as you say she is then she should be able to find a job in a field that she is qualified to work in and not on the TAX payers dime.
Why is it demeaning for anyone to say out loud that a friend had a nervous breakdown? There is a problem in our society that any sign of weakness is to be viewed as something to be embarrassed about. I think it takes a much stronger person to stand up and admit their faults and to move forward. I tend to believe that MP will use this as a way to help a young man or woman in the future. The program is a success because of the hours that this woman poured her heart and soul into. Young men and women that never dreamed that they would go onto college or technical school are now teachers, engineers, maintenance employees, accountants, etc. because they were placed as interns in local companies all over Floyd County and encouraged to go on to higher education. Whatever her title she has made a difference in hundreds of our local children's lives and in the companies that she worked so closely with. Maybe, just maybe, an educator does not necessarily have to have a degree in educational leadership to actually lead students.
Please understand that I am sick that the RIF had to take place at all. I have each and every one of the 119 in my thoughts and prayers. I think that we all deserve better answers than what we have received to this point. This did not happen overnight and I actually feel a little sorry for Dr. McDaniel that he is receiving the backlash for the previous mismanagement of funds.
For every one of you that are complaining about the budget cuts..would you vote yes for an increased sales tax? Raise property taxes?
Let's throw this idea out to the county board! I mean, all we need is money right?
* the teacher:student ratio..
I was typing entirely too fast!
A coordinator is someone whose job is to make different groups work together in an organized way to achieve something.
At the BOE, what is the difference between a Director and a Coordinator? Does a qualified Director need a Coordinator? Should a Coordinator’s title be changed to Director’s Interpreter?
These are some of the many mysteries of the BOE.
Let the money follow the kid.
As far as the cuts, they weren't as bad as many feared. It doesn't appear that any programs were cut. Academic class sizes (math, science, etc.) do not appear as they will be noticeably affected either. Painful as the process was, I don't think there will be any long-term negative results. If FCS declines, it won't be because of this.l
The cream of Rome's crop goes to Darlington or Unity Christian..
The "system" deals with the rest..
Anybody in this Country can get a Great Education, IF they want..
The moral decline in America and missing "parents" are the biggest obstacles to a Young person's success..That, And WANT TO!
With all due respect:
Although I cannot speak for Darlington, I have a personal connection to Unity Christian, and TRUST me, they do NOT have the "cream of Rome's crop."
At Darlington, you will receive a great education whether you like it or not!
Unity? Please.
I hate it, but government workers are actually pretty lucky if they've not felt what the rest of us have been dealing with for years now - unemployment is sky high in this are no matter what 'official' rates are. They lie.
Anybody who wants a good education has everything they need..
Every student at Darlington takes the S.A.T..
At the county schools it's a different story..
In 2012
Armuchee-47
Coosa-39
Model-35
Pepperell-57
The level of compeitition is just not the same.
It's best to remain silent than to remove all doubt.
Before you make statements like that, know info like the super cannot receive a raise unless teachers do.
Also, go take a tour of the Central Office. There are many empty desks. Many Central Office positions are Federal or State funded. People like you are the reason that FCS Central office has to overcome so many obstacles.
Why don't you put the blame where it lays on our local delegation. The leader of the delegatiin, Katie Dempsey, needs to go. She has voted for cuts to education. It's time she was held accountable. Where is the educational funding for Floyd County? I look down the list of contributors to her campaigns and they are from every field BUT education.
Dr. Mcdaniel has set the course straight and Floyd County will be a solid financial ground once again.
Has NOTHING to do with the Tea Party.
Why don't you put the blame where it lays on our local delegation. The leader of the delegatiin, Katie Dempsey, needs to go. She has voted for cuts to education. It's time she was held accountable. Where is the educational funding for Floyd County? I look down the list of contributors to her campaigns and they are from every field BUT education.
Dr. Mcdaniel has set the course straight and Floyd County will be a solid financial ground once again.
We need more cuts .
Your trying to entice an arguement. I won't bite.
Special Education receives funding from different areas. Children have a right to be taught in the least restrictive environment and ALL human beings have the right to be treated as such! I was blessed to work in special education for three years and those are some of the most amazing children I have ever worked with. No, they may not ever hold down a full time job, but they are taught life skills to be able to take care of themselves.
As far as sports go, I can only speak for football as that is the only sport my son is involved in (but let me also add that my son is a straight A student in honors level high school classes). We do NOT receive the amount of money for football that people claim they receive. When spring training starts we are given something to sell to earn money towards equipment, we pay booster club fees and have businesses that are booster club sponsors. Then when summer practices roll around we are given discount cards to sell in order to buy our children’s cleats. If we don’t sell the cards we pay out of pocket for the cleats. Now after all that we still charge $7.00 a head to get into the football games. That is where 90% of the funding for football comes from.
Now I will step down off my soapbox. I have been stressed about this for two weeks, and am still heartbroken for my coworkers that were RIF’d yesterday!
That money they are going to waste on building hotels and so called revitalization could be used on education instead. Yes they are unrelated, however it only takes a little 'logic' to see my point. We have 9 downtown hotels. We don't need more. To build more will take business away from the exsisting hotels. Then they will close. That means jobs lost and empty hotels sitting around. But we will have a nice big Marriott that no one can afford. I say use that money on education expenses!