Effective+education+spending

In the Miami-Dade County Public Schools
===In 2007-8, Miami-Dade County Public Schools was cutting jobs and services while spending an inexplicable 18 thousand dollars per student per year. Please help organize the change we need to get our priorities straight. Post relevant information, materials and comments. Thank you.===
 * //Karen Aronowitz, President of UTD, has called for an audit army.//**
 * //Natasha Alvarez, a MDCPS teacher, offered to help Dr. Rudolph Crew balance his books.//**


 * //Let's help find ways to spend our education dollars wisely.//**

Instructions
Feel free to add your own ideas, links, resources on this page or under 'Discussion'. Just click 'Edit This Page' above or the link for discussion. Add your name, email, or Yahoo! ID for communication purposes if you would like. Thank you.

Page contents
Wish List | MDCPS | Florida | Media coverage | Research

**Nearly 18K spent per student in 2006-7, and 14K in 2009-10. Where is the money?**
__Income__ 2003-04 $4.3 billion 2004-05 $4.7 billion 2005-06 $5.2 billion 2006-07 $6.2 billion 2007-08 $6.3 billion 2008-09 $5.5 billion ([|Dade, Broward schools hope for breaks from lawmakers. Miami Herald, 03-01-09]) 2009-10 $4.8 billion ([|Miami-Dade schools chief's budget plan finds consensus. Miami Herald,]Jul 28, 2009) 2011-12 $3.9 billion http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/07/26/2331645/dade-schools-budget-spares-teacher.html?story_link=email_msg

__Decreasing enrollment__ (DOE) 2002-03: 366,639 2006-07: 349,618 2009-10: 339,971 (05-16-10, http://www.dadeschools.net/StudentEnroll/Calendars/enroll_stats_aor.asp ) 2011-12: 307,833 (August 03, 2011, ibid)

2011-12: 12,670
 * __Spending per student per year ($), according to these figures__**
 * 2006-07: 17.7K**
 * 2009-10: 14,119**
 * Comparison: Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, a highly successful private school with superior facilities and teacher salaries, charges 10K (2008-9)**

[] http://www.linkedin.com/in/ofeliasanpedro http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami-Dade_County_Public_Schools#District_enrollment_breakdown []
 * Additional sources**

[|Dade, Broward schools hope for breaks from lawmakers. Miami Herald, 03-01-09] "Funding for K-12 education took a beating last year, forcing the Miami-Dade district to make more than $300 million in cuts to its $5.5 billion budget."

[|Florida Department of Education] [|Public Schools / Districts] [|Data & Statistics] [|Statewide] [|Enrollment Size of Florida’s Public Schools] [|Profiles of Florida School Districts, Student and Staff Data, 2006-07] (PDF, 2MB)



__Dade__ 2006-2007, FTE? $6865 http://www.nsba.org/site/view.asp?CID=2062&DID=41729 2002 $15,000 per student station for construction in 2002 http://www.dadeschools.net/superintendent/Oppaga/apr/chp9.pdf 2000, FTE? $5484 [|http://www.turnexchange.net/resources/turnstudies/localinitiatives1.attachment/301084/MiamiDade.pdf] __Broward__ 2007-2008, FTE? $6510 http://www.browardschools.com/about/factoids.htm __Munroe__ [|Board member says school spending still too high - Keysnet.com, 07-25-08]

From [|http://www-01.ibm.com/software/success/cssdb.nsf/CS/LWIS-7LPV7Z?OpenDocument&Site=default&cty=en_us]

Published on 24-Nov-2008

** Case Study **
Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is the fourth-largest school district in the U.S. With an annual budget of $6.1 billion, the school system has approximately 350,000 students, 50 ,000 employees, 367 schools and 150 school administrative support sites. The M-DCPS is committed to providing educational excellence for all by providing the highest quality education so that students are empowered to lead productive and fulfilling lives as responsible citizens. In support of its vision, the M-DCPS pursues the highest standards in academic achievement and organizational performance. Here’s from a Reuters article on the SAP boondoggle (word choice born out by the (re)action of the board and San Pedro’s departure in connection to the revelations that the contracts were bloated and possibly rigged: =** Miami-Dade County Public Schools Moves to the Head of the Class With SAP **= Tue May 6, 2008 11:00am EDT  "As the fourth-largest school district in the United States, M-DCPS has 342,000 students, more than 50,000 employees across 850 work locations, and maintains an annual budget of over $6 billion. In today's educational environment, a school system such as M-DCPS needs a current, integrated financial and human resource system in order to improve decision-making and provide accurate and timely data about student academic progress."

This total (over $6 Billion) is operations and capital. Did Evelyn Greer used to hate having to admit the latter part of the budget because it really is surprising to see that number? Now, divide it. I get $ 17836.26 per student (yes, construction and curriculum). Here’s an interesting set of figures which shows that MDCPS is higher than the state average (operations only here) from [|http://www.collinscenter.org/usr_doc/Ed_Spending_Study.pdf] In 2003-04, Florida’s “current expenditures” on education, which consist mostly of day-to-day expenses, amounted to $17.6 billion or $6,931 per student. Current expenditures per student in the five largest districts, which include half of all Florida students, were: Broward County: $6,976 Hillsborough County: $7,156 Miami-Dade County: $7,309 Orange County: $6,914 Palm Beach County: $7,424

Now, let’s look at private schools:

Consider this from the New York Times referencing this study ( Comparing Private Schools and Public Schools Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling [|http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006461] ): Most private schools are not places like Exeter or Dalton. They’re Catholic parochial schools and others on lean budgets. According to federal surveys, the typical private school’s tuition is only about half what a public school spends per pupil. The public schools are spending more even if you exclude their expenses for special education, buses, lunch programs and central administration, as William Howell and Paul Peterson found in a study of New York elementary schools. The political scientists calculated that the public schools were still spending twice as much per pupil as were the Catholic schools in New York. [|http://select.nytimes.com/2006/07/18/opinion/18tierney.html?_r=1] From ([|http://www.edreform.com/index.cfm?fuseAction=document&documentID=665] )
 * Truth in Spending: The Cost Of Not Educating Our Children ||
 * CER Action PaperJune 1, 1998 ||  ||

Public schools should take lessons from private schools. Many private schools are delivering substantially more education for significantly less money than the public schools. Average private school tuition in 1993-1994 was $3,116 (compared to $6,600 for public school students). Other important spending data includes: Some critics claim that private schools can be more effective only because they are selective and attract top-notch students (the so-called creaming myth). The evidence proves otherwise. Urban Catholic schools, with demographic student profiles similar to their neighboring public schools, apply a more rigorous academic program and typically graduate 95% of their students, while traditional public schools graduate slightly more than half with weaker academic programs.
 * Private school tuition averaged $2,200 for elementary schools, $5,500 for secondary schools, and $4,200 for combined-level private schools, according to the most recent comparative figures available from the U.S. Department of Education (1993-1994).
 * Tuition for Catholic–parochial schools, the largest private school system, is even less. Elementary tuition averages $1,572 per year, and $3,699 at the secondary level for a total average tuition of $1,934. And for tuition that's about half the average public school per-pupil cost, private schools expose their students to a more rigorous academic program and graduate a higher percentage of their students, than their public school counterparts.

Interestingly, another state with difficulties reconciling expenditure with testing results is Nevada (from [|http://www.npri.org/publications/quality--quantity] ), Those inclined to make apologies for the shortcomings of the public education system often call for increased funding for public schools. However, Nevada taxpayers have been pursuing such a policy for decades. Inflation-adjusted, per-pupil figures from the National Center for Education Statistics demonstrate that Nevada lawmakers have more than doubled real Nevada public school spending per pupil since the early 1960s.

**Perhaps it is time to change the way we make fiscal decisions**
//School-based management, MDCPS// //Newsbank, 1987, school-based management//

[|NewsBank]
Miami Herald 1983 - Current: Complete full-text content of local and regional news. Noticias En Espanol: Articles in Spanish that cover the United States, Latin America, and the world. Includes a diversity of source types: newspapers, wire services, and periodicals. Articles and interface are in Spanish. //**To access the above resources and links below, school employees, parents and students should contact their school's library/media specialists for the logins and passwords.**//

http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_topdoc=11&p_action=list [|TEACHERS GET A CHANCE TO HELP RUN THEIR SCHOOL]Miami Herald, The (FL) - June 18, 1987 Length: 439 words ( Estimated printed pages: 2) Leslie Vogel, who loves it when her Riviera Junior High students ask her for advice and share their triumphs, has always believed she would make a good counselor. So the journalism, yearbook and drama teacher at the West Dade school will give counseling a try three hours a day beginning in September. "The counseling department here is so overburdened with paper work that they don't have enough student contact," said Vogel, 30. "I never have... [|HOW NORTH DADE SCHOOLS ARE TAKING CONTROL]Miami Herald, The (FL) - May 28, 1987 Length: 249 words ( Estimated printed pages: 1) HORACE MANN MIDDLE SCHOOL 8950 NW Second Ave. Next fall, a leadership council will meet on a regular basis to make decisions about Horace Mann's programs, including the faculty meetings, budget, textbook, curriculum and discipline. "It is a basic ingredient," said Principal Marshall Stearns. "It is part of the whole concept of school- based management: teachers having a greater voice in management." The council also will help... [|TEACHERS TAKE CHARGE FACULTY, PRINCIPALS TO RUN THEIR OWN SCHOOLS]Miami Herald, The (FL) - May 28, 1987 Length: 899 words ( Estimated printed pages: 4) Four Northeast Dade schools will be among the 32 public schools taking part in an educational revolution this fall. In a program that will be watched by school systems nationwide, teachers and principals will run their own schools. Faculty members at Norland and Horace Mann middle schools and North Miami and William Jennings Bryan elementaries will decide how school budgets will be spent, select textbooks, discipline students and decide how classrooms will be run. Up to now, the Dade County... [|HOW NORTH DADE SCHOOLS ARE TAKING CONTROL]Miami Herald, The (FL) - May 28, 1987 Length: 210 words ( Estimated printed pages: 1) NORLAND MIDDLE SCHOOL 1235 NW 192nd Ter. Shared decision-making and school-based management gave Norland a chance to provide more personal instruction and attention and teaming of teachers and students. Teachers and students will be divided into nine teams that will stay together during the day. The same group of teachers will be teaching the same group of approximately 120 students. All teachers will meet for a 40- or 45-minute common planning period in the morning before school... [|EXPERIMENT GIVES TEACHERS MORE SAY IN RUNNING SCHOOLS]Miami Herald, The (FL) - April 16, 1987 Length: 496 words ( Estimated printed pages: 2) Palmetto Elementary School wants Spanish, Berlitz-style. South Miami High wants daily silent reading periods. Bunche Park Elementary wants to hand out report cards more often, and South Dade High wants to set up a code of discipline. Those schools, and 28 others, are taking part in an experiment aimed at giving teachers more say in the way schools are run -- a revolutionary concept known as "school-based management." In January, every public school in Dade County was...

//School decentralization, national// [|http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal;jsessionid=LWFhGDgJflrLZL37B43Q3jPhpGQ0vz2mYYpTQPLmpVq1MVhLYLX4!1391711425?_nfpb=true&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=new+york+school+decentralization&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=kw&_pageLabel=ERICSearchResult&newSearch=true&rnd=1217791322175&searchtype=keyword] http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?_nfpb=true&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=new+york+school+decentralization&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=kw&_pageLabel=ERICSearchResult + request only those with full text


 * While the district is trying to whittle away teacher pay and benefits...**
 * When teachers are told that there is no money for health insurance...**

Sean Beightol has found that employee salaries have been lagging behind inflation for 10 years, and that teachers should be making thousands more than they do now.

In the midst of a national teacher shortage, is Miami-Dade County telling, in effect, experienced teachers to move away, so they can hire inexperienced teachers and import teachers from overseas in an attempt to make up the gap in the workforce?



Do we have 7,000 full-time employees are on the list for food stamps and HUD housing?

[| Florida tax system is nation's second most regressive.pdf]

Have coaching supplements not increased in 25 years?

[|Salary schedule] [|Benefits]
 * Compare Broward salaries and benefits**
 * Broward**


 * Do we need an independent audit?**



[|FL Auditor General final report 04/08]



Shawn Beightol's easier to read summary: [[mhtml:{0B8D7753-6197-410D-9C97-93FA8CE56970}mid://00003397/!x-usc:[|http://shawnbeightol.com/auditlite.htm|http://shawnbeightol.com/auditlite.htm]]]// //His synopsis of the Auditor General's Preliminary Report: **$2,877,092,000 MISMANAGED!**// **See End for Estimated Total Costs//**.

[|Inspector General, Miami-Dade County]

http://mca.dadeschools.net/AuditCommittee/AC_January/Item1.pdf

Beightol has also done [|research on a company called MGT] which can find significant savings with independent audits.

[|Dr. Rudolph Crew on education spending and technology - 09-04-01]

https://extranet.dadeschools.net/reportserver/vendor_check/vendor_checks .rdl?/VENDOR_CHECK/Vendor_Checks&rs:Command=Render or http://checkregister.dadeschools.net/
 * Search cut checks**

"For at least a decade we have been hearing apology from union and district officials about how sorry they are that they cannot deliver dignified, essential cost of living increases in our salaries. Now we realize that this past decade was an oppulent one for entities that levied taxes. For example: 'From FY 2000 – 2006, the cumulative growth rate for property tax levies equaled 70 percent for schools, 80 percent for counties, 98 percent for cities and 110 percent for special taxing districts. Over the same time period personal income grew at only 39 percent and inflation plus population at 32 percent. Rather than returning this windfall tax revenue to Florida taxpayers, local government chose to spend this money at a rate faster than taxpayer's ability to pay.' - http://www.flchamber.com/docs/Coalitions/PropertyTax/LettertoTBRCCommissioners.pdf Or
 * There has been no real estate windfall for teachers:**

We find that the money was there, but that the entities (here, our School Board) chose to squander their 70% increase in revenue on what? The meat and potatoes of education, the teachers and their support? NO! On programs, technology, administrators, every BUT to demonstrate a commitment to investing in the attracting and retaining the highest quality educators this community's money could buy. Heads should roll (Shawn Beightol)."

Notice they say "facing cuts" What does "facing" mean? What do "cuts" mean? To: BOARD MEMBERS; Subject: "Cuts" are merely smaller increases for next year than we expected As I have stated to the board, the so called "cuts" MDCPS' PR department are broadcasting are not losses. On the contrary, MDCPS continues to get millions of dollars MORE from the state each successive year. The only loss is the failure of MDCPS to obtain the $350 MILLION increase over 2 years that they predicated the $40k schedule on. We told them this was a pipe dream. Here's the proof (from [|www.firn.edu/doe/strategy/pdf] ): Operational Budget of MDCPS (not including Capital side of the budget):
 * The MDCPS says that it is facing cuts, but are they instead less than expected increases?**

Please note, except for the '07 data, the data was compiled as a response to the contingency in the contract prior to ratification to attempt to talk sense to those who were voting for it. Gains of $350 Million were NEVER achieved and thus pretty much precluded this contract from being honest. On that basis, and Carvalho's and San Pedro's speeches and slide shows, I would suggest a moral obligation to deliver the step as was insinuated it would be. This is the graphical below (again, produced 1.5 years ago, minus the '07 data): notice the obvious disconnect between historical gains and the necessary gains to achieve the $40k starting salary: http://shawnbeightol.com/MDCPSincreases.htm.mht Regards,
 * Yr || Total State & Local funds || Increase over Previous Year || MILLIONSMORE!!!!! ||
 * 2007 || 2510148766 || 8.09E+07 || $81 ||
 * 2006 || 2429227086 || 1.25E+08 || $125 ||
 * 2005 || 2304505948 || 1.23E+08 || $125 ||
 * 2004 || 2181268205 || 7.85E+07 || $79 ||
 * 2003 || 2102744140 || 1.13E+08 || $113 ||
 * 2002 || 1989427505 || 1.26E+08 || $126 ||
 * 2001 || 1863577957 || 4.68E+06 || $4.7 ||
 * 2000 || 1858899082 ||  ||   ||

Shawn Beightol UTD Designated Steward MKHS


 * Teacher salaries**
 * A review of salary schedules for surrounding districts shows Dade to be clearly behind?
 * Is the average age of teacher in Dade is usually higher, thus higher on the schedule?
 * If we transplanted our teacher population to Manatee, Sarasota, Lee, Collier, Monroe, or even Broward, the resulting average there would be higher than for Dade?
 * Lower population districts are growing faster, adding younger faculty. Their contracts are better, their workforce younger?
 * They care about their communities and quality of education, so they are paying more?


 * Inappropriate budget cuts**
 * Has the district raided principals' O-2 accounts, leaving schols without toliet paper, soap and paper towels?
 * Has MDCPS cut funds from the kids meals?
 * Are ESE kids being used as a fund-raiser for the district?
 * Are social services being cut?


 * General misspending**
 * Miami-Dade has seen a real estate boom over the past 4-5 years. How can the district say that it needs to lay off employees and that there is no money for health insurance? What about the class size amendment? Where has that additional money been spent?
 * Has the district budget doubled in the last 10 years? If so, where is the benefit to its employees?
 * How has School Board revenue increased in comparison to education spending? (See research below)
 * Did the district just find (2/16/08) $48 million in unforecasted funds?
 * Expands magnet programs at the cost of 6 million dollars.
 * Spends millions of dollars on marketing.
 * Allots 1 million extra dollars per school that votes for an 8 period schedule of uncertain benefit.


 * Excessive administrative costs**

> > __Panel discussion with Ana Rivas Logan, School Board member__ > Logan argued that there are too many outside contracts that can be cut before people losing their jobs. > > __Thursday__ > Dr. Crew argued that people who received SUVs deserved them? > Reporter's question: When school board members only make 40K, why don't they get SUVs? > Crew did not respond? > > Same interview mentioned Taz Williams sitting in a room rotting?
 * A Channel 10 Expose tells how the $100k club has gone from the 250 individuals published last year by Sean Beightol to 400 this year (while less than 1% of those are in the classroom) [|http://www.local10.com/video/15359389/index.html
 * The New 100K Club: [[file:MDCPS - 100kclubalpha2008.pdf]]
 * Were there cabinet expenses of 3 million in comparison to our previous cabinet of $750,000?
 * Was there a bonus of 1.4 million to high level administrators, 9% across the board? Approximately 85% of administrators got bonuses for meeting their "score card" goals/benchmarks? []
 * Are there inordinate numbers of administrators in elementary schools, some night school programs?
 * Has the district been purchasing cars (Ford Explorers) for assistant superintendents? Has the district been purchasing cars (Ford Explorers) for assistant superintendents? January School Board's approval (6 to 3) of the purchase of __**28 Ford SUVs**__ for the __**superintendents of our Regions**__? These gas-guzzlers come with mileage and gas allowance. Purchases confirmed by a district administrator? [[file:SUVs.pdf]]
 * __Channel 41 coverage, week of 03/02-08__, according to individual who saw the telecasts:


 * Was there a raise $13K bonus given to the Board attorney?

Unnecessary technology
 * Did MDCPS just purchase an unnecessary, 90 million dollar software package that the district's computers cannot use (Beginning of '08)?
 * MDCPS is placing internet kiosks at the Coral Gables Youth Center.
 * Did MDCPS replace perfectly good computer monitors across the county?
 * The district is talking about laying people off, and yet continues to hire people for a department called ERP at nearly 80k?
 * Nepotism & corruption concerns**
 * Did Dr. Rudolph Crew and a Board majority authorize a no-bid contract to the company where his son works? Has MDCPS spent $1,000,000 with Scientific Learning? The school board rules changed in July of last year and any expenditures above $50,000 require school board approval? Are the only two times Scientific Learning show up on the school board minutes are for the 5 Sepember 2007 C-25 as a Withdrawn Item and then 17 October 2007 C-22 as $290,500 contract? Did Dr. Crew tell the board that his son is a director? Is his son is still not listed as a director for the company?
 * Is Evelyn Greer's interest in low-income housing for teachers a conflict of interest, as her son is a CEO of a low-income housing construction firm?
 * Did The Miami Herald receive checks totaling 1.7 million from MDCPS?
 * Does MDCPS assign 16 TSA positions to UTD?


 * Construction**
 * Is MDCPS still planning to float a bond referendum to increase taxes for construction?
 * MDCPS Purchases property in Coral Gables using the power of imminent domain at the cost of millions.
 * Threatens to close schools instead of eliminating portables.


 * Ineffective evaluation systems**
 * Administrator evaluations
 * Teacher evaluations: IPEGS
 * Students: quarterly assessments
 * Shawn Beightol found an inordinate number of errors in the Science quarterly which were purchased by the district.
 * Otherwise, out-of-state companies creating these tests could be replaced with local teachers.
 * Continue national, norm-referenced testing like the NRT to diagnose educational problems, but end all attempts to punish with a test.
 * Dr. William Glasser and W. Edwards Deming, who taught the Japanese how to outperform us in quality, say that such evaluations emphasize short-term thinking, selfishness, and low quality. Replace all of them with alternative assessments favored by Florida's Secondary School Reform initiatives and by the FCAT grade promotion system, including inexpensive self-evaluations and portfolio assessments. (ozequeira)


 * Other ways we can cut**

Are out-of system consultants making $100 per hour? Can MDCPS teachers do the same job for less?

Denial of DROP extensions for administrators. These highly paid individuals can pay for 3-4 beginning teacher positions with the money they make. Should their extensions need to be denied to result in in additional savings and potential cuts?

Cut positions filled by retirees now currently working downtown, sometimes part-time?

Cut ineffective professional development for ineffective programs (Ira Paul)?

Search under subject line 'waste'
 * Other ideas compiled from the mdpublicschoolteachers Yahoo! email discussion list**

Out of state tutoring companies NCLB-mandated tutoring reportedly pays $100/hour, and local teachers are being hired for $40-50?

Glades Middle School is getting re-keyed for over $50,000.00? Rockway Middle got a new building for many more students than it has and has a good many classrooms in its old buildings standing empty? It also got a high-school PE shelter? Nautilus Middle had someone come all the way from down-town to unplug the "Plug-Ins" that were being used to freshen classroom atmosphere?

Several high schools in the southern end of the county had Pavillions built to ease lunch crowding? These "buildings" cost the schools hundreds of thousands of dollars? Now, one of them, at South Dade High, will be torn down for the new school? It will only have been in use for about 4 years?

At my school hundreds of dollars of blocks used in the kindergarten program were thrown out because no one wanted them and they were in the way for our new textbooks? Old textboks were thrown into the trash?

Monthly writing prompts

__Miami High field a boondoggle?__ I have a better one than that- in the Fall of 2003 the athletic field at Miami High was torn up to run electrical lines, and do "improvements". It took a year, which meant the teams (football, baseball, soccer) had to pack up equipment EVERY day and go to a park to practice. The marching band had to go to an elementary school. When the contractor finished we had a swamp every time it rained and major potholes! Swampy potholes equal injuries to band members and athletes. To get a response of some type after trying to go through channels, I had to hand deliver a letter to Gus Barrera at home. When we finally had a meeting with district personnel to "discuss" the matter the guy in charge at the region told me I was lying. Of course, Mr. Brown from the district just glared at the guy, we took a walk on the field, and they were all apologetic! They just finished the repairs in the past few weeks.

The money wasted was astronomical and the time and disruption to education was sinful! I have no doubt that someone's relative was the first.

__Smartboards before cockroaches?__ Today as I sat grading papers at my desk after the kids left at 2pm our AP came over the intercom to ask that we allow reps from a company (can't recall the name) into our rooms to take 'constructional' information down. Lo and behold, a woman strode into my classroom about 15 minutes later asking about the number of computers, closet space (?), etc. and informing me that I would be getting a 'smart board'...I don't even use the projector in my room and half the time the computers are intermittenly frozen so they're barely used as well...why would I want a smart board for my fourth graders? And when another teacher informed me that each room in the school would be getting one at $15,000 a pop I was amazed. Our school is falling apart..roaches and geckos are common...the a/c units hail from the 17th century...the lighting is constantly not working (today as a matter of fact my students and I had to spend the entire day in a class that had 2 out of 12 lighting units not working, in a room that has no windows!), among other problems--BUT we will be getting SMART BOARDS! In my K-8 that will mean that the district will be spending well over half a million on something we would barely use. Just like they spent $$$ on brand new flat screen computers to take the place of the perfectly functioning Dell PC's we had in our rooms....and let's not forget that we have these ultra modern flat screens but no ink or paper to print with UNLESS I purchase it myself (I'm over that--bought it once but not again--my money needs to go to my health insurance!)


 * Health insurance**
 * Fully funding health insurance in 2008 would cost 36 million dollars.
 * Was it deceptive to cancel the health care item at the February, 2008 School Board meeting, along with the 900+ speakers that apparently had signed up, only to bring up health care in the superintendent's 'informational' item right before the public hearing?
 * Why is it that others who have United have no co-pays and no deductibles on meds?
 * Why is it that, there are companies paying less than MDCPS who receive more coverage with United?
 * Why doesn't MDCPS send the Request for Proposals, (RFP) to every health care provider in the county?
 * Why does the UTD allow the school system to not support workers comp claims?
 * Why does the district push the administrators to discourage employees from filing workers comp claims by taking the money for those claims out of the principal's O-2 accounts? O-2, as in their discretionary accounts?

See also:

**Florida [|Florida Education Negotiators] []**



 * How has state revenue increased in comparison to education spending?
 * The original lottery law was changed so that lottery money replaced education funding, the latter of which was then shifted to other parts of the budget.
 * Earmark to education the original percentage of money of this tax on the poor to go to education that was promised when the law was passed, added to the education budget at the time adjusted to inflation.
 * Changes to the District Cost Differential equation may be adding to our difficulty in keeping up with inflation.
 * FCAT: test materials, sample materials, administration.


 * [|Orlando Sentinel - Bush Saves Tax Cut for Last by John Kennedy]**

Media **Coverage**
[|Demonstration, Tropical Park, March 1, 2008]
 * YouTube**

Miami New Times
[|Killing time on your dime] (Scroll down the page on this link to the story) [|Kid Stuff]

[|Back Lot Deal] [|Back Lot Deal letters to the editor] [|School Board District 6: Agustin Barrera vs. Manny Anon] [|What’s the ‘Mater’?]
 * SunPost**

[|WPLG Editorial: Miami-Dade Should Keep Teachers Covered (12/8/07)] Michael Putney and Glenna Milburg have graciously pushed for a streaming video copy of their story. [|This Week in South Florida coverage] Another Channel 10 link __[|__http://www.local10.com/betavideo/14714507/index.html?taf=ibs__]__
 * WPLG Channel 10**

[|http://] [|www1.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/MI75740/&rnd=76246780]
 * Channel 7**

http://www.nbc6.net/news/15580493/detail.html?dl=headlineclick Channel 23 http://www.univision.com/content/content.jhtml?chid=9514&schid=9515&secid=9516&cid=1465794
 * Channel 6**

By KATHLEEN McGRORY, [|kmcgrory@...]
 * Miami Herald**

MIAMI-DADE SCHOOL DISTRICT Unions, district crash into healthcare hurdle A dispute over who should pay the rising cost of healthcare insurance has pitted unions against the Miami-Dade school district. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/story/324804.html

[|For many teachers, 2 jobs a prerequisite]

[|Audit: Dade schools must justify $27M in overtime]

[|Dade schools chief warns of layoffs] [|Dade teachers reject health cost increase] [|Crew aims to expand magnet-school access] [|Dade scraps proposal to close 10 schools]

By Ketty Rodriguez [|Desmoralizados maestros de Miami-Dade] [|Crew sugiere despidos por recortes de fondos] [|Crew presenta plan para mitigar recortes] [|Secundarias charter abren caminos a miles de jÃ³venes] [|Crew propone plan para facilitar educaciÃ³n a todos] [|La escuela primaria Emerson no cerrarÃ¡] [|La Junta Escolar se prepara para drÃ¡sticos cortes] [|Nueva iniciativa promete laptops a buenos estudiantes] [|La Junta Escolar aprueba fondos para el curso con un déficit de $43.7 millones] [|Pesimismo sobre futuro de escuelas en Miami] [|Malas notas a escuelas del sur de la Florida] [|Notas de escuelas afectan evaluaciÃ³n de Crew] [|Auguran aumento en escuelas con "D" y "F"] [|Escuelas de Miami pierden alumnos y millones] [|Impuestos enfrentan a los constructores y la Junta Escolar] [|La Junta Escolar preserva sus fondos] [|Buscan hacer pÃºblicos pagos del distrito escolar] [|Miami-Dade busca 1,500 maestros] [|Empeora Miami-Dade en el FCAT de Lectura] Maestros y empleados escolares protestan por seguro médico
 * El Nuevo Herald**

**Research**
Is it true that the State of Florida and the Miami-Dade County Public Schools do not have enough money for education salaries and insurance? Some promising avenues of research below:

Access your school library's research page, like the one below: [|Research] Click 'Newsbank', and conduct the following searches, which look promising: "School Board" and "operating budget" "School Board" and revenue
 * Miami-Dade County Public Schools revenue**

Please add any links that you find by copying the link location of open urls for the articles. Thank you.

[|Google search - Florida tax revenue]
 * State of Florida revenue**

Search newspapers statewide Go to the [|Research & Databases] link of the Miami-Dade County Public Libraries Enter your library card # Click 'Newsbank' at the bottom of the page. Click 'Florida newspapers'

**Calendar**, previous events
__Community meetings with Dr. Rudolph Crew (where he will likely continue to discuss health care cuts?__) [| Community meetings with Crew, Spring '08.pdf]

West Central Miami-Dade County (School District Regional Center III) Wednesday, Feb. 27 - 6:30 p.m. Miami Northwestern Senior High School 1100 N.W. 71 Street (305) 836-0991

East Central Miami-Dade County (School District Regional Center IV) Wednesday, March 5 - 6:30 p.m. Miami Edison Middle School 6101 N.W. 2nd Avenue (305) 754-4683

Southwest Miami-Dade County (School District Regional Center V) Monday, March 10 - 6:30 p.m. John A. Ferguson Senior High School 15900 S.W. 56 Street (305) 408-2700

South Miami-Dade County (School District Regional Center VI) Monday, March 17 - 6:30 p.m. Homestead Senior High School 2351 S.E. 12 Avenue (305) 245-7000

The demonstration is all about our insurance and how the district says there is no money when in fact there is.
 * Previous events**
 * Demonstration: March March 1, 11am SW 82 Ave and 40 street**

Old Wish List
Video links to protests on Spanish language TV, including Univision 23, Telemundo 51, AmericaTV 41, and 8. Cross-referencing this page with Shawn Beightol's letter to Dr. Karp.

See also:
Protect education funding in Florida schools