There have been two recent actions in Dekalb County that show that what is demanded against others on a national level is not quite the case back closer to home:
- After years of focusing upon the (supposed) funding gap between their schools and the schools in other "elite" school systems in the metro area - the consensus of property owners in Dekalb demanded that their property taxes be lowered - in line with the reduced value of their homes. Since property taxes are the main source of funding for the schools every reduction in these assessments translates into less money for the schools.
- A few weeks ago the school board approved a $15,000 pay raise for the schools chief in the context of imposing spending reductions upon other areas in the system - including teachers and para-professionals.
During budget talks in 2008, school board members told Superintendent Crawford Lewis to reduce staff. Salaries and benefits made up 91 percent of the system's $894.1 million general operations budget. Lewis' goal was to reduce that to 87 percent, along with finding other cuts. In the meantime, the economy sagged.
A fiery protest ignited this month when DeKalb County's school board gave its superintendent a $15,000 raise. But the raise was just the spark, not the tinder.
The recession, stagnant wages and increased workloads have teachers and staff on edge. Operational changes and reports of wrongdoing, including test cheating and a state probe into the school system’s construction program, have caught community attention. And frustration still lingers over the introduction this year of new programs that include a student data system that lurched into use in August by unintentionally dropping students from class rolls, scrambling schedules and scuttling teachers’ grade books.
And more bad news is coming: System officials next week will unveil budget proposals for next year that include millions more in cuts.
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