In a year where we know more funding isn't coming, this is extra bad news.
After predictions that we would get more students in Dallas ISD, the enrollment projections have come around 2000 less that predicted. I'm optimistic that that number will shrink as some students never show up until after Labor Day, but this is still something to be concerned about.
There were a couple things that Corbett Smith included in his DMN coverage that made me concerned about this situation.
Superintendent Hinojosa says that existing staff will be shuffled around and there will not be layoffs. If we go ahead and ignore the silent "yet" that is obviously implied at the end of that statement, we have to wonder about what that means. Does it mean larger classes, staff doing double duty, more classes where kids have subs instead of certified teachers? Maybe. Will it happen more at the schools where it always happens? Probably.
"Leveling" is a word that always makes my face hurt. It means that you are about to get a 40 person class that will take weeks to get sorted out into a more workable class of about 30, which is still too many students. After leveling, my 33 student class with 32 desks stayed that way for the remainder of the year. My support staff for my 9 ELL students and 3 students with learning differences stopped coming because they had other campus duties because of staffing issues and budget constraints.
That is what the future looks like to me, especially since voters were denied the opportunity to vote to give DISD more money. Superintendent Hinojosa is right. This is why we have a budget with a little cushion. I hope that cushion doesn't run out because more money isn't coming. This could be very frustrating for adults and potentially disastrous for students. Tough decisions are going to have to be made and someone is going to end up unhappy.
Looks like President Dan Micciche and the rest of the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees are going to have their hands full.
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There were a couple things that Corbett Smith included in his DMN coverage that made me concerned about this situation.
Superintendent Hinojosa says that existing staff will be shuffled around and there will not be layoffs. If we go ahead and ignore the silent "yet" that is obviously implied at the end of that statement, we have to wonder about what that means. Does it mean larger classes, staff doing double duty, more classes where kids have subs instead of certified teachers? Maybe. Will it happen more at the schools where it always happens? Probably.
"Leveling" is a word that always makes my face hurt. It means that you are about to get a 40 person class that will take weeks to get sorted out into a more workable class of about 30, which is still too many students. After leveling, my 33 student class with 32 desks stayed that way for the remainder of the year. My support staff for my 9 ELL students and 3 students with learning differences stopped coming because they had other campus duties because of staffing issues and budget constraints.
That is what the future looks like to me, especially since voters were denied the opportunity to vote to give DISD more money. Superintendent Hinojosa is right. This is why we have a budget with a little cushion. I hope that cushion doesn't run out because more money isn't coming. This could be very frustrating for adults and potentially disastrous for students. Tough decisions are going to have to be made and someone is going to end up unhappy.
Looks like President Dan Micciche and the rest of the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees are going to have their hands full.
Follow us on Facebook; Twitter; iTunes; Soundcloud; Stitcher
Related Articles
Dallas ISD Board of Trustees Votes Blackburn out and MIcciche in as board president
Dallas ISD Board of Trustees Fails to Put TRE on November Ballot
DISD Enrollment Drops - Corbett Smith/DMN
***New*** Dallas Education Podcast - August Mailbox
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Don't know what to do this weekend? Fun City Stuff Will Help
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