A Solution for Grand Rapids Public Schools
Grand Rapids Public Schools (GRPS) is an organization that is failing to meet its budget requirements. GRPS is under funded, has a huge deficit, and a very poor facilities. Compared to surrounding school districts, GRPS lacks many resources. I have weighed many options, and I believe GRPS should close certain schools to stay afloat.
I believe public opinion is one of the biggest factors that of a school budget. The state of Michigan allots a minimum of $6700 dollars per student. (Dave Murray, Oct 14, 2003 pD3) If public opinion is bad, then you will lose a significant amount of money because people will move to another school district. In a survey done by the Grand Rapids Education Reform Initiative, 59 percent of people disagreed GRPS provided the same quality of education as other area public schools. (Cami Reister, August 16, 2002 pA1) Last year alone, GRPS lost about 1,000 students. And it expects to lose about the same this year. (Cami Reister, August 16, 2002 pA1) Computing the figures, that equals 13.4 million dollars GRPS will lose by the end of this year!
Another major factor in a school budget is deficit. GRPS walked into this year with an $11 million dollar deficit. (Cami Reister, August 16, 2002 pA1) Add this to the 13.4 million dollars GRPS has lost for students, and the total comes to 24.4 million dollars. This kind of financial loss is quite difficult to overcome.
What I propose is to close certain schools. GRPS can save millions of dollars in building and administration costs. While this may seem a rash solution to the problem, streamlining efforts make it possible to overcome the deficit, without compromising student’s education to a massive degree.
What are the downsides to this proposal? The first thing is teacher layoffs. Because of building closings, all those teachers will have to be redirected to others schools, or laid-off indefinitely. The second downside is class size. As students are redirected to other schools, class size will increase greatly.
While the layoff of teachers is always a disheartening option, is it a feasible one. The benefits of closing these buildings will far outweigh saving teacher jobs. Due to school closings, the district will save approximately 9.1 million dollars. (http://www.grps.k12.mi.us/boe/Budget/2003/2003_03_17/page06.spml) This, combined with an overall reduction in administrative positions, will allow GRPS to stay afloat another year. Furthermore, this will allow them time to plan for the future. With a feasible solution in place, I think GRPS can regain a respectable image in the public, and attract more students for upcoming years.
Works Cited
Cami Reister (2002, August 16). GR schools receive a 'C' in area poll; most respondents say now is the time for changes. Grand Rapids Press (Grand Rapids, MI), p. A1
Murray, Dave (2003, October 14). City schools brace [next page]