Budget Crunch

To start off this blog, I will be discussing the budget crunch. Due to a recent scare of drastic budget cuts at the end of last school year, it has been a hot topic in our school district. Thankfully, the district was frugal in the past with their finances and many were blessed to keep their jobs.

In order to pinpoint the discussion this is my question. Why is the budget crisis and school reform talked about in the same sentence?
(The US Department of Education isn’t giving up hope, either: “We are confident that as states continue to invest stimulus dollars in their schools, the funds will not only go towards saving jobs but to investing in reform,” writes deputy press secretary Sandra Abrevaya in an e-mail.)
This excerpt was taken from http://ednews.org/articles/for-schools-use-of-stimulus-money-falls-short-of-big-hopes-.html

After working in a school setting for my first year, I do see need to reform. Students see education strictly as a right and not a privilege while some students find it hard to find their niche in the education world. It is a bummer that the financial crisis hit right in the middle of a big push for reform. Reform is a daunting task alone, but mixed with financial crisis, it is extremely daunting. Do not misunderstand me, true reform is NOT more money being pumped into the system. It takes a lot more than that, but it is hard to focus on a financial problem and an education problem all at once.

BREAKING NEWS!!! (I am pondering this stuff while writing.)
Maybe this is exactly what we need to reform education. We need a budget crunch in order to avoid band-aiding the problem with a "quick fix billion." We need to start getting frugal with our money and innovate the system. An example of one school trying can be found at http://ednews.org/articles/scrimp-avoid-quick-fixes-watch-academic-achievement-rise.html.
Maybe this is what the Dept. of Education was speaking of.

So, I am opening this question up for discussion. Should we be focusing on the budget crisis and reform at the same time? Or should we stabilize the finances and then reform the system?

My initial thought was to stabilize first and then reform, but, like I said, now may be the time to kill both birds with a big rock. I think the past has shown that big money does not equal big results. America already puts in large amounts of money, but does not see high scores compared to other countries. (I know this is also a hot topic) Maybe the issue is more with our attitude as a nation than with amounts of money.

Let me know your thoughts and we can continue the discussion.

Philip Russell

First Blog

Test Run!!