Schools tell parents they can't get things done in Special Education because of the lack of funding......
Parents push for more funding during IDEA 2004 reauthorization.....
Congress starts talking about increasing funding...
Superintendents Association runs to Congress saying if you send us money too fast we may not be able to spend it and have to send it back......actually they send quite a bit back now.....
Congress adds the MOE 50% rule which says this:
If the IDEA allocation exceeds the previous year IDEA allocation, district MOE may be reduced by up to 50% of the amount of the increase.
Funding does not go up in appropriations....
Candidate Obama promises to fund IDEA....
President Obama includes $13 billion in IDEA funding in stimulus bill....
Superintendents push funds thru CO-OPS......why? The board for the Co-Ops are the Superintendents....not the school boards....
First thing they do is exercise the 50% rule and move half the money over to other school funding......
Then they whine about not passing AYP because of Special Education.....
Isn't that SPECIAL....
Folks call you Superintendents and ask them how they are going to spend the IDEA money from the Stimulus package and then ask them if they are going to use it all for special education or use the MOE 50% rule....
They are allowed by law to do this but THEY DO NOT HAVE TOO......
PEACE DUDE
3 comments:
Hey Jeff,
I read the Indy Star stories on the school board meeting, and was totally dumbfounded that the reporter did not really LISTEN to what was being said. Apparently no one else was listening when the board voted to fund and host a football camp without really knowing what the cost is. One board member asked what it was, and the reply came along the lines of "we might get a reduced rate". Gee, $500 per kid, and 30-45 kids attending. Yup, dropping $20,000 pkus for wannabe camp is where I want school money going. Seems everyone was "oohing" and "aahing" over the names that were being dropped and not really paying attention to the big picture.
Yep, they spent more time on th softball tournament and the Football Camp then the did the budget or the real business of running the school. I bet the farmers that were on my school board when I was a kid are fit to be tied!
One way to fix this is to get a boatload of parents on board to run for school board. Get as many as you can on the ballot; eventually, some will be elected who might be able to restore credibility to this school board.
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