3.5 State Regulation, Unfunded Mandates
“Let’s try to understand how much of the school financing problems are coming from state regulation, unfunded mandates, unions demanding raises when other people are taking pay cuts and getting laid off, people will know where to lay the blame and then take appropriate action,” Wilson said.
Enquirer 9/14/10 B1 “Schools don’t send speaker to tea party” MD Clark
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K-12 is a Complex Organization Structure
Some of the organizations include:
Union of teachers and others (national)
Board members (local)
Superintendents (Statewide)
Principles (Statewide)
State legislators house and senate
Federal legislators house and senate
State Department of Education
Federal Department of Education
Independent (Fordham, Buckeye Institute)
Lobbyists influence legislation.
School employees sometime negotiate with employee unions. The Board of Education is the decisionmaker and goal setter of union negotiations
Educational reforms (class size, compensation pkge, pension, etc.)is impeded by all the above organizations.
Schools must teach finance.
All Ohio students must receive financial literacy education to graduate starting with this year’s high school freshman class.
“It’s another unfunded mandate from the state,” said Gary Knepp. a Milford School District board member.
“Is that the school’s role?” Knepp asked. “Kids need to know how to write checks and balance a checkbook. Isn’t that the function of parents? And shouldn’t they be teaching them about credit cards?”
Sycamore High School offers three semester long courses. Members of the Class of 2014 have to take at least one to graduate.
Mason High School requires all sophomores to take a new Financial Literacy semester course.
The West Clermont district is embedding the information within existing courses in the social studies departments for grades 6-12.
Source: The Enquirer, LOCAL NEWS, Oct. 10, 2010, Cindy Kranz.
“Maybe if people understood that much of the school financial problems may be coming from state regulations, unfunded mandates, unions demanding raises when other people are taking pay cuts and getting laid off. they will know where to place the blame and then take appropriate action,” Wilson said.
Enquirer 9/14/10 B1 “Schools don’t send speaker to tea party” MD Clark
“Ire grows over mandates”
Publicly elected school board members and local district officials are blasting recent reforms as unnecessary, costly, repetitive and misguided.
Mandates are not backed with any dollars to implement.
The one-size-fit-all state stipulation is a waste of money.
Rather than pursuing sociological schemes, personal health programs or other expansions of a school’s primary purpose…
One way to improve … is review period or sunset clauses.
All Day kindergarten programs, measuring student’s body fat.
When the annual waiver expires a the mandate becomes permanent.
Probable state spending cuts of around 10% may be announced early next calendar year.
An example – given five days off to study for certification, but school has to hire substitutes at $123 per day.
Mandates are the nature of a legislature overseeing public schools. It’s part of the state’s regulation of schools and the states has to lead that process.
All board members should stand up and say NO.
Source: Enquirer, MD Clark about 10/2/10