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Iowa Schools at Breaking Point Over Budget Cuts

Ohanian Comment: What a lead: "Public school teachers and administrators fret . . ."

Fret? Give this reporter a Thesaurus. As she documents, there's a whole lot more than fretting going on in Iowa schools.

Public school teachers and administrators fret that Iowa's quality of education is being harmed by three straight years of underfunding and that future money shortages will result in larger class sizes, fewer programs and less attention to the needs of struggling students.

"We're at a breaking point," said Larry Williams, superintendent in Sioux City, where class sizes have increased in recent years and two school buildings have closed. "Something's got to be done."

After three years of financial constraints, the cost-cutting decisions district administrators must make are growing harder to make, educators said. In recent years, school officials cut costs by delaying building maintenance or reducing administrative budgets. Now, many are considering what programs can be eliminated with minimal impact on core education areas.

"Once you get to a place where you can't cut extras anymore, you have to look at P.E., music, art, some foreign languages . . . enrichment courses," said Thomas Alsbury, assistant professor of educational administration at Iowa State University. "It's a tragedy to cut a music class, but in the end, will you see that reflected on a (standardized) test? Probably not."

In Des Moines, school officials are considering postponing textbook purchases, a move that probably would force students in East High School drama teacher Ruth Ann Gaines' classes to continue sharing decade-old playbooks and scripts.

Over seven years, Gaines has seen her average class size grow to 38 from 25. She worries that she isn't reaching students who need extra help.

On Wednesday, she supervised about 35 students working in small groups. One group needed help finding a scene to perform in front of the class. Another asked for money so members could make photocopies of their scene to practice after school. Gaines stopped to scold a student drinking Mountain Dew in class and another playing with a remote-controlled car.

"It's depressing because you know you're not doing all that you could do," she said. "If you're here because you love it, you want to help every student 100 percent."

Officials in Iowa's 370 school districts learned this month that they would lose about $46 million in state aid because of a revenue shortfall. This is the second midyear cut for Iowa schools since 2001.

This midyear cut came on the heels of three straight years of small increases in the state's school finance formula. A 1 percent increase in per-pupil spending was allowed last year, the smallest increase ever. This year, per-pupil spending increased 2 percent.

"Obviously, the third year you do this, it's much harder than the first year," Williams said. "We don't have the slack we had the first time."

Many school districts, such as Mason City, have trimmed costs without adversely affecting education programs. That will change next year, Superintendent Keith Sersland said. School officials will begin looking at cuts in programs and classes that aren't mandated by the state or federal government, such as some foreign languages.

"I think educators in Iowa are trying really hard not to let (budget cuts) affect students," Sersland said. "It's getting more difficult to do that."

Some more fortunate districts will absorb the latest midyear cut by dipping into cash reserves, but officials in these districts warn that property taxes probably will increase next year. In other districts, building and supply budgets are being reduced, hiring freezes are being implemented, field trips are being eliminated and professional development sessions for teachers are being reduced.

Some educators wonder when the cuts will affect Iowa's reputation for providing top-notch education.

"It used to be Iowa was at the top of everything we measure," said Margaret Buckton of the Iowa Association of School Boards. "Now I'd say we're in the top five. There's a sense that we're not number one in the things we used to be number one in."

School leaders said the impact of cuts had crept into classrooms.

Buckton said reducing the numbers of teachers in a building, cutting back on teacher training, and postponing textbook and library purchases could have the sharpest effects on students.

Districts able to sustain the latest cuts by dipping into reserves are worried about next year.

"Next year, by comparison to this year, is really, really grim," said Williams, whose district must trim $1.3 million this year. Program cuts are expected next year.


— Madelaine Jerousek
Schools 'at breaking point' : Budget cuts take toll, educators say
Des Moines Register
2003-10-30
http://desmoinesregister.com/news/stories/c4780927/22630315.html

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