Tavares, FL June 5, 2017
Updated June 6 - Link added below to Orlando Sentinel article, and references to "Schools of Hope" Florida bill, plus response posted on Facebook by Board member Kristi Burns.
Will the Lake County School District slowly fade away from charter school competition, or will they become more competitive and attract more students?
That is the single BIG question discussed at today's morning workshop of the Lake County Florida School Board.
After a two hour discussion the Board asked the Superintendent to return in July with an aggressive plan to address the critical funding and competitive issues below.
(Note: The other agenda item on approving a new charter school's agreement is not covered here).
The Board and many invited School staff heard sobering news from visiting consultant Jim Hamilton on how future Florida State funding will stay static for at least three years, and how they could start losing schools to a new "School of Hope" ( see referenced links at bottom of this page) program enforced by the state. Hamilton had worked with Superintendent Kornegay before at Clay County and was a former Chief of Staff of Hillsborough County Schools (Tampa). In the School of Hope program, the State will apparently replace low performing schools with an independent charter school, and some Florida county school districts have lost several schools.
Hamilton's presentation, and written report are available on the Lake County School District agenda website page HERE.
The video of the June 5, 2017 meeting is on the School District YouTube Channel HERE.
Hamilton's key points indicating major cost reductions were needed to fund actions to compete with charter schools include:
- Florida legislative leaders are pushing for more parental "school choice" and funding for charter schools to compete with County schools. Charter schools don't have to follow school district salary, benefit and spending "standards".
- Even lottery revenues shared with schools are dropping.
- The School District has NO authority to increase revenues to correct revenue shortages.
- From the height of the economy in 2007-2008 to the bottom in 2011-2012, the District lost $37-million in state revenue but still has a growing student population while not fully reducing expenses to the same level as revenues.
- Mandated cost increases (like union negotiated wage increases, pensions, and benefits) will eat up the existing funds and the reserve funds are gone.
- Either the School District must become more competitive than charter and external education choices, or wither away as they siphon students and related revenues away.
- "Generating necessary levels of reductions in expenditures may require the elimination of significant numbers of personnel units sustained through the recession (i.e. administrative staff), maintained after the expiration of grants, issued in numbers beyond the revenue generated, or not recovered when students exited the system for other educational options.
- The need for Lake County Schools to be more competitive with charter schools and to become a "Destination Site" for parents and students. (i.e. be more attractive than charter schools or nearby County schools).
- The US is the ONLY country left with a 1900's agriculture based school schedule where students are off for three months. We have 180 day school years and other countries have 200 or 220 day school years.
There are a lot of details in the agenda attachments or video linked above.
Some of the key actions specified by Hamilton and Supt. Kornegay include:
- Initiate quickly a pilot for low performing schools and in one "feeder pattern" to extend the school year to 11 months, with longer days, and possibly even Saturday classes for students needing to improve. Research models have shown that 11 month schedules are more successful since students don't lose knowledge from a 3-month summer break.
- Reduce unproven but "nice to have" or traditional programs like CBT (Computer Based Training) that are not justified.
- Ensure "everyone is committed" to becoming more competitive, which means staff, teachers, parents & students.
- Be better than the "Schools of Hope" which apparently are well researched and successful in other locations.
- Determine what LCSD will give up in order to become competitive.
- "It is time to start very real and very hard conversations".
- Develop creating scheduling and ideas at High Schools, which some Principals have advocated.
- Stop the notion of using more people and programs to fix school results.
The result is Kornegay will return to the Board with an action plan by Monday, July 17.
My Opinion:
- We absolutely have a great School Superintendent, Diane Kornegay, who could lead improvements in competitive position. But becoming competitive depends upon the willingness of the Board, staff, teachers, unions, parents and students to support her action plans. That is the tough change that is needed.
- One item on the table is the raising of a local tax through a referendum, but why do it if much of the funding goes to pay for higher pension and benefit costs without an existing track record?
- Will the Unions balk and not be flexible which could kill everything since there is no "free money" to pay for longer schedules or needed initiatives. My big issue is that they are pricing the school district out of contention with charter schools due to the constantly growing work rules, pension and benefit promises where employees are not asked to contribute a larger percentage like private firms or non-government retirees. For instance, why expect the taxpayer or retirees to fund a 6% increase in pension or health insurance costs when social security recipients only are getting 1/3 of ONE percent increase this year? At today's meeting, consultant Hamilton did mention that the school board already was planning to fund higher pension and health insurance spending without actions to reduce the employer/taxpayer funded share.
- Three or more members of the Board are Union supporters, which means they could face tough decisions that limit competiveness.
- Several years ago, the unions pushed through class size rules. Now that might box them in if charter schools don't have to meet that restriction.
- In my opinion, since the Unions have stacked the School Board with low management experienced, but well meaning Board members, they may not have the "gravitas" to lead the community in funding or cooperating in an aggressive plan. Apparently St. John's County is a "destination" education county and there is another one. But it will take higher experienced, connected community members to lead the charge - similar to initiatives to renew the County Penny Tax. Are there enough such people in Lake County?
- But, if the above issues can be worked out, and the District is able to create a successful pilot feeder system (elementary feeds middle feeds high schools) where all schools are at least B schools and 90% graduate, then it is possible to raise more funding and Lake County will be the winner and a competitive destination school system. Taxpayers THEN would support better wages or benefits to achieve a winner status. To be PAID as high performers, School District employees would need to achieve measurable, verifiable deadline based performance metrics vs charters to justify it.
Vance Jochim
FiscalRangers.com
Further Commentary posted by Christie Folker by Lake County Board member Kristi Burns on the above meeting on the "Lake County Against Common Core" Facebook page:
For those concerned about the article in the Daily Commercial.
From Kristi Burns:
Yesterday the school board met for a workshop discussion. A splashy headline about Lake Schools moving to 11 months a year and longer days was released. I do not feel that this was a fair headline or covers what was discussed. I will try to clarify.
First, legislative cuts will make our finances very tight. Second, the legislature is about to approve the 'schools of hope' program in which they are paying charter operators to move within 5 miles of failing schools and open charter schools with extra funding and no zoning restrictions. We must be able to compete with this and the expanding voucher programs if we want to have public education in Lake County. Finally, the new Superintendent and the Board are working hard to improve our public schools.
The goals the Superintendent set are:
1.) No school with a grade less than a B.
2.) Eliminate 3rd grade retention.
3.) Increase job readiness via vocational skills starting in middle school.
4.) Increase options for college bound students. Our goal is to help them excel by increasing dual enrollment at schools and other high level options, like AP and creating college academies. This way kids can graduate with AA degrees or other certifications.
5.) Accelerate preK learning opportunities.
Transforming our schools, so that they will attract new businesses and better serve our communities will be hard. With next to no increased funds we will have hard choices to make.
We STARTED a discussion on ideas that might help and this COULD include:
1. A longer elementary school day, by 1 hour, which would allow for more character building, art, science, discussion/project-based learning etc. This is just an IDEA right now based on some research.
2. Optional, enriching Saturday schools that would have art, social studies, science, and tutoring for students who need it.
3. A longer school year, which is used in SOME countries that perform well.
4. Starting all of this in only 1-2 elementary schools as a pilot.
5. Returning to block scheduling or a modified block schedule in the high schools.
6. This would be a part of bargaining with Lake County school employees. (Ed - This is what could torpedo the plan)
Possible cuts included:
1. Re-purposing people into classrooms instead of hiring new recruits which would cut costs.
2. Large cuts to computer based programs which cost hundreds of thousands. This would be a cut in local testing since these programs test kids regularly.
3. Other ideas not yet fleshed out.
Superintendent Kornegay is listening and strongly believes in doing things with people and not to people. She is STARTING a discussion with the board and YOU! This is a new beginning. Please continue to talk, write, and discuss this with us and with her. You are a part of this conversation.
Nothing has been decided or voted on and no final plan has even been presented. (Kornegay said she would return with a plan in Mid-June or July - Ed)
References:
Schools of Hope - the first articles describe the Florida House and Senate bills moving through legislation, and the last link is to the actual bill that will be effective July 1 unless Gov. Scott vetos it:
“There are kids within an hour’s drive of where we’re sitting that are in an environment that gives them no hope,” Clearwater Republican Rep. Chris Latvala said during a House Education Committee meeting in Tallahassee this week. “It’s already been proven that giving them more money in that classroom doesn’t fix the problem. We have to completely change the way we do things and have a new approach.”
March 31, 2017 - Miami Herald - "Are Schools of Hope a solution to perpetually failing public schools"
Orlando Sentinel Apr. 17, 2017 - Florida House approves School of Hope program
Apr. 19, 2017 - Miami Herald - "Florida Senate’s version of ‘schools of hope’ prioritizes help for traditional schools"
May 2, 2017 - Jacksonville TV 4 - "'Schools of Hope' bill puts 3 Duval County schools at risk of shutting down"
May 8, 2017 - Florida Bill CS/HB 7069 "Education" - was "Engrossed and Enrolled" which means it is effective July 1, 2017 unless Gov. Scott repeals it, which is a possibility. It is the latest version and sets aside $419-million to subsidize charter schools in the Schools of Hope program and related costs.
