ECHOES
Issue 8 May 2012
The Independent Voice of Abraham Lincoln High School
Council Bluffs, Iowa
District facing steep budget cuts, tough decisions for upcoming year “What do you think about the budget cut?”
Photo By Hayley Hochstetler
“Unfortunately, education is a business. I just hope it doesn’t affect the kids.” -Mike McIntosh, English Teacher
ALechoes.com
What’s Inside:
SENIOR SECTION
“Every sport should have a certain amount of money sponsored to them,” -Taylor Volentine ‘13
Every year around this time the school district discusses the upcoming year’s budget. The reason for school budgets is so a school district can have a plan for the upcoming year on the district’s funding and spending. A proposal of the school district’s budget for a general fund of $99.8 million has been approved for the 2012-13 school year. Last year, the board approved a budget for the district of $96 million. The budget may seem to be a confusing and complicated subject but there are some important pieces of information about the budget both students and staff members need to know. “There are a lot of external forces that impact what school districts can and cannot do,” Martha Bruckner, District Superintendent said. “The state legislature decides what student funding schools get each year. Students probably need to understand that there are many aspects of the budget that are not under our control. Students who may question the budget need to know that we don’t have unilateral control over the
amount of funding that we receive.” Schools get an allowable growth funding that is supposed to offset inflation. This means if schools have more students than the previous year, they receive more money, however if the school district has fewer students than the previous year, they will receive less funding. With less funding, the school district needs to figure out where to make budget cuts. “School districts are almost always trying to figure out where to cut (in the budget),” Bruckner said. “There have been many increases in prices, including more for the cost of gas, busing, paper, and electricity.” According to the Daily Nonpareil, the Council Bluffs school board has approved a $42,800 study that is expected to help the district determine enrollment trends, school capacities and possible changes in school boundaries. The money to fund the study will come from the general fund. With the board approving this, this means research company can begin to collect information such as school district student data and attendance areas. Building tours and
interviews would begin in June, the enrollment report would be ready in August and by early September. District administrators hope to have a couple options such as keeping all facilities open while looking for ways to maximize their use or consolidating and perhaps closing a facility to maximize efficiency. Not only does the district have decisions on where money will be spent and how it will be spent based on how much funding is provided, the schools within the district also have some decisions too. Schools within the district are given a certain amount of money and it is up to the school where the money will be distributed. “The budget is pretty complicated. It’s not like a checking or savings account,” Principal Todd Barnett said. “It’s not one big pot of money that is evenly divided. The budget is set at the beginning of the year and each school is given an amount and it’s up to the school where the money will go. There are two accounts, a general account for the academic area and an activity account for activities such as football, soccer, and track.”
When it comes to funding for school districts there are different levels where people want to address budget issues. On the federal government level, there was a “Super Committee” that was formed to address many budget issues one being to make appropriate spending cuts on higher education. “Remember when the federal government was trying to have a ‘super committee’ find national budget cuts,” Bruckner said. “The committee failed in its mission. If they don’t find the cuts in specific areas, schools across the nation may end up with cuts of eight to sixteen percent in January, for all federal programs except the school lunch program. That would affect services to special needs children and to schools that serve many children from poverty. The impact on our school district would be noticeable, unless Congress finds another solution.” On the community level, the school district is talking about a way that would try and minimize cuts in the future.
See Budget, Page 3
PAGE
By Lauren Myers Entertainment Editor
6 7 11
PAGE
“The hotel fee is the only thing tennis has all year, so it should be covered by the school,” -Ryan Knootz ‘13
&
Students deal with Body image problems on a daily basis. Read more about how to deal and cope.
Lancers moving to Ralston to play in new arena.