Extra money benefits USD 250 |
The 2005-2006 school year looked like it was going to be another bleak one for Pittsburg USD 250. The district had endured several consecutive lean years, and were now depending on the Kansas Supreme Court to give districts an influx of money, and fast. The situation was far from unique, and like other districts throughout the state, USD 250 officials were overjoyed with the news that the court was upping the ante. USD 250's portion of the bill was close to $1.5 million, something that would allow the district to address several problems. "This is wonderful news for the community," Darcy Baldonado, USD 250 treasurer, said at the time. "It's great news for the district as well. We were able to make some much needed payments to staff and lower the mill rate at the same time." The first to benefit was district staff. Teachers and classified personnel received a 6 percent increase in pay for the next year, while administrative employees would receive a 4.75 percent hike. About $40,000 went toward before- and after-school programming. "We added back some positions that we had lost over the past four years because of budget cuts," said USD 250 Superintendent Gary Price. "They were in various areas. We were also able to make some capital expenditures that we had put off. Probably the largest chunk of it was in salaries. So it was a big boost to us in several areas." But while much of the money that went into the classroom was poured into supplies such as computers, furniture and textbooks, even more went into renting more time for the most important asset in a school - the children. The teaching agreement included a 30-minute extension of the school day. Classes started 10 minutes earlier, ended 15 minutes later, and the students' lunch was streamlined to 25 minutes. Lunches through the district were previously about 30 minutes, depending on the school. "We don't have much feedback yet from the high school and the middle school because they're still experimenting with how they want to use the extra time," Price said. "They are going to try some things throughout the school year and see what works. At the elementary level, they've just added it to their regular day and they've said that it's given them the time to put back in some things that they had taken out." That 30 minutes per day would add up to 1,125 hours during the 13 years between kindergarten and senior year of high school - the equivalent of an extra year of school time. "When the day was shorter, we had to drop some things so that we could emphasize reading and math, special things we've liked to do in their classroom," Price said. "The overwhelming response from them is that their day is better for kids because they don't feel as rushed and they can teach all the things they want to teach. It's a lot of the fun things." Price and Baldonado both acknowledged that a more permanent solution was needed in the long term, but in terms of the present, it helped USD 250 catch up on some things and add new programs that Price said he hopes will benefit the district in the long term. "We were very excited to be able to add an extra year and add some of the other things that we did," Price said. "It gave us immediate help." The Morning Sun, (www.morningsun.net) November 11, 2005 |
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