APS budget cuts - no MS sports or extracurriculars

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These cuts will never happen. It’s just a way to scare people so when the real less scary cuts happen we will all go “phew that wasn’t so bad”

Isnt that what people thought when this happened with FLES? Then all the parents had all the rage when they figured out elementary schools would no longer learn Spanish?

I didn’t hear much complaint over discontinuing FLES. It was worse than useless (turned many kids off of learning Spanish). But I disagree with pp that these cuts will never happen. They won’t happen only if parents fight the cuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cip budget is different from the operating budget. I really can’t tell if the person saying who cares is a troll or not.

At my kids middle school, there are over 100 after school clubs that range from five different types of book clubs for different genres to ultimate frisbee to intramural sports (which are no cut) to school team sports (of which tennis is not an option— pretty sure that story is not aps). These benefit literally thousands of kids. This is what they choose to cut?

How about cutting:
- the 1m of added budget to the superintendents office
- half the planning staff
- the new chief operating officer position (and its secretary and its offices budget)

This is a no brainer here.

Cut half the planning staff and the COO? Then we can't be surprised when there is bad planning and mismanagement.

[Anonymous]

The amount of new money being spent on Central Office in this budget is horrendous. Duran already added a Chief of Staff, and now he also wants to add a Chief Operating Officer-- which, as someone else noted, also means a secretary and other staff to support that new office. It is time to cut the Central Office bloat. If Duran can't deliver, it is because APS has had incompetent people like Loft and Chadwick in Asst Superintendent roles for too long. Duran needs to get his existing house in order before he comes begging for new staff. I might have more sympathy for the cuts he is trying to make if he wasn't increasing the budget for Central Office at the same time.

This is definitely where they need to be cutting.
Many teachers would disagree that Loft is incompetent. She is far superior to the last two people who had her job in terms of actually reaching out to teachers and giving them information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually there are no cut sports in swimming, diving, and track as well as ultimate. Plus clubs that teachers get money to sponsor. It’s definitely valuable and if you say it’s not it’s because you have no MS kids.

Swimming. DIVING??? Again Unless a kid has had lots of private lessons, they will be floundering in the water.

Sure track. Running kids in a circle. Great.

At Gunston diving was no cut and the rule was "you have to be willing to jump in the water."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually there are no cut sports in swimming, diving, and track as well as ultimate. Plus clubs that teachers get money to sponsor. It’s definitely valuable and if you say it’s not it’s because you have no MS kids.

Swimming. DIVING??? Again Unless a kid has had lots of private lessons, they will be floundering in the water.

Sure track. Running kids in a circle. Great.

At Gunston diving was no cut and the rule was "you have to be willing to jump in the water."

And I'm saying that's a good thing. There aren't lots of private swim clubs in south Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually there are no cut sports in swimming, diving, and track as well as ultimate. Plus clubs that teachers get money to sponsor. It’s definitely valuable and if you say it’s not it’s because you have no MS kids.

Swimming. DIVING??? Again Unless a kid has had lots of private lessons, they will be floundering in the water.

Sure track. Running kids in a circle. Great.

At Gunston diving was no cut and the rule was "you have to be willing to jump in the water."

Right. But to be able to SWIM well enough to not be terrified to jump in the water, parents have to have already paid for lessons. Where would they have learned to swim well enough to feel safe on 12 ft tank??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually there are no cut sports in swimming, diving, and track as well as ultimate. Plus clubs that teachers get money to sponsor. It’s definitely valuable and if you say it’s not it’s because you have no MS kids.

Swimming. DIVING??? Again Unless a kid has had lots of private lessons, they will be floundering in the water.

Sure track. Running kids in a circle. Great.

At Gunston diving was no cut and the rule was "you have to be willing to jump in the water."

Right. But to be able to SWIM well enough to not be terrified to jump in the water, parents have to have already paid for lessons. Where would they have learned to swim well enough to feel safe on 12 ft tank??

APS does swim lessons in ES.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually there are no cut sports in swimming, diving, and track as well as ultimate. Plus clubs that teachers get money to sponsor. It’s definitely valuable and if you say it’s not it’s because you have no MS kids.

Swimming. DIVING??? Again Unless a kid has had lots of private lessons, they will be floundering in the water.

Sure track. Running kids in a circle. Great.

At Gunston diving was no cut and the rule was "you have to be willing to jump in the water."

Right. But to be able to SWIM well enough to not be terrified to jump in the water, parents have to have already paid for lessons. Where would they have learned to swim well enough to feel safe on 12 ft tank??

They teach you to swim if you join the swim team (also a no cut sport). These aren’t elite sports here. Why not trim down highschool activities and at least offer after school clubs for middle school (if you have to cut the team sports that’s fine, but cutting after school activities altogether is a bad idea).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually there are no cut sports in swimming, diving, and track as well as ultimate. Plus clubs that teachers get money to sponsor. It’s definitely valuable and if you say it’s not it’s because you have no MS kids.

Swimming. DIVING??? Again Unless a kid has had lots of private lessons, they will be floundering in the water.

Sure track. Running kids in a circle. Great.

At Gunston diving was no cut and the rule was "you have to be willing to jump in the water."

Right. But to be able to SWIM well enough to not be terrified to jump in the water, parents have to have already paid for lessons. Where would they have learned to swim well enough to feel safe on 12 ft tank??

They teach you to swim if you join the swim team (also a no cut sport). These aren’t elite sports here. Why not trim down highschool activities and at least offer after school clubs for middle school (if you have to cut the team sports that’s fine, but cutting after school activities altogether is a bad idea).

That must be a joy for a middle schooler, to be learning to swim like a toddler in front of all your classmates.

And I know that was never communicated, that the would teach you to swim. Nothing I saw said anything like that. The elementary swimming lessons are basically anti-drowning learn to tread water, not real swim lessons.

[Anonymous]

This will go thru, b/c the vast majority of MS students don’t make the cut or play frisbee so not many parents will care.

[Anonymous]

No loss. We had a crossing guard with no soccer experience select the team. She loaded it with 6th graders---some that came to tryouts in basketball shoes and overlooked players on top area travel teams playing since the age of 4/5.

It was laughable and they lost every game of the season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These cuts will never happen. It’s just a way to scare people so when the real less scary cuts happen we will all go “phew that wasn’t so bad”

Isnt that what people thought when this happened with FLES? Then all the parents had all the rage when they figured out elementary schools would no longer learn Spanish?

Lots of us who had kids go through FLES and then refuse to take Spanish in middle school because they hated it actually lobbied for that cut, so I don't know that it's comparable. It actively worked against many families' interest in the language.

I agree with the other poster -- they do this every year. List a bunch of cuts that aren't that pricy, people get outraged, and then they remain. I will say that my daughter wasn't able to get into Act 2 in 6th grade and then didn't do it afterwards, but some of her friends had excellent experiences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually there are no cut sports in swimming, diving, and track as well as ultimate. Plus clubs that teachers get money to sponsor. It’s definitely valuable and if you say it’s not it’s because you have no MS kids.

Swimming. DIVING??? Again Unless a kid has had lots of private lessons, they will be floundering in the water.

Sure track. Running kids in a circle. Great.

At Gunston diving was no cut and the rule was "you have to be willing to jump in the water."

Right. But to be able to SWIM well enough to not be terrified to jump in the water, parents have to have already paid for lessons. Where would they have learned to swim well enough to feel safe on 12 ft tank??

They teach you to swim if you join the swim team (also a no cut sport). These aren’t elite sports here. Why not trim down highschool activities and at least offer after school clubs for middle school (if you have to cut the team sports that’s fine, but cutting after school activities altogether is a bad idea).

That must be a joy for a middle schooler, to be learning to swim like a toddler in front of all your classmates.

And I know that was never communicated, that the would teach you to swim. Nothing I saw said anything like that. The elementary swimming lessons are basically anti-drowning learn to tread water, not real swim lessons.

That's all you need for dive team. Tread and get out of the water.

No one is forcing anyone to sign up. It's an opportunity for kids who do want to learn. Why are you sh1tting on that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No loss. We had a crossing guard with no soccer experience select the team. She loaded it with 6th graders---some that came to tryouts in basketball shoes and overlooked players on top area travel teams playing since the age of 4/5.

It was laughable and they lost every game of the season.

So? Did the kids learn something and have fun? Seems like you may be missing the point.

[Anonymous]

What is up with you myopic posters getting hung up on one specific sport or experience that pissed you off? The ramifications of these cuts are so much bigger than that. Plus, if staff have truly been trying to push these cuts through for years as NVD says, they will not be inclined to add them back in once the covid budget crisis is over. It’s easier to push to have them kept now than to be added back in the future.