Red Ink


Articles Dante Alighieri Arthur Dent Jesus Jones Thomas Paine Other Authors Contact Us! Letter to the Editor Dante Alighieri Arthur Dent Jesus Jones Thomas Paine	Red Ink Arthur Dent The State budget is a mess. There's a multi-billion dollar shortfall (at least $21 billion), and funding for everything must be cut. The schools are going to take a hit, and a big hit at that. The government has yet to agree how much of a hit, but no matter: we cannot afford to wait to see how deep in debt we'll be. The district is beginning to make its cuts now. In fact, our School Board has already approved $1.4 million in cuts. Top of the list and affecting TN the most: $121,600 for bussing, $25,000 for athletics at TN alone, $100,000 for Adult School ("night school") and $50,000 for textbooks district-wide. Gone. So what does that mean? For starters, we really don't know. The PE department is reeling from the deep cuts in its program, and we have no idea how they're going to shave tens of thousands of dollars from a program which has been running a bare-bones operation for years. One can assume that some sports, probably those which cost the most and raise the least money, will be cut. It's too soon to tell. With the reduction in the Adult School budget, night school classes are no longer an option for high school students. That means that if you are down on credits and were counting on taking a night school class to catch up, forget it. Those of you who have been failing classes, I'd start getting at least a D- because summer school could be cut next. As far as the $121,600 for bussing, that will directly affect TN students who come "over the hill" from Brisbane and Daly City. Although Brisbane generously contributes to keep busses running, a majority of the money comes directly from the district. At least it used to. Next year, it's gone. Hope you have your driver's license. The school board approved Superintendent Crilly's entire $1.4 million slate of cuts, proclaiming this list represents a "worst case scenario," and that if, by some miracle, we don't wind up having to cut everything, some of the approved cuts will be rescinded. However, with the State in such a mess, I wouldn't count on it. And there's still another $730,000 left to "trim," but don't worry, students: the teachers are going to take the hit on that one.	Archive Back Issues Why? Cartoons Poetry Random Rants Disclaimers Losers and Kudos of the Week Letters to the Editor Editor's Notes Picture of the Week
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Arthur Dent

The State budget is a mess. There's a multi-billion dollar shortfall (at least $21 billion), and funding for everything must be cut. The schools are going to take a hit, and a big hit at that. The government has yet to agree how much of a hit, but no matter: we cannot afford to wait to see how deep in debt we'll be. The district is beginning to make its cuts now. In fact, our School Board has already approved $1.4 million in cuts. Top of the list and affecting TN the most: $121,600 for bussing, $25,000 for athletics at TN alone, $100,000 for Adult School ("night school") and $50,000 for textbooks district-wide. Gone.

So what does that mean? For starters, we really don't know. The PE department is reeling from the deep cuts in its program, and we have no idea how they're going to shave tens of thousands of dollars from a program which has been running a bare-bones operation for years. One can assume that some sports, probably those which cost the most and raise the least money, will be cut. It's too soon to tell. With the reduction in the Adult School budget, night school classes are no longer an option for high school students. That means that if you are down on credits and were counting on taking a night school class to catch up, forget it. Those of you who have been failing classes, I'd start getting at least a D- because summer school could be cut next. As far as the $121,600 for bussing, that will directly affect TN students who come "over the hill" from Brisbane and Daly City. Although Brisbane generously contributes to keep busses running, a majority of the money comes directly from the district. At least it used to. Next year, it's gone. Hope you have your driver's license.

The school board approved Superintendent Crilly's entire $1.4 million slate of cuts, proclaiming this list represents a "worst case scenario," and that if, by some miracle, we don't wind up having to cut everything, some of the approved cuts will be rescinded. However, with the State in such a mess, I wouldn't count on it. And there's still another $730,000 left to "trim," but don't worry, students: the teachers are going to take the hit on that one.