School year budget tops $300 million
Spokane Public Schools is approaching a milestone.
When the school board approves a budget for the 2008-09 school district, it will be the first in district history to top $300 million.
Last year’s budget was a little over $293 million. The year before that, it was $279 million. And $269 million in 2005-06.
As a taxpayer, you no doubt want to know why those numbers keep climbing. That’s an especially good question, considering the district has made $41.3 million in cuts in recent years, and is cutting another $1.5 million this year, in part by not replacing some departing teachers.
Two reasons:
“ New programs are added each year, typically with state or federal money to pay for them. For instance, all-day kindergarten is being expanded from five schools to 12, and the budget shows more than $1 million in additional state money to cover the cost.
“ The cost of things the district must fund are getting more expensive, like diesel for buses and wages for employees. The state is sending millions of dollars more to the district to help cover some of those cost increases – but millions less than is needed.
Dates to watch
Next Thursday– Copies of Spokane Public Schools recommended budget will be available to the public.
Aug. 13 – The school board is expected to adopt the budget of $308,207,350.
Acronym of the Week
Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk. This week’s education acronym is Three Stooges related.
Well, one Stooge, anyway. Because the acronym, chosen at random from the state education Web site, is MOE.
The initials stand for Maintenance of Effort, which brings to mind the image of a good student avoiding the impulse to slack off during senior year, or an exhausted team fighting to the end of the game.
In this case, Maintenance of Effort is a federal term meaning that states must maintain a certain level of funding when the federal government comes up with money for a program.
For instance, the proposed College Opportunity and Affordability Act would provide federal money to fight the ever-rising cost of tuition. But it also requires that states continue their financial commitments to higher education.
States often chafe at such requirements, and this is no exception. A March letter signed by 46 governors (including those for Idaho and Washington) tells Congress that the College Opportunity bill has some swell goals, but its MOE requirement may be unconstitutional.
Larry and Curly could not be reached for comment (and don’t get me started about Shemp).
Number of the week
7 – The percentage of American children ages 6-11 who have repeated a grade, according to U.S. Census Bureau data from 2004. Among 12- to 17-year-olds, 11 percent have been held back.