Monday, July 28, 2014

Sunday Globe Special: Boston Classrooms Closed

I guess the hat didn't get much coin.... 

"Boston schools eliminate 126 jobs; Administrators, teachers included" by James Vaznis | Globe Staff   July 27, 2014

The Boston school system has eliminated 126 positions from nearly every department at its central offices, following through with a promise earlier this year to downsize the bureaucracy.

Maybe. Maybe the well-connected need more tax breaks. On the one hand I'm told everything is great and economic recovery, on the other I'm told deteriorating schools, reduced enrollments, need more translators, blah, blah, blah.

The cuts included positions of 12 administrators and 23 teachers who were serving as coaches to their colleagues districtwide. The other positions eliminated included secretaries, aides, part-timers, and support staff, according to data provided by the School Department. The numbers are based on full-time equivalents.

The downsizing is expected to result in $9.5 million in savings, school officials said.

“We did not do across-the-board reductions,” interim Superintendent John McDonough said in an interview. “We were very strategic.”

The School Department would not say how many employees were laid off. Some of the employees whose positions were eliminated were expected to fill other School Department jobs, while others retired or resigned to pursue other opportunities.

Brings back memories of the experience.

Annual salaries for the eliminated positions ranged from about $35,000 to $140,000.

The move followed years of criticism that the school system’s central offices were bloated and overstaffed — employing more than 2,000 individuals — an issue that flared up in last year’s mayoral race. 

I'm sure they were. That's AmeriKan government. Part of Menino's legacy, the gleam of which is tarnished more by the day.

McDonough put hundreds of central office employees on notice in February, warning them they might not have jobs beyond June 30 as another tough budget year loomed.

??????

He hoped the central-office cuts would minimize spending reductions that would directly affect students in the classrooms.

In making the cuts, McDonough looked to create operating efficiencies, such as consolidating several offices that appeared to have overlapping missions.

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The School Department had to cut spending even though its budget for this year is about 4 percent higher than the previous year. That is because the increase was not enough to keep up with the rising costs of salaries and other expenses, as well as the loss of millions of dollars in state and federal aid.

It's called austerity, as Obummer has billions to throw at overthrows, coups, militia armies, wars, illegal immigrant kids, and on and on.

But even with the cuts to the central offices, the school system still had to direct dozens of individual schools to reduce spending....

Who is $tealing the loot, kids?

--more--"

Time to go home: Boston schools go too far with audio surveillance of school buses

RelatedSummer School Bus

Also see:

Plagiarism incidents undercut message to students

Superintendents fail to set an example for students on citing sources

Plagiarism — or just banality that’s contagious?

Related: Plagiarism From Montana to Massachusetts 

It's all original commentary here unless cited. College made a big deal of it, but that was for us not those above us. Good lesson.