Jan
30
2008
Portland Schools Exceed Budget by $ 1.7 Million
Posted by admin in Middle School Article, tags: Energy Costs, Federal Mandates, Health Insurance Costs, Health Insurances, Maine Department Of EducationSuperintendent of Portland Public Schools, Mary Jo O’Connor announced that the Portland Schools have exceeded their $81.7 budget by about 2%. This is despite $500,000 in cuts made in May of 2006. O’Connor explained that the increased spending was due to factors beyond the control of Portland Schools officials.
Unavoidable Increases for Portland Schools
O’Connor stated that the deficit was “regrettable but unavoidable”. Federal and state education mandates, increased utility costs, and collective bargaining agreements were cited as causes of the huge deficit. Portland Schools has seen significant increases in energy costs and health insurance costs since the budget was first approved. Portland Schools say that all looked good with the budget until the end of May 2007, when forecasts projected the year-end deficit. What happened?
In the fall of 2006 the Portland Schools approved the hiring of over 7 new Special Education positions to fulfill state and federal mandates. Also, in November the Portland Schools Committee approved a collective bargaining contract at 3%, rather than the projected 2.5%. The figures show that Portland Schools spent an additional $625,000 meeting the Special Education requirements. That number includes transportation services and out-of-district fees. The collective bargaining increases added an extra $675,000 to the Portland Schools budget. Electricity increases, higher than expected bus maintenance, and increased health insurances costs added up to $625,000. Finally, the cost of purchasing software to comply with updated standards from the Maine Department of Education added $80,000 to the Portland Schools budget. Balanced with under spent funds the district ended up overspending about $1.7 million.
Mandates Cause Deficit for Portland Schools
The Portland Schools have been challenged to use existing funds to meet No Child Left Continue Reading
Jan
27
2008
Orlando Schools Make Plans for the 2006-2007 School Year
Posted by admin in Middle School Article, tags: Additional Schools, Better Management, Different Times, Early August, Orlando SchoolsChanges for the 2006-2007 School Year
Orlando Schools has made several changes that will go into effect this fall. The first official day of school in the Orlando Schools is August 7th. This school year’s students attendance for the Orlando Schools has increased by around 4,000 students to 181,210 total students. This increase in enrollment has prompted Orlando Schools to open nine additional schools. The nine schools added to handle the new students are three middle schools and six elementary schools. In addition to the opening of the new schools, Orlando Schools will divide the South Learning Community into Southwest and Southeast learning communities. This division will allow better management of resources and help address the needs of the students. New legislation that will affect next the 2007-2008 school year was also passed. Starting then, the school year will start no sooner than two weeks before Labor Day which is a change to the usual early August start that allowed the semester to end before Orlando Schools’ winter break.
Orlando Schools First Days of School
For the second school year Orlando Schools is holding the First Days of School event. This is an event that is held at every school in the Orlando Schools district. Parents and students need to contact their school because each school will hold events at different times throughout the week leading up to August 7th. So instead of a single day, many schools will have an entire week of events.
Orlando Schools Help Students Get Ready for the 2006-2007 School Year
Orlando Schools has teamed up with the Apopka Chamber of Commerce and A.C.T.I.O.N. to help low-income students in the. They will work together to collect school supplies for students in need. Their aim is to have all students in the Apopka area have the tools they need to begin the new school year. This year’s program is called Continue Reading