tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post417883630997073717..comments2024-01-08T03:21:35.616-05:00Comments on DeKalb County School Watch: DeKalb County Schools System as Mr. Potato Head?Cerebrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-61365947024178666872010-02-16T20:06:55.685-05:002010-02-16T20:06:55.685-05:00This probably needs to be updates.
Here is a compa...This probably needs to be updates.<br />Here is a comparison between 2004 salaries and 2009 salaries:<br />2004 salary 2009 salary<br />LEWIS,CRAWFORD $112,074 $287,991.63<br />REID,PATRICIA A $100,010 $197,592.50<br />CALLAWAY,FRANKIE B $106,698 $165,035.69<br />MOSELEY,ROBERT G $106,698 $165,035.69<br />TALLEY,GLORIA S no data available $165,035.69<br />TURK,MARCUS T $75,558 $165,035.69<br />TYSON,RAMONA H $99,960 $165,035.69<br />WILSON,JAMIE L $85,502 $165,035.69<br />SATTARI,DARYUSH $49,451 $147,539.80<br />MITCHELL,FELICIA M $96,354 $125,284.87<br />FREEMAN,TIMOTHY W $106,598 $124,049.27<br />GILLIARD,WANDA S $102,594 $124,049.27<br />THOMPSON,ALICE A $99,960 $124,049.27<br />NORRIS-BOUIE,WENDOLYN $100,060 $122,345.84<br />DUNSON,HORACE C $90,606 $122,195.84<br />SEGOVIS,TERRY M $93,888 $122,195.84<br />SIMPSON,RALPH L $95,826 $122,195.84<br />WHITE,DEBRA A $90,426 $122,195.84<br />RHODES,CHERYL L $88,804 $121,202.40<br />FREEMAN,SUSAN L $85,578 $120,844.00Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-7509332127251234362010-01-16T09:44:10.253-05:002010-01-16T09:44:10.253-05:00Anonymous -
this is in reference to the 2010-2011 ...Anonymous -<br />this is in reference to the 2010-2011 budget - state and schools are on a July 1-June 30 calendar, I'm pretty suregreeniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14185375641949049796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-44671368536450657932010-01-16T09:43:09.883-05:002010-01-16T09:43:09.883-05:00Should a new thread be started and link to this di...Should a new thread be started and link to this discussion??<br /><br />The $56 million budget cut that they already know about is the amount the state is cutting from the annual allocation. Added to more than $100 million already cut in past 2-3 years. Local taxes will also be lost based on devaluation of property.<br />the school tax portion of the property tax bill is separate from the "county operations" part of the bill for which Ellis wants to increase the mil rate.<br />School board does not anticipate increasing the mil rate on the school tax part of property bills (which is the larger part of our bill) <br />So, DCSS WILL have another budget cut as well - related to whatever decrease occurs b/c of lower prop. values.greeniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14185375641949049796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-75333108170718907852010-01-15T11:45:56.646-05:002010-01-15T11:45:56.646-05:00Last night Channel 2 news reported that the teache...Last night Channel 2 news reported that the teachers were told that DCSS is facing a $56M budget shortfall.<br /><br />Which budget year are they talking about? The remainder of this year or next year? I anticipated that there would be a much larger shortfall for the 2010-2011 year based on what Burrell Ellis has been predicting relative to drops in anticipated tax revenues and property tax collections.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-78341307799923529632010-01-15T09:31:26.960-05:002010-01-15T09:31:26.960-05:00In addition to the revenue the state provides expe...In addition to the revenue the state provides expenditures at the same website. <br /><br />Of the nearly billion dollar 2009 budget, DCSS reported that $ 610,801,035.69 went for instruction ($6,223.65 per student)<br /><br />It is further broken down as such -<br /><br />$30,988,419.82 pupil services (315.75 per)<br />$65,844,213.88 staff services (670.91 per)<br />$ 49,159,244.61 general admin (500.90 per)<br />$64,381,155.07 school admin (656.00 per)<br />$47,156,678.90 transportation (480.49 per)<br />$82,559,837.61 maintenance & Ops (841.23 per)<br /><br />Which now all only adds up to $9,688.93 per student in total. (According to REVENUE - they collect $10,117.38 per student.) <br /><br />What's missing? Anyone know?Cerebrationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-91528833136184054062010-01-15T09:30:51.975-05:002010-01-15T09:30:51.975-05:00FWIW - here's the historical per student REVEN...FWIW - here's the historical per student REVENUE - in the last 5 years - since Lewis has been at the helm - <br /><br />2005 - $8,094.94 per student<br />2006 - $9,047.33<br />2007 - $9,939.25<br />2008 - $10,232.95<br />2009 - $10,117.38<br /><br />So - as you can see, after years of approx 10% annual increases, the per student REVENUE went down last year.Cerebrationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-63080917210724533322010-01-15T09:29:39.685-05:002010-01-15T09:29:39.685-05:00Here is the new data for 2009 (from the state'...Here is the new data for 2009 (from the state's reporting site)<br /><br />TOTAL FTE -- 98,142 (this is the official number of students reported to the state)<br /><br />Local Revenues - $558,495,261.6 (from your property tax bill)<br /><br />State Revenues - $357,217,044.80 (from your state income tax)<br /><br />Federal Revenues - $77,227,391.15 (from your payroll taxes, etc)<br /><br />Per FTE -- (per student breakdown)<br /><br />LOCAL - $5,690.69 (56.25%)<br />STATE - $3,639.80 (35.98%)<br />FEDERAL - $786.89 (7.78%)<br /><br />TOTAL REVENUES <br />$992,939,697.56<br /><br />PER STUDENT REVENUE<br />$10,117.38<br /><br />Click here to run your own reports -<br /><br />http://app3.doe.k12.ga.us/ows-bin/owa/fin_pack_revenue.entry_formCerebrationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-64901684163040255122009-12-16T20:56:49.019-05:002009-12-16T20:56:49.019-05:00Why does our Board of Education allow and enable s...Why does our Board of Education allow and enable such incredible administrative bloat and then allow bus drivers to have their salary cut 29%? It's immoral.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-6213069432724445232009-08-13T09:49:58.150-04:002009-08-13T09:49:58.150-04:00Here's an example of administrative overkill i...Here's an example of administrative overkill in one building -- Avondale HS. We now have DSA and Avondale under the same roof - in order to bring the number of students in the building up to a more acceptable level to the state. (Avondale has a little over 700 students; DSA has 285 from 8th-12th).<br /><br />However, these schools function completely separately - so we are paying for 2 principals, 2 sets of APs, 2 sets of counselors, etc. All we save on is the cafeteria and janitorial staff.<br /><br />Why is it that Chamblee HS can function with one principal? How about SW DeKalb? Arabia? These are schools that have magnet programs within the regular programs too - however, they only seem to need one principal.<br /><br />We also have principals for very small programs - like Destiny Academy (100 students), Gateway to College (100), DK Alternative (213), Transition Academy (108), DK Truancy (40), and sadly, Wadsworth, which still can manage to grow to 200 students. (This could return to a program within a school...)<br /><br />A simple formula should be created that only allows for a certain amount of spending per pupil. Period. If schools want or need to spend more (I think Destiny's per pupil cost is over $13,000 per), then the funding must come from somewhere else - like the state or county (juvenile delinquent budget.) Or as in the case of DSA, private resources. <br /><br />The inequity in spending per pupil must end.Cerebrationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-87272323913969783532009-08-13T01:02:00.644-04:002009-08-13T01:02:00.644-04:00So, I suppose all of this begs the question ...
W...So, I suppose all of this begs the question ...<br /><br />What system should DeKalb be bench marked against for overhead management, spending per pupil and financial efficiency?<br /><br />Let's get 1 or 2 comparable systems and start tracking our performance.Kim Gokcehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01855554437157990110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-72343614238109665912009-07-28T10:50:36.082-04:002009-07-28T10:50:36.082-04:00Even if principals are not included in the Admin f...Even if principals are not included in the Admin figures, the above average number of schools still skew the data. More bus drivers (and therefore transportation planners and supervisors), more technical support personnel (and therefore more expensive network personnel, infrastructure maintenance personnel, and supervisors), etc. are required for the above average number of schools that DeKalb currently has. Rezoning and reducing the number of schools would lay the groundwork for reducing the administrative services that are required. Now whether DeKalb will reduce the number of administrative personnel after that consolidation is done is another matter entirely. But at least the argument for excessive non-teaching personnel will be much less compelling. Another suggestion that would go a long way would be that a more substantial percentage of education dollars must be spent in direct classroom instruction. The state legislature and Purdue passed a law recommending that school systems spend a certain percent of educational dollars in direct classroom instruction in order to qualify for state funding, however they refused to mandate this. Until they mandate that the bulk of school system spending goes to direct classroom instruction, school systems will continue to allocate resources as they see fit.Gaylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07862880288663811743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-58719433117089307932009-07-27T18:20:13.330-04:002009-07-27T18:20:13.330-04:00The block schedule is costing way too much and it ...The block schedule is costing way too much and it also is costing us as it does not give us the same amount of time in the classroom. It affects the achievement scores. Block needs to go. The schools in the county without block schedule are the schools with the highest scores.Ella Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08004885232852482737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-59392630701319911592009-07-27T16:54:36.124-04:002009-07-27T16:54:36.124-04:00Let me reiterate what I "iterated" in my...Let me reiterate what I "iterated" in my original article ... I welcome anyone's input on these classifications because I claim no special knowledge. On the contrary, they were best guesses based on what I knew at the time. <br /><br />For example, I now know that the title, "BOOKKEEPER," probably refers to in-school admin resources and arguable needs to be moved. Will these re-classifications change the basic view? Not sure but my gut tells me we'd have to have a whole lot of mis-classifications to make up the enormous divide. <br /><br />Transportation is likely a big one with the number of bus drivers but even in this case it's less than $10 million out of a total of $682,709,025.22 ... this move of bus drivers to the overhead of the schools would reduce the ratio from 24% to 21% ... still over 2 times the Fulton figures.<br /><br />I'm all for refining these numbers for accuracy but it does seem that the order of magnitude will only change marginally.Kim Gokcehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01855554437157990110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-88887311846683845882009-07-27T16:28:17.811-04:002009-07-27T16:28:17.811-04:00Title assignments continued:
PART II
91 LOTTERY ...Title assignments continued:<br /><br />PART II<br /><br />91 LOTTERY PRE-SCHOOL TEACHER school<br />92 MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL admin<br />93 MEMBER, BOARD OF EDUCATION admin<br />94 MIDDLE SCHOOL COUNSELOR school<br />95 MIDDLE SCHOOL EXPLOR school<br />96 MIDDLE SCHOOL EXPLOR TEACHER school<br />97 MILITARY SCIENCE school<br />98 MILITARY SCIENCE TEACHER school<br />99 MISCELLANEOUS ACTIVITIES admin<br />100 NURSING ASSISTANT / HEALTH TECH school<br />101 OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST school<br />102 ORIENT/MOBILITY SPECIALIST school<br />103 OTHER INSTRUCTIONA school<br />104 OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL PROVIDER school<br />105 OTHER TRANSPORTATI admin<br />106 OTHER TRANSPORTATION admin<br />107 PARAPRO PERSONNEL - school<br />108 PARAPRO PERSONNEL - PRE-K school<br />109 PARAPROFESSIONAL/TEACHE school<br />110 PARAPROFESSIONAL/TEACHER AIDE school<br />111 PARENT COORDINATOR admin<br />112 PERSONNEL/HUMAN RESOURCES DIR admin<br />113 PHYSICAL THERAPIST school<br />114 PLANNING/EVALUATION PERSONNEL admin<br />115 PLANT OPERATIONS admin<br />116 PLANT OPERATIONS DIRECTOR/MGR admin<br />117 PLANT OPERATIONS SEC/CLERK admin<br />118 PRESCHOOL SPECIAL ED school<br />119 PRESCHOOL SPECIAL ED TEACHER school<br />120 PRINCIPAL school<br />121 PSYCH-ED PARAPRO/TEACHER AIDE school<br />122 PSYCHO-ED SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST school<br />123 PSYCHO-ED SCHOOL SEC/CLERK school<br />124 PSYCHO-ED SPEC ED SPECIALIST school<br />125 PSYCHO-EDUCATIONAL school<br />126 PSYCHO-EDUCATIONAL TEACHER school<br />127 PUBLIC RELATIONS PERSONNEL admin<br />128 RECREATIONAL THERAPIST school<br />129 RESEARCH PERSONNEL admin<br />130 RVI TEACHER school<br />131 SCHOOL FOOD SERVICE school<br />132 SCHOOL FOOD SERVICE MANAGER school<br />133 SCHOOL FOOD SERVICE WORKER school<br />134 SCHOOL NURSE school<br />135 SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST school<br />136 SCHOOL SECRETARY/CL school<br />137 SCHOOL SECRETARY/CLERK school<br />138 SCHOOL SOCIAL school<br />139 SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKER school<br />140 SECRETARY school<br />141 SECURITY PERSONNEL/SE school<br />142 SECURITY PERSONNEL/SECURITY school<br />143 SECURITY PERSONNEL/SECURITY OFFICER school<br />144 SOCIAL WORKER ASSISTANT school<br />145 SPECIAL ED PARAPRO/AIDE school<br />146 SPECIAL EDUCATION school<br />147 SPECIAL EDUCATION COUNSELOR school<br />148 SPECIAL EDUCATION DIRECTOR admin<br />149 SPECIAL EDUCATION NURSE school<br />150 SPECIAL EDUCATION PARAPROFESSIONAL - AGES 3 school<br />151 SPECIAL EDUCATION PARAPROFESSIONAL - AGES 3 TO 5 school<br />152 SPECIAL EDUCATION SECRETARY/CLERK admin<br />153 SPECIAL EDUCATION SPECIALIST admin<br />154 SPEECH-LANGUAGE school<br />155 SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST school<br />156 STAFF DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST admin<br />157 STUDENT CLERK/AIDE school<br />158 SUBSTITUTE TEACHER school<br />159 SUPERINTENDENT admin<br />160 SUPERINTENDENT SECRETARY admin<br />161 SUPPORT SERV SECRETARY/CLERK admin<br />162 TEACHER OF AUTISTIC STUDENTS school<br />163 TEACHER OF EMOTIONAL/BEHAVIORAL school<br />164 TEACHER OF HEARING IMPAIRED STUDENT school<br />165 TEACHER OF MILD INTELLECTUAL school<br />166 TEACHER OF MODERATE school<br />167 TEACHER OF MODERATE INTELLECTUAL school<br />168 TEACHER OF ORTHOPEDIC IMPAIRED school<br />169 TEACHER OF OTHER HEALTH IMPAIRED school<br />170 TEACHER OF SEVERE INTELLECTUAL school<br />171 TEACHER OF SPECIFIC LEARNING school<br />172 TEACHER OF VISUALLY IMPAIRED school<br />173 TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR admin<br />174 TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST school<br />175 TRANSPORTATION DIRECTOR/MGR admin<br />176 TRANSPORTATION MECHANIC admin<br />177 TRANSPORTATION SEC/CLERK admin<br />178 VOCATIONAL admin<br />179 VOCATIONAL DIRECTOR admin<br />180 WAREHOUSEMAN admin<br />181 YOUTH APPRENTICESHIP DIRECTOR adminKim Gokcehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01855554437157990110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-6224645682052342872009-07-27T16:27:02.469-04:002009-07-27T16:27:02.469-04:00For those who are curious how all titles were attr...For those who are curious how all titles were attributed for this analysis, here is the entire list I used for DCSS (in two part posts):<br /><br />PART I:<br /><br />2 SPECIAL EDUCATION INTERRELATED school<br />3 ADAPTED PHYS ED TEACHER school<br />4 AFTER-SCHOOL school<br />5 AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM WORKER admin<br />6 ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL DIRECTOR school<br />7 ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL admin<br />8 ATHLETICS DIRECTOR admin<br />9 ATHLETICS PERSONNEL school<br />10 AUDIOLOGIST admin<br />11 AUDITOR admin<br />12 BOOKKEEPER admin<br />13 BUS DRIVER admin<br />14 BUSINESS SERV SECRETARY/CLERK admin<br />15 CENTRAL SUPPORT admin<br />16 CENTRAL SUPPORT CLERK admin<br />17 CONSTRUCTION MANAGER admin<br />18 CUSTODIAL PERSONNEL school<br />19 DEPUTY/ASSOC/ASSISTANT SUPT admin<br />20 DIAGNOSTICIAN admin<br />21 DIRECTOR OF CHILD SERVE admin<br />22 DIRECTOR OF CURRICULUM/INSTR admin<br />23 DIRECTOR OF GLRS admin<br />24 DIRECTOR OF MEDIA SERVICES admin<br />25 DIRECTOR OF PSYCHO-ED PROG admin<br />26 DIRECTOR OF SCHOOL SAFETY admin<br />27 DIRECTOR OF STUDENT SERVICES admin<br />28 EARLY INTERVENTION admin<br />29 EARLY INTERVENTION PRIMARY admin<br />30 EARLY INTERVENTION PRIMARY TEACHER school<br />31 EARLY INTERVENTION TEACHER school<br />32 EIP 4TH AND 5TH GRADE TEACHER school<br />33 ELEMENTARY COUNSELOR school<br />34 ENTERPRISE TECHNICIAN admin<br />35 ESOL TEACHER school<br />36 EXTRA-CURRICULAR school<br />37 EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES school<br />38 FAMILY SERVICES admin<br />39 FAMILY SERVICES COORDINATOR admin<br />40 FINANCE/BUSINESS PERSONNEL admin<br />41 FINANCE/BUSINESS SERVICE MGR admin<br />42 FOOD SERVICE ADMINISTRATOR admin<br />43 GENERAL ADMIN admin<br />44 GENERAL ADMIN SECRETARY/CL admin<br />45 GENERAL ADMIN SECRETARY/CLERK admin<br />46 GIFTED school<br />47 GIFTED ELEMENTARY school<br />48 GIFTED ELEMENTARY TEACHER P-5 school<br />49 GIFTED HIGH school<br />50 GRADE 1 TEACHER school<br />51 GRADE 12 TEACHER school<br />52 GRADE 2 TEACHER school<br />53 GRADE 3 TEACHER school<br />54 GRADE 4 TEACHER school<br />55 GRADE 5 TEACHER school<br />56 GRADE 6 TEACHER school<br />57 GRADE 7 TEACHER school<br />58 GRADES 6-8 TEACHER school<br />59 GRADES 9-12 TEACHER school<br />60 GRADES K-5 TEACHER school<br />61 GRADUATION SPECIALIST school<br />62 HEARING OFFICER admin<br />63 HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELOR school<br />64 HOSPITAL/HOMEBOUND INSTRUCTOR school<br />65 HUMAN RESOURCES PERSONNEL admin<br />66 INFORMATION SERV admin<br />67 INFORMATION SERV PERSONNEL admin<br />68 INFORMATION SERVICES admin<br />69 INFORMATION SERVICES CLERK admin<br />70 INSTRUCTIONAL SPECIALIST P- admin<br />71 INSTRUCTIONAL SPECIALIST P-8 admin<br />72 INSTRUCTIONAL SUPERVISOR admin<br />73 INTERPRETER admin<br />74 IS PERSONNEL - FINANCE AND BUSINESS admin<br />75 IS PERSONNEL - FOOD SERVICE admin<br />76 IS PERSONNEL - GENERAL ADMIN admin<br />77 IS PERSONNEL - INSTRUCTION SERV admin<br />78 IS PERSONNEL - MAINTENANCE admin<br />79 IS PERSONNEL - OTHER SUPPORT admin<br />80 IS PERSONNEL - SUPPORT admin<br />81 IS PERSONNEL - SUPPORT SERV admin<br />82 IS PERSONNEL - TRANSPORTATION admin<br />83 KINDERGARTEN TEACHER school<br />84 LEGAL PERSONNEL admin<br />85 LIBRARIAN/MEDIA SPECIALIST school<br />86 LIBRARY/MEDIA school<br />87 LIBRARY/MEDIA SECRETARY/CL school<br />88 LIBRARY/MEDIA SECRETARY/CLERK school<br />89 LITERACY COACH school<br />90 LOTTERY PRE-SCHOOL schoolKim Gokcehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01855554437157990110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-29956318209724679532009-07-27T16:19:07.682-04:002009-07-27T16:19:07.682-04:00For the figures I reported, principal salaries are...For the figures I reported, principal salaries are attributed to the school overhead, not "Admin."Kim Gokcehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01855554437157990110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-63487196177022905022009-07-27T14:32:11.617-04:002009-07-27T14:32:11.617-04:00If principals are included, they are included for ...If principals are included, they are included for all counties in the comparison. If DeKalb has more principals, then of course, they will spend more on principals. However, there are many schools that can easily be consolidated to whittle down this number - and they are implementing some of these consolidations, for instance Heritage School (with only about 45 students and it's own principal) is being consolidated with M Harris - however, more can be done. For example, Avondale HS is absorbing DSA, but each will have it's own principal. Avondale only has 700 students and DSA only has 285. <br /><br />Additionally, we have many "special" schools with their own staffs - DeKalb Alternative (213 students), DK Early College (215 students), PATH Academy (281 students), Transition Academy (108 students), DK Truancy (40 students), Destiny Academy (99 students), Gateway to College (100 students), Wadsworth Magnet (187 students), Avondale MS (527 students w/capacity for 1134), McNair MS (805 students w/capacity for 1368), and Cross Keys (engineered to have only 859 w/capacity for 1239) which is scheduled to merge with the HS of Technology North (will they retain their own principal after the merge ala DSA?). Many other schools are severely under-capacity and could be combined with others. DeKalb chooses not to do that. It costs a lot more money.<br /><br />In addition - we could save millions by eliminating the block and returning the requirement for a diploma to 23 credits instead of 24. (The block schedule now offers students 32 credits over 4 years - way over the top!)Cerebrationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-86800833921445593782009-07-27T13:43:35.039-04:002009-07-27T13:43:35.039-04:00It appears you are including principal's salar...It appears you are including principal's salaries in your Administration cost analysis. If so, that makes an apples to apples comparison of DeKalb Administrative costs to other school systems very difficult. DeKalb County Schools has more schools than any other system in the state of Georgia. Each one of those schools has a principal, information systems support, transportation support, etc. The sheer number of so many schools boosts the number and cost of administration. Consolidating schools is a very difficult measure politically speaking. Parent groups then become involved wanting to keep their school open, etc. Reducing the number of schools could go a long way in administrative cost reduction.Gaylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07862880288663811743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-61926631999634116072009-06-25T21:44:31.613-04:002009-06-25T21:44:31.613-04:00Yes!! There are MANY of us who would advocate for ...Yes!! There are MANY of us who would advocate for breaking the system into smaller systems - and giving actual power and budgets to the smaller systems. We are already set up - in two ways - in areas served by Area Superintendents or in the Regions designed by the committee who was asked to formulate regional design plans. So far - Dr Lewis maintains a tight rein on the whole system... I cannot see that area supers have much power whatsoever.Cerebrationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-1789051856026333582009-06-25T20:50:32.452-04:002009-06-25T20:50:32.452-04:00@Anon: "Kim, I wonder what you mean by this s...@Anon: "Kim, I wonder what you mean by this statement: "On a completely un-related note, APS and Decatur are giving places like Woodward and Marist a run for the parents money ...?"<br /><br />This is really late in response but I never noticed the question ... what I intended to get across was the "cost" per student. The amounts per pupil in Decatur and Atlanta Public are approaching the level of tuition as some of the highest reputation private schools around. Just thought that was interesting and a good point of reference ... it raises in my mind a general question about whether a "system" could ever educate our children as efficiently as an actual school.<br /><br />This question troubles me deeply because I wonder if public education is always to be constrained in performance due to the amount of energy and resources devoted to running "the system" versus simply running a school.<br /><br />My point is that in addition to all the other advantages many successful privates schools have (voluntary enrollment, competitive entrance, parental consent for discipline/code of conduct, etc.) they may also benefit greatly from not being part of "a system."<br /><br />I realize schools like Woodward do have satellite schools like their Woodward North elementary but running one or two campuses is a far cry from managing "a system" like DCSS.<br /><br />Is there any way to have a DCSS High School and its cluster be run quasi-independently from the central office? Perhaps the most successful ones do ... just musing.Kim Gokcehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01855554437157990110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-62646456850944961952009-05-20T09:28:46.295-04:002009-05-20T09:28:46.295-04:00I'm assuming she is still there - according to the...I'm assuming she is still there - according to the most recently posted data (2008) -<br /><br />TAYLOR,ULADIA <br />FINANCE/BUSINESS PERSONNEL<br />$102,312.00 (salary) $907.64 (travel/exp)<br /><br />If you are ever wondering about pay scales, the state provides that information online -<br /><br />http://www.open.georgia.gov/.Cerebrationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-50855691257950372642009-05-20T08:06:29.427-04:002009-05-20T08:06:29.427-04:00Kim, I wonder what you mean by this statement: "On...Kim, I wonder what you mean by this statement: "On a completely un-related note, APS and Decatur are giving places like Woodward and Marist a run for the parents money ...?"<br /><br />I don't think APS or Decatur have made any significant improvements in middle or high schools. Grady is definitely the crown jewel of APS, but it is only one school. I have always wondered about SAT and ACT scores from the private schools but I did not think they published them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-80194891720222879522009-05-20T01:42:03.667-04:002009-05-20T01:42:03.667-04:00Speaking of the $100k club, is Uladia Taylor still...Speaking of the $100k club, is Uladia Taylor still on staff in purchasing? Seems like she is more famous for her side businesses running a real estate auction house and freelance auctioneering. Seems like that is also a profitable occupation but where does she find the time for both? My apologies if she is no longer collecting from dcss, I was looking at the 2008 salaries.Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-12261594470829442082009-05-13T21:46:00.000-04:002009-05-13T21:46:00.000-04:00I suspected there was not enough rigor in how this...I suspected there was not enough rigor in how this data is gathered, classified, and then reported to the state. From job titles errors to flat out omissions, I really question the validity of the data. It is still a good exercise to crawl through it, though. Who knows, if we actually <B>use the data</B>, perhaps those involved will more carefully report it in the future.<br /><br />On a completely un-related note, APS and Decatur are giving places like Woodward and Marist a run for the parents money ...Kim Gokcehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01855554437157990110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-32167441073626117392009-05-13T16:04:00.000-04:002009-05-13T16:04:00.000-04:00hey psc, I took some time to check data at the ver...hey psc, I took some time to check data at the very informative State website you gave us the link to <br /><br />http://app3.doe.k12.ga.us/ows-bin/owa/fin_pack_revenue.entry_form<br /><br />Interesting bottom line numbers (2008 per FTE total expenditure)<br /><br />Clayton $8145. ($396 Gen Admin/$443 School Admin)<br />Gwinnett $8338. ($467 Gen Admin/$576 School Admin)<br />Cobb $8816. ($284 Gen Admin/$506 School Admin)<br />Fulton $9746. ($483 Gen Admin/$574 School Admin)<br />DeKalb $9896. ($480 Gen Admin/$663 School Admin)<br />Atlanta $13,710 ($2791 Gen Admin/$580 School Admin)<br />Decatur $13,443 ($760 Gen Admin/$1157 School Admin)<br /><br />Especially interesting to note - back in 2004, we only spent $7827 per FTE ($250 Gen Admin/$540 school Admin) and in 2005, we spent $7914 per FTE, but the admin cost per FTE dropped to $243 Gen Admin/$550 school admin)<br /><br />Wow, how we've blossomed under Dr. Lewis' leadership. No wonder he is having to make so many cuts - it will be hard to just get back to where we were.<br /><br />But what the heck - Atlanta PS spends over $2,700 per FTE on General Administration -- and their super was named Best of the Year! (I would wage a guess that her massive staff helped her look good.)Cerebrationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.com