Richland 2 Supt. Steve Hefner visited us today to talk about the $300 million dollar bond referendum that will be in front of voters on Nov. 4. More about that later. While he was here, I asked him about Jim Rex’s idea of letting districts go to four-day school weeks to save money.
He had some strong objections, which you can hear by viewing the video clip above, taken in our boardroom.
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Dr. Hefner makes perfect sense on the issue.
And in case Mr. Rex hadn’t noticed, gas prices have dropped to their lowest level in months.
This shows how much administration must handle that is hidden from the general public. The programs he cites have to be run by someone. The money must come from somewhere.
It also shows the competing voices that they must juggle.
It’s not as simple as throwing some teachers into a classroom with a chalk board as many school choice advocates seem to suggest.
Is anyone still puzzled about why some folks who can’t afford private schools move from Richland 1 to Richland 2? Show them this video.
Why doesn’t Richland County make the first step and consolidate into a single school district?
Unfortunately, all the growth in Richland 2 is on the verge of sending the district downward. The bond referendum is a symptom of the disease. Wait til they try and find good teachers to fill all those new schools. We already have seen the impact at the high school level.
Doug, you asked about CT vs SC. In CT, aside from Hartford, the school districts are smaller and centered around towns. The vast majority have only 1 or 2 high schools.
I find it ironic that SC is supposed to be conservative and anti-government while the northeast is for liberal and pro big government. Sandford and Ross, the Libertarians, want districts consolidated into larger districts which is the opposite of CT – interesting.
R2 wants nothing to do with R1.
The four-day week is one of those simplistic solutions that sounds good, but the logistics make it unworkable. Perhaps in smaller districts that don’t have the richness of programs that the district offers it can be managed, but not in a district of the size and complexity of RSD2.
Randy E. said It’s not as simple as throwing some teachers into a classroom with a chalk board as many school choice advocates seem to suggest.
Thank you (from a teacher) for your support. (Although we no longer have chalkboards in District 2–they are all whiteboards now, and most classrooms have SmartBoards (Interactive whiteboards)).
Norm,
Would you trade in your Smartboard for an equivalent bump in your salary over the next five years?
It’s a little depressing to see many of those Smartboards lit up at night after school is over… and thinking I’m paying the electric bill.
Norm, you are welcome (from a teacher recently of R2 himself). The chalkboard reference was figurative.
I am a parent and former teacher, and Dr. Hefner addressed all the points that made the blood drain from my face when I first read of this proposal. He is seeing this from the presepctives of students, teachers, and families, not just dollars.
hey brad, way to go, just replace the most talked about parts of your blog with what you think is important, never mind that this blog only has 9 comments for this one and 8 comments on the other, and the ones about ACORN and the election have 74, 40, 56 adn 52 comments. Gotta try to disuade the masses right???
Uhm, Dave…the threads on the election are still THERE! You betcha. 😉
Why can’t the schools pay cash as they go?
They could get the real estate developers who are demanding new schools to build the new schools themselves. Apportion the cost of the schools into the price of the house, along with the costs of streets and sewers.
randy e
yes they are still there but not at the top of on the front page, seeing as they are the most commented on they should stay there until another topis pushes them down,,,
Lee,
You asked “Why can’t the schools pay cash as they go?” The simple answer is the real estate developers have made sure that there are laws prohibiting real estate developers from having to pay to build the new schools as well as the costs of streets and sewers.
I’m just taking a wild azz guess here, one chalk board – $50, box of chalk – $3, eraser – $3; one smart board – $500, notebook to hook up to smart board &1500. How many classrooms would that be? It’s a ‘wonder of the world’ I learned anything at all. However, I am looking for a really slick attorney; I want to sue my 3rd grade teacher, elementary school and district, for as punishment; made me clean erasers. Oh I can breath fine, but that doesn’t matter. Just the very fact that I was exposed to, heaven forbid, chalk dust. Why not go ahead and require that every child have a notebook, printer, and a wireless card. The district can pay for it. You need more money.
Fargo51,
Hate to send you into sticker shock, but you may want to multiply your estimate (one smart board – $500) by at least a factor of five. My understanding was when they first started rolling the smartboards out, they cost somewhere around $10K each but that was several years ago.
I’m not a financial officer or privy to the costs in any way, but I’ve been told that the SmartBoards are about $1000 each, as is the projector that we use with them. They attach to any desktop computer–they don’t require a laptop. So maybe $2000, more or less. All classrooms have computers.
Would I trade my SmartBoard for $2000 in salary? Probably not. If you distribute the cost of the board over the number of years I expect to continue teaching, the salary increase would be minimal. It is a useful tool–much better than a chalkboard and chalk (although I was able to teach with those tools as well). All technology is simply a tool, and the more the tools we use mimic what’s in use in “the real world”, the more authentic and valuable the education we supply our students becomes.
@Doug,
I agree with you about boards and computers being left on. I am an energy miser (ask my children how cold the house has to get before I turn on the heat pump), and I have my school computers plugged into outlet strips so I can interrupt the phantom flow of energy when I leave at the end of the day. (I paid for those strips myself, by the way–no tax dollars involved.)
Unfortunately, I have forgotten on occasion and left my computer on over a weekend (but never my SmartBoard projector). The HVAC system is controlled by timers from a central location. Could there be a system to shut down lights and outlets as well, I wonder? Considering the size of the district, it would seem practical to me.
Nice thoughts regarding election , election is part of life
Christena
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