Post by doctorwho on May 14, 2010 7:57:45 GMT -6
What ? the 'good news' ? What a crock -- I have no issue really with the new cost of drivers' ed - ( although I do question the $700 amount since EXCEL is not $700 ) - as that is a service they offer over and above what I picture as the schools job.
What I do have an issue with is portraying not cutting physical education as something they have doen that is noble. Again, had they not pissed away over $20M over and above the referendum for an unneeded school- we would not be talking about this issue and the budget would be balanced like 203's is.
--oh and about manipulating papers- why has the Herald not run the article on 203's balanced budget - kudo's to the Sun for doing so.
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www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/2271414,D204-to-increase-drivers-ed-fees_NA051310.article
204 to increase driver’s ed fees
Comments
May 14, 2010
By HANK BECKMAN For Sun-Times Media
The good news is that Indian Prairie School District 204 will continue to offer physical education to kindergarten through fifth grade students three days a week, instead of cutting it altogether.
The bad news is that the cost of taking driver's education will likely increase by a whopping 75 percent.
"This is a small piece of a much larger puzzle," school board President Curt Bradshaw said before a unanimous vote approved asking the state for waivers on the two budget items.
Bradshaw was speaking of the district's effort to trim $21.4 million from its budget for the coming school year, an effort that has to be successful if the district is to meet its operating expenses without borrowing.
With Illinois having a $13 billion hole in its budget and no resolution in sight, the state will be reducing its support for public schools to $450 per student.
District 204 gets 16 percent of its funding from the state; the reduced funding level means $18.2 million less for the district.
State law mandates that any charges for driver's education above $200 be approved through the waiver process.
The driver's education program serves about 865 students throughout the district and the current $200 fee brings in about $179,000.
The increase to $350 will mean an additional $129,000, bringing the district-wide total to just more than $300,000.
But Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Services Jay Strang noted that the cost per student is around $700, meaning the district still picks up a significant portion of the cost. Strang indicated that the physical education waiver would allow the district to continue a long-standing practice.
The district has 15 days from the passing of the motions to apply for the waivers and the state has 45 days to take action.
District Superintendent Kathy Birkett said of the driver's education waiver that there was a "strong chance that the state will grant it."
The views expressed in these blog posts are those of the author and not of the Sun-Times News Group.
original joe wrote:
It costs $700 per student for a graduation requirement and the parents are supposed to pay 50% of that cost.
The question is do sports parents pay 50% of the costs for their kids to be in a non-graduation requirement program?
Do the band and orchestra parents pay 50% of the costs for their students to be in a non-graduation requirement program too?
What I do have an issue with is portraying not cutting physical education as something they have doen that is noble. Again, had they not pissed away over $20M over and above the referendum for an unneeded school- we would not be talking about this issue and the budget would be balanced like 203's is.
--oh and about manipulating papers- why has the Herald not run the article on 203's balanced budget - kudo's to the Sun for doing so.
-----------------------------------------------
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/2271414,D204-to-increase-drivers-ed-fees_NA051310.article
204 to increase driver’s ed fees
Comments
May 14, 2010
By HANK BECKMAN For Sun-Times Media
The good news is that Indian Prairie School District 204 will continue to offer physical education to kindergarten through fifth grade students three days a week, instead of cutting it altogether.
The bad news is that the cost of taking driver's education will likely increase by a whopping 75 percent.
"This is a small piece of a much larger puzzle," school board President Curt Bradshaw said before a unanimous vote approved asking the state for waivers on the two budget items.
Bradshaw was speaking of the district's effort to trim $21.4 million from its budget for the coming school year, an effort that has to be successful if the district is to meet its operating expenses without borrowing.
With Illinois having a $13 billion hole in its budget and no resolution in sight, the state will be reducing its support for public schools to $450 per student.
District 204 gets 16 percent of its funding from the state; the reduced funding level means $18.2 million less for the district.
State law mandates that any charges for driver's education above $200 be approved through the waiver process.
The driver's education program serves about 865 students throughout the district and the current $200 fee brings in about $179,000.
The increase to $350 will mean an additional $129,000, bringing the district-wide total to just more than $300,000.
But Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Services Jay Strang noted that the cost per student is around $700, meaning the district still picks up a significant portion of the cost. Strang indicated that the physical education waiver would allow the district to continue a long-standing practice.
The district has 15 days from the passing of the motions to apply for the waivers and the state has 45 days to take action.
District Superintendent Kathy Birkett said of the driver's education waiver that there was a "strong chance that the state will grant it."
The views expressed in these blog posts are those of the author and not of the Sun-Times News Group.
original joe wrote:
It costs $700 per student for a graduation requirement and the parents are supposed to pay 50% of that cost.
The question is do sports parents pay 50% of the costs for their kids to be in a non-graduation requirement program?
Do the band and orchestra parents pay 50% of the costs for their students to be in a non-graduation requirement program too?
