local ISD cuts- thank you Texas Tribune

[orangecat1]

I made my suggested cuts to 2012-13 budget last night. Yes, 12-13, this will be the tough year, because there won't be any 831 million $ to bail us out next year.

The CFO is very smart, but he has already hinted at his next strategy. We're at the state maximum for tax rate right now, at 1.54.

He mentioned the words "tax election" at least 3 times. My main objective at the presentation was to let the school board know that we are overpaying our administration.

I recommended over $1,000,000 of cuts, of which over 400k came just from reducing highly paid administration salaries. I cut and pasted from Texastribune.org part of the table that showed McKinney has a median salary of 48,200(#2 on the list of ISDs in the area of districts with #s of employees from 1000 to 6000) despite the fact that our supt. has a salary of 220k, one of the lowest on the list.

iow, we're the 2nd highest in admin salaries of the districts surveyed, the only one higher is Plano, and it costs a lot more to live in Plano than it does in McKinney.

in short we have too many highly paid administrators.

In my plan I combined small administration departments.

My plan saves 21 teachers jobs, lays off 5 unnecessary admin. employees, and does so without touching the big 5:

1. stipends
2. instructional specialists
3. counselors
4. librarians
5. assistant principals.

This is where the big money is. Now that I know the CFOs next move, I just need to get the tea party involved.

I can see it now. The CFO is gonna convince the board that they've made all the cuts they can make, and we have to have a tax election or we will have to lay off 200 teachers. Meanwhile they are continuing the same old stipends and exorbitant administration pay.

Once I get the tea party involved, this should be interesting.

 

[NEWDOC2002]

In reply to:

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[LoveHorns]

It's interesting, after all the "sky is falling" language it appears that at least the big districts are passing budgets that don't require teacher layoffs. Dallas and Houston both just approved budgets that don't require layoffs.

 

[Horn6721]

orangecat
I bet you weren't winning any popularity contests with them.

But GOOD in you for stepping up and offerng reasonable ideas.
Those s bloated salaries could be cut without too much pain. Of coursse no one likes to lose money but they would still have a job..


The Lege had to vote to allow teacher furloughs and cuts,
If I were a teacher and it was take a cut or get fired I know how I'd vote

 

[Larry T. Spider]

Every argument that goes around with regards to CEO pay also applies to superintendent pay. These guys are highly paid executives that make million dollar decisions every day. They also make 10X what the lowest paid people in the district make.

I don't really care what they get paid but when it's your idea to:
1. Cut the amount that the district contributes to my insurance.
2. Extend the amount of hours I work each day.
3. Reduce my contract length by a few days to pay me less.
4. Cut my sick and personal days in half.
5. Increase my class size.
6. Not allow my pitiful $150 pay increase for a year of experience.
7. Cut the stipends for the extra work I do.

then it would be nice if you felt a little of the pain too.

With all of that being said, most superintendents are highly qualified and have many employment options, including the private sector. These jobs have to pay well to attract the best.

 

[Horn6721]

LarryT
The Super who is just leaving DISD presided over a pitifully run district that cost us taxpayers millions and million in fraud corruption theft and waste. In fact DISD has had a long string of crooked or inept Supers who should have not been allowed to keep their jobs.

I bet if the Board looked hard enough they could find someone who could manage this district pretty well for at least 1/3rd less. But all we hear is we have to pay the big bucks to et top talent.

I'drather the money go directly to you and all good teachers.

 

[Larry T. Spider]

DISD needs to have TEA run it for a decade. That place is a clusterfuck. What is up with Dallas isd and the city politics up there?

 

[orangecat1]

agree with what you're saying Larry, but with my plan saving 21 teachers, it does matter what they are making. almost 40% of the savings I identified came just from reducing the over 100k crowd down to 100k.

And believe me, that over 100k crowd is getting bigger every year.

They won't take my suggestions now, but after I get the Tea party involved for the next year, they won't be able to wring their hands and say "we have to lay off teachers, we've done all the cuts we can do"

 

[general35]

i think the super of hisd makes around 550k a year plus a pension.

 

[Larry T. Spider]

As of 09 he was making 350ish plus bonuses for improving test scores.

 

[Horn6721]

LarryT
The new mayor said during his campaign that he would at the very least want to look into DISD and he repeated it after he won.
He did not say he would be involve in day to day running of it but Good God the hundreds of millions that have been wasted just under Hinojosa would pay for quite a few teachers.

Hinojosa went to a smaller district in Ga for quite a bit less BUT he delayed leaving DISD just long enough to qualify for a $200k a YEAR retirement gift from us stupid taxpayers.