Re: Another Test is Dropped to Save Money

[Karen Canty <kscanty@PACBELL.NET>]

Interesting Rick - but since I have served on a school board for almost
twelve years, I can disagree with you - at least in my community - in fact
if parents and community were not involved in our schools, we would NOT have
the programs that we do for kids...We passed a $300 per parcel tax two years
ago (requires a 2/3 vote in Ca.) so that we could put back art, music, p.e.,
counselors in middle school, staff development, etc. etc. which is what our
parents and community wanted us to do...our parents are involved in every
curriculum/adoption committee for textbooks, curriculum decisions, etc. as
are our teachers..in fact we have used some of our parcel tax money to set
up a teacher staff development institute (with three other small k-8
districts nearby) that will be run by and staffed by teachers from the four
districts...and five years before that we passed a bond so that all four of
our school have been renovated/new classrooms built, etc.  There is no way
we could have accomplished all that without parents/community's being
involved in budget decisions....

Now I know that that doesn't happen in every school district and perhaps not
in very many across the country, but  "one size fits all" really doesn't
work when talking about school districts any more than it does when talking
about kids/classrooms.

Cheers,

Karen

And thanks for identifying yourself - I honestly couldn't remember; I'm just
glad I remembered at all....:)

-----Original Message-----
From: Assessment Reform Network Mailing List
[mailto:ARN-L@LISTS.CUA.EDU]On Behalf Of Rick Parkany
Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2002 9:30 AM
To: ARN-L@LISTS.CUA.EDU
Subject: Re: Another Test is Dropped to Save Money


Ah, Karen:   it was I, and for the past three years, this list, too; perhaps
there were others, but I don't think so, not that I recall--perhaps one or
two
chimed in... and I'm still pounding the drum, seach the archives using
*budget*
as a keyword.

If any of us (in the school admin) have the nerve and mettle to actually
_bring_ the public into the local district budget committees in anything
other
than a pro-forma, lip-serving fashion, I'd be amazed...the locals no more
want
parental involvement w/the budget process than they want them involved in
curriculum development--it's *The Culture of School*, once again, you see.

I remember when Schenectady started inviting in the public to budget
committees: when the NYS budget tanked in 1992; and that was the LAST time
they
formally invited anyone other than the *primary stakeholders*:
admin/borad/unions...you NEVER actually want parental involvement in the
schools if you are part of the admin/board/union troika that carves up more
$$$
than municipalities in NYS, yet have far less *participation* after all
these
years, as a result. Coincidence? I think not...   ;-} rap.

--
"Dein Wachstum sei feste und lache vor Lust!
Deines Herzens Trefflichkeit
Hat dir selbst das Feld bereit',
Auf dem du bluehen musst." JS Bach: Bauern Kantata
Richard A. Parkany: SUNY@Albany
Prometheus Educational Services
http://www.borg.com/~rparkany/
Upper Hudson & Mohawk Valleys; New York State, USA


> Bob,
>
> If I remember correctly, some incredibly astute person on this list (and I
> don't remember who it was) said something over a year ago about what
happens
> to testing when state budgets go to h--- in a handbasket?  Guess we're
> getting the answer...when there were surpluses/lots of money, testing
looked
> like a really easy answer...not so anymore...and what does that say about
> what everybody who's anybody says that testing will accomplish?  It will
> only accomplish "accountability, more successful students, no child left
> behind, you supply the trite phrase" if there's money????
>
> Karen
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Assessment Reform Network Mailing List
> [mailto:ARN-L@LISTS.CUA.EDU]On Behalf Of Bob Schaeffer
> Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2002 9:04 AM
> To: ARN-L@LISTS.CUA.EDU
> Subject: Another Test is Dropped to Save Money
>
>
>  And another one's gone --  with more yet to come. Yesterday's St. Louis
> Post Dispatch reports that similar budget cutting pressures may result
> in Missouri cutting back its state testing program.
>
>              STATE CANCELS THIRD-GRADE WRITING TESTS
>                The Associated Press -- Oregon Wire
>                          March 20, 2002
>
>     Portland --  To save money, the state has axed this year's
> third-grade writing test.
>     Canceling the test will save about $400,000 --  roughly $200,000 is
> needed to print and mail 40,000 test forms and results and the other
> half to train and pay teachers to grade the essays.
>     During two special budget-cutting sessions in February, the
> Legislature cut $4.5 million from the testing budget that covers this
> school year and next.
>     State officials are deciding how they'll cut another $4.1 million
> worth of testing during the 2002-03 school year. That would represent
> nearly 60 percent of what the state planned to spend on testing, said
> Bill Auty, interim associate superintendent who oversees testing.
>     Coincidentally, the federal government is slated to give Oregon $5.4
> million in July to help the state meet special new testing requirements
> from the Bush administration's new Elementary and Secondary Education
> Act, said Barbara Wolfe, a department spokeswoman.
>     Oregon tests students in grades three, five, eight and 10. The Bush
> plan would require the state to give reading and math tests in grades
> four, six and seven.
>     State test-makers chose the third-grade essay test, one of 18 state
> tests given in Oregon schools each year, because it is the only one that
> had not been printed already or given to some students when the
> Legislature cut the testing budget.
>     Karen McColloch, a third-grade teacher at Oak Grove Elementary in
> Milwaukie, said she and her colleagues have mixed feelings about the
> cancellation.
>     "Our third-grade teachers happened to pick writing as our big focus
> this year, and we're really ready. This test was going to be our chance
> to shine," she said.
>
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