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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Cutting the aquatics field trip will save almost no money.  APS barely funds field trips.  Mostly to planetarium, outdoor lab and pools.  PTAs fundraise for Jamestown and the like.

Kids like pool week.  No sense in cutting it. And APS is not going to fund something better.

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Careful. I'm sure people would like to eliminate the Planetarium trips, too. Don't remind them!
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How much does APS spend on the planetarium? [/quote]

The planetarium nonprofit “The Friends” took over a lot of the spending during a previous round of budget cuts. There are many things APS used to fund that are now funded through donations and by volunteers. I guess it’s a trend all over the country. The expectations for government services are just much lower than in the olden days. 
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are you kidding? in the olden days, my school system sure as h*ll did not have its own auditorium or private forest. [/quote]

IMO, the planetarium, the outdoor forest, and sending kids to TJHSST are the 3 things that  stand out for APS. Both the planetarium and outdoor lab are unique to APS and EVERY student has access. TJHSST, I've gone back and forth on; but I've settled on it being a good thing. Maybe some costs can be reduced/recovered with scaled transportation fees or maybe Arlington TJ parents can expand carpooling; but participating in the program does not cost more per pupil than APS spends and provides a very unique opportunity that APS cannot provide.

Therefore, IMO, these 3 aspects of APS are worth the relatively minimal investments. The real luxury items are all the option programs and iPads for every student through 8th grade. These are the first things that should be looked at the very instant step one - eliminating the fluff at Syphax, eliminating all the paid vacation for Syphax employees, and reducing the Superintendent's benefit package (does that position still get a provided car???) - is done. Then get the County serious about coordinating ART routes and get all 6th - 12th graders off yellow school buses.[/quote]

There is a bus driver shortage, but the APS transportation department would never ever agree to the elimination of their positions.

Some routes could be eliminated and replaced with additional ART and Metrobusses. [/quote]

So you’d be fine putting your five year old on public transportation with whichever random stem gets are there? [/quote]

My 5 year old isn’t in 6-12th grade, which is what was suggested above. [/quote]

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