On Monday, November 19th, CCPS Superintendent Steve Guthrie joined Commissioner Howard's Town Hall meeting to provide the South Carroll community with an update regarding the school system budget. The group was given a comprehensive overview including statistics on school enrollment, capital and operating expenses and the budget outlook taking several scenarios into consideration as well as the future of the Utilization Study. The school system is currently looking to hire an independent organization with expertise in reviewing school building capacity and usage.
Bottom Line: Mr. Guthrie is expecting anywhere between a $3-8 million reduction in next year's (FY14) budget. Much of it depends on the State legislature (state revenues) and the local Commissioners - several of whom have expressed a desire to reduce the current budgeted amount (local dollars). While no specific areas were cited, Mr. Guthrie indicated that should the school system's budget be reduced to Maintenance of Effort (MOE), it could mean eliminating up to 50 teaching positions. As he has stated on many occasions, all other areas have been cut to the core and any further cuts would begin to have a direct impact on student achievement.
IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO VIEW THE INFORMATION PROVIDED AT THE MEETING, PLEASE EMAIL KELLI OR ERIN FOR A COPY OF MR. GUTHRIE'S PRESENTATION.
Thank you!
KELLI NELSON
belle2gabby@yahoo.com
ERIN BISHOP
senbish@msn.com
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Superintendent to be featured at next So. Carr. Town Hall mtg - November 19th
Dear Eldersburg/Sykesville Residents:
Commissioner Howard will be hosting his second Town Hall Meeting at the South Carroll Senior Center on Monday, November 19th at 7pm. The featured guest speaker this month is Superintendent Stephen Guthrie who will be speaking about the challenges facing Carroll County Public Schools both fiscal and academic.
The meeting’s format will be similar to last month’s with the guest speaker and then an update from Commissioner Howard, followed by open questions and comments.
Everyone is invited, so please spread the word. If you’re a member of an organization located in the area, please forward this invitation to your members.
Commissioner Howard hopes that everyone will be able to attend.
Best regards,
Roberta Windham, Esq.
Carroll County Commissioners' Office
225 North Center Street
Westminster, Maryland 21157
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Town Hall Meeting (in Westminster) Tonight!
Press Release
Release Date: 9/24/2012 9:04:24 AM
Board President and Superintendent to Host Town Meeting
Board President Jennifer Seidel and Superintendent Stephen Guthrie will be hosting a town meeting on Tuesday, October 16, 2012, at 7 p.m. at West Middle School, located at 60 Monroe Street in Westminster.
The purpose of the meeting is to create an open dialogue with parents and the community. Members of the community are invited to attend and address their concerns or ask questions regarding education topics and issues. The meeting is intended to be an open forum; however, depending on the number of participants the time for each speaker may be limited.
Not all Commissioners pleased with BoE meeting results; still want schools closed or threaten funding
Below is a link to the video of last Thursday’s Open Session of the
Board of Commissioners meeting. During
the discussion related to the previous night’s School Board meeting, two of the
four Commissioners present (Commissioner Frazier was absent) make it very clear
of their intent to reduce school system funding to Maintenance of Effort
(MOE) given that the school system failed to act on closing one or more facilities. This will have a devastating
impact on the school system’s operating budget.
The discussion related to the school board meeting, school capacity and school system funding begins 1 hr/45 mins into
the Commissioner’s meeting. It is a
lengthy discussion.
BOTTOM LINE: Certain members of the Board of Commissioners
seem determined in their assertion that the school system should identify one
or more schools to close as a means of identifying “inefficiencies as it
relates to capacity”. It is also clear that if the school system does not
identify one or more schools to close, certain Commissioners have every intention of reducing the school system’s operating budget – this would result in massive
cuts across the entire system over the next five year period!
Thursday, October 11, 2012
No school closures named during Board presentation
October 11, 2012
Kelli Nelson
As you can imagine, last night's Board of Education meeting was intense, to say the very least. It is hard for me to be objective in recapping the events of last night. It is accurate that the Superintendent, Mr. Guthrie, did not propose any school closings. However, he, along with several members of the Board of Education and Commissioner Howard do feel an independent, third-party review/study is still necessary.
I would encourage everyone to watch the re-broadcast of the Board meeting (either on Cable TV or via the school system's website: www.carrollk12.org). If you can only listen to or view part of the discussion(s), I encourage you to watch the first 20 minutes of the meeting, which includes an impassioned speech from Mr. Guthrie, along with a detailed explanation of the current budget situation and various financial scenarios as we move forward.
Bottom line(s):
- THE "FIGHT" HAS JUST BEGUN! If we - residents, parents, teachers AND students - do not weigh in and stay vigilant during the upcoming budget process, our schools facilities will continue to be targeted.
- If we do not express our concerns and views directly to ALL five of the Commissioners, several are likely to continue calling for school closures as a way to offset costs.
- If we do not tell them exactly how we feel about our schools and the education of our students on behalf of our school system, several of the Commissioners may continue to call for reductions in the upcoming school system budget (back to M.O.E.) which will mean DRASTIC changes in the education of our students.
- If we think we're "safe" and "relax" now that Liberty High School was not named for closure, WE WILL BE RIGHT BACK HERE NEXT YEAR!
Continue to speak out and stay informed. This is far from over.
Board of Education hears facility study report, superintendent does not release school closure options - Carroll County Times: Local
Board of Education hears facility study report, superintendent does not release school closure options - Carroll County Times: Local: As Assistant Superintendent of Administration Jonathan O’Neal got to the school closure options portion of the Comprehensive Facility Utilizat…
Board of Ed Halts Facilities Study, No Schools Suggested for Closure
Board of Ed Halts Facilities Study, No Schools Suggested for Closure
http://eldersburg.patch.com/articles/board-of-ed-halts-facilities-study-no-school-suggested-for-closure?ncid=newsltuspatc00000001
When it came time to announce options for schools to be closed, Superintendent Steve Guthrie said "I am not going to name any schools tonight."
http://eldersburg.patch.com/articles/board-of-ed-halts-facilities-study-no-school-suggested-for-closure?ncid=newsltuspatc00000001
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Commissioner Howard clarifies position on school closings
Commissioner Howard Clarifies Position on Closing
Schools, Education Funding
Commissioner Doug Howard makes his position clear in response to an article posted on Patch yesterday.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
CCPS Enrollment Projections Report
CCPS Enrollment Projections Report (December 2011)
http://www.carrollk12.org/Assets/file/School_Facilities/Enrollment%20Projections/Complete%20Document/Complete%20Document.pdf
Enrollment numbers and per pupil spending
October 9, 2012
A breakdown of the numbers – This information
was obtained from Carroll County Public Schools. An update on these figures and other data
will be presented at tomorrow evening’s Board of Education meeting.
________________________________________
In 2005, CCPS total school system
enrollment was 28,194 FTE students. In
2011, the enrollment declined to 26,838.
In other words, the system lost a total of 1,356 students over a seven
year period.
The breakdown in student enrollment over seven years is as follows:
·
Elementary schools gained 192 students;
·
Middle schools lost 741 students;
and
·
High schools lost a total of 815 students
Currently, the total student
enrollment compared to total building capacity across our system is 87%
utilization using 100% of total building capacity for students.
How many open seats exist?
·
Elementary schools have 1,721 seats
open across 23 schools,
·
Middle schools have 683 seats open
across 9 schools, and
·
High schools have 1,637 seats open
over 8 schools
Will this decline continue?
CCPS student enrollment projections
show that over the next five years we will continue to lose an average of 250
students a year. Enrollment projections show flat growth for a couple of years,
and then we begin to experience an increase in student enrollments of about 200
students a year for the rest of the cycle. Of course, all of these numbers
could change dramatically if the housing market rebounds and we begin to
experience a positive migration into the county.
How does student enrollment break down to individual schools?
How does student enrollment break down to individual schools?
Currently, if you eliminate capacity
of the building that is dedicated for special education students and not available
for other programs:
·
Eight schools have student
enrollments that are over 100% of the building’s capacity,
·
Eleven schools have enrollments
between 90% and 100% of the school’s capacity,
·
Twelve schools have student
enrollments that are between 80% and 90% of their student capacity,
·
Six schools are between 70% and 80%
of total capacity, and
·
Three schools are less than 70% of
their total capacity
While school enrolment is not
balanced across our system, all schools are operating fine. If we performed a
system-wide redistricting, we would be moving students just to move them.
Below is just one example of costs comparison…
Gerstell
Academy – Spring 2012
Kindergarten $ 15,000
1st – 6th
grades $ 15,860
7th – 8th
grades $ 16,500
9th – 12th
grades $ 17,000
These figures do not include any special education or transportation cost.
Carroll County Public Schools – 2011/2012 school year
Gross Budgeted per pupil (including
special education & transportation costs): $12,455
Per pupil (less special education
costs): $11,072
Per pupil (less transportation
costs): $10,350
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