Thrusday, January 07, 1999
Schools asked to allocate money on per-pupil basis
BY DANA DiFILIPPO
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A reform that Cincinnati Public Schools leaders proposed to equalize funding could come at the expense of another reform that would reduce class size, administrators said Wednesday.
District Treasurer Richard Gardner outlined plans for student-based budgeting Wednesday at the school board's committee meetings.
Schools now receive money based on staffing levels. Under the new plan, schools would get an adjustable per-pupil budget.The plan also shifts much decision-making from district administrators to school officials.
But staffing is a school's biggest expense, so schools with low student-to-teacher ratios might not be able to maintain current staffing levels, Mr. Gardner said.
Officials in schools with small class size “have either got to reduce the number of teachers or reorganize your school so you can still afford lower class size,” Mr. Gardner said.
But Cincinnati Federation of Teachers President Tom Mooney said teachers sit on the school-based decision-making committees that would allocate funding.
“One would hope they wouldn't sacrifice class size unless they get some educational benefit out of it,” Mr. Mooney said.
Union contracts limit class size to 28 students per teacher in academic classes in kindergarten through third grade, and 30 students in fourth through 12th grades, Mr. Mooney said.
Mr. Mooney and Superintendent Steven Adamowski both have cited small class size as one reform tool to improve district performance.
The student-based budgeting plan would be implemented this fall. Public hearings are planned in April and May, and a board vote is set for May 24.
Under the new plan, administrators also aim to better balance spending between neighborhood and magnet schools within three years. That inequity sparked the National Association for the Ad vancement of Colored People-Cincinnati branch last year to revive a desegregation lawsuit from the 1970s.
Mr. Adamowski identified several sources to boost support of neighborhood schools:
• Surplus operating funds.
• Savings from schools slated to close this year.
• Management savings realized from recommendations in a recent state performance audit.
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