Want Strong Schools? Take the Budget Survey!
Heidi Gilman Bennett
ACPS is gathering citizen input now on the school division budget for the 2023-2024 school year. Don’t let your eyes glaze over … this fall is when it’s most important to share your priorities for our schools! Seriously, the “community engagement” happens in Oct/Nov … starting in December, the budget is in the hands of the school board & county.
The ACPS Budget Survey is available through Tues Nov 22. Do It Now.
Examples of how your citizen input matters:
Instructional Staffing – Do you care about maintaining small class sizes? Having enough reading interventionists to actually serve all students who are struggling? Did you know that math interventionists were eliminated from past budgets because they were not considered a priority? What about TAs in classrooms? Salary, wages and benefits comprise most of the budget.
More Staffing – Should we pay competitive salaries so that we can hire and retain bus drivers? (Yes!) Did you know the social-emotional and mental health counselor funding won’t continue unless it’s specifically prioritized? Haven’t heard about substitute teacher challenges this year? That was a budget priority last year.
School Buildings – Facilities are funded in a separate county budget (not school district)... which makes it harder to get our very-old buildings upgraded. The district is proposing a comparison study to make the case more clear. Good, right?
Some interesting community-generated ideas appear on the survey… what do you think? If they’re not aligned to your priorities, say so! If you care about something else, note that.
WiFi on the long school bus rides
More after-school “enrichment” (or how about basic childcare?) or tutoring
High school career pathways
Adaptive playground equipment for all physical abilities
Books for diverse home libraries
Hall monitors for increased safety & discipline
Care closets with essentials for families in need
If you like numbers & details, check out the current budget. Here’s the full budget calendar for both schools and county.