[Everdeen]

CCSD has provided what they are calling a transparent budget. Clark County residents need to examine the data they are providing and demand more information.

Here is the link:

Open Book | Clark County School District

At first look, a person would think that classroom teachers are to blame for the budget woe. Classroom teachers, for certain, are the largest portion of the budget, but, again, the district is not telling the whole story.

According to the graph, my salary and benefits should be over $12,000 per month if I average 28 students per class. I can assure you that I am no where near that salary. One of the reasons for the discrepancy is that there are many teachers not in the classroom. Teachers on Special Assignment, Project Facilitators, Literacy Specialists, Strategists, Counselors, Librarians, site-based computer support are all licensed personnel reported as teachers and there are others as well. When you consider the attrition rate for teachers is 50% in the first 5 years, at least half the teachers are at the lower end of the pay scale, so most make less than me even.

Another thing about the information is that they are not reporting all the money that is bringing in. There is an editorial in today's RJ that talks about some of the shortfalls of Open Book.

School transparency: New budget website is a work in progress - Opinion - ReviewJournal.com

It does not go deep enough, but the RJ seems to frequently give the district a pass and, instead, focus on the woes of public education on teachers.

There are other issues with Open Book, but I have to go to work now and don't have time to delineate all of them. And without more disclosure, its hard to know what you don't know.

[von949]

Originally Posted by Everdeen

According to the graph, my salary and benefits should be over $12,000 per month if I average 28 students per class. I can assure you that I am no where near that salary.

I'm going to have to spend some more time going over that site/graphs. So many questions.

As far as you salary goes, the government does the same to the military pay. According to my yearly salary benefits review, I make over $65k a year. This includes free gym access, commissary, BX, 30 days paid vacation, medical, dental, facilities, training...etc.

They pretty much monetize every single benefit, no matter how small or whether we use them or not. It's budgeted every year this way. Sounds like this may be something the school system is doing also.

I just look at it as a tax.



Posted from Nokia 8210

[WestieJeff]

Even if all the data was 100% accurate, how am I am supposed to analyze that.

The term "information overload" comes to mind.

People always want transparency, but what do you do when you get it?

[von949]

It's something you don't analyze in one sit down unless you know exactly what you are looking for. My HOA sends out a transparency budget packet of all the money they supposedly spent. Damn near 20 pages front and back. I ignore the "we had to pay for landscaping, certified letters, graffiti" section. I always go straight to the "who got paid what" section. That's the most interesting part.

I just can't believe CCSD can't afford to do field trips unless they don't cost a dime or parents foot the bill. Then again, there is nothing wrong with kids going to the local library, which my daughter did plenty if times last year and year before that. Libraries and pig farms are all they get now.


Posted from Nokia 8210

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by Everdeen

the RJ seems to frequently give the district a pass and, instead, focus on the woes of public education on teachers.

The RJ cares more about busting unions than it does about anything else.

Budget shortfalls? Blame unions. Kids scoring bad at math? Unions. Traffic at the spaghetti bowl? Damned unions.

So long as the RJ continues to be a tinfoil-hat-wearing megaphone for the Teaparty movement, they can live without my subscription.