A portend of things to come... (Austin, Round Rock: rentals, school districts, community college)

[Nomadic9460678748]

I imagine AISD's cuts will be far, far greater.

Austin news, sports, weather, Longhorns, business | Statesman.com

[ScoPro]

Efforts will be made to protect the core business of schools which is classroom instruction and accountability requirements. A greater percentage of reductions will be taken in areas outside the classroom.

THIS is where 95% of the cuts ought to come from. The general population has no idea of what a bloated bureaucracy is ingrained in the RRISD & AISD administration, staff, and special programs.

LOTS of very well paid administrators....and it's very difficult to find out the salaries paid to all the superfluous staff.

I speak from long (40+ years) familial experience and ties.

[hoffdano]

Very likely so.

It will be unpleasant all across the state.

[ROY DUBOSE]

looks like playing sports or particapting in band/orchestra is going to have an extra cost -- fielding a football team isn't cheap either

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by ScoPro

THIS is where 95% of the cuts ought to come from. The general population has no idea of what a bloated bureaucracy is ingrained in the RRISD & AISD administration, staff, and special programs.

LOTS of very well paid administrators....and it's very difficult to find out the salaries paid to all the superfluous staff.

I speak from long (40+ years) familial experience and ties.

If you want to know school district salaries - simply file a Public Information Access request with the ISD. Some people make this a hobby. They will provide a complete list in writing if you ask for it. They may charge you a small fee for making copies.

[WoodyTX]

I once considered getting my teaching certificate. The college advisor repeatedly tried to recommend the 'administrative track', because admins get paid more, have less direct oversight (i.e. parents watching), and are in higher demand.

[hilsmom]

I have never heard of a public employee whose salary is NOT public record. It isn't always easy to track down, but you are certainly allowed to know.

I'm sure there ARE administrators who aren't necessary, but I can tell you that MOST are dedicated public servants who care very deeply about the children and communities they serve.

I say this as the daughter of a man who served many years as an assistant principal and later as an "administrator" who worked with at-risk kids, dealing with families who were receiving help from social services, things of that nature. He worked lots of hours, showed up to court hearings, served as a mentor, and deserved every penny he ever made and more.

I also worked for several years at an education association here in the DC area that represented many of these "administrators" and I met and spoke with many of them at meetings and such over my time there. Were some of them jerks? Sure, but MOST of them have spent many years in their school systems and cared deeply for the children and their families and really did do everything they could to make sure their school systems served everyone as well as they could with the resources at hand.

I just think people like to find someone to blame, and the top guys are easy targets. Again, I understand these are tough times and that budgets need to be balanced, but I hope people can do better than "just cut those administrator people," because they may be the ones helping to make sure a child down the street from you is not being beaten by a drunken stepfather.

[WoodyTX]

RRISD is a great school district, but the superintendent is paid more than two times the Texas governor's salary. The district has a reputation among many of poor fiscal planning.

These may be somewhat dated stats, but you'll note that the average salary is $42k, while the average central admin salary is $76k.
Round Rock ISD - Round Rock Independent School District | Small Planet Guide

None of this detracts from your father's work. Many of these administrators are necessary, but not all of them, and not at this price. In dry years, it only makes sense to cut some of the fat, and real leadership starts at the top.

[hilsmom]

Woody, I won't argue about the salaries and what is going on in RRISD financially. I don't live in TX (yet), so I don't know all the details, obviously. I agree that SOME aministrators are overpaid, SOME staff can be cut (and could give you some examples of that from where my dad worked, as well). I have no problem with "trimming the fat." I just wanted to make sure people understood that there are people who work in school district offices around this country who ARE needed and who do excellent and important work.

As you can tell from my recent posts, education is kind of my passion. My parents were both educators (still are, just at a community college), my mother in law was an teacher, I spent many years working on education policy at the national level. It is deeply personal for me.

[ScoPro]

Yes, most of the non-teaching staff & administration are dedicated, good folks.

I'm saying that probably close to half those positions are non-critical and do not add to the quality of education in the classroom.

I speak from personal experience and from the experience of 4 other family members who have taught or "administered" in both school districts since 1963.

It is a simple matter to find the salary scales for the teaching faculty, but there is absolutely no reaon to require a taxpayer to file a Public Information Access request to see who makes what in a public school administration. Such information should be as easily available online as the teachers' pay.

That's JMHO as a taxpayer and retired educator.