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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Lots of APS math graduates in here.  Cutting Outdoor Lab and TJHSST don't even come close to balancing the budget.

The sacred cows of option schools need a hard look.[/quote]

Option schools have been discussed a million times and there aren't [u]budget [/u]reasons to reconsider them. They have the same planning factors as the other schools with the exception of K-5 Montessori which gets some classroom aides. They schedule the option schools so that we can use existing buses to do another run in the morning and afternoon to hub stops so there are more hours for drivers, but not more buses. Changing the option programs back to neighborhood schools won't make any difference in staffing or building costs and might not save any transportation costs depending on how many busses are needed after all the boundaries are redrawn.[/quote]

Thank you, there is so much misinformation on this point. [/quote]

Not sure which way your comment is meant. I'd like to see a line item cost for option schools. Eliminating them won't negate the looming budget deficits; but I suspect streamlining them (ie, eliminating most of them) would contribute similarly to eliminating Outdoor Lab and other nitpicky cuts people are arguing over, while potentially making overall instruction across the system more focused and consistent, and thereby more effective. I'm in support of that.[/quote]

The comment meant thanks for providing facts in response to the misinformation that option schools cost more.

If you want line items, open the budget book. You can see how many positions are allotted for each individual school which is based on the total number of students, the number of kids with IEPs, and the number of English language learners projected to be at that school on September 1. (The projections for each school are listed in the budget book, and the planning factors used to calculate the number of positions can be found online.)

You can see that, except for Montessori with its additional aides in grades 1-5, the number of staff in each of the option schools is calculated using the same planning factors as the neighborhood schools.

I don’t know how much more “line item” you can get—the annual budget book lists the budget for every staffed position at every single school and the planning factor-driven budget for supplies, maintenance, etc. APS is totally transparent about this. [/quote]

I was the PP and I was indeed saying thanks for clearing up the misinformation that option schools cost most. Lol that someone is demanding line items when they are literally right there in the public budget. Too lazy to look, easier to just spout misinformation! If you look you will see that some schools "cost" a little more or less than others, but this is dependent on the number of ELLs and special ed kids they serve. Schools with more of these kids get more $. I hope no one is seriously challenging that. It has nothing to do with whether a school is "option" or not. [/quote]

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