STILL NO NEED TO CLOSE ANY CEDAR RAPIDS SCHOOLS

Don't be surprised to see Supt. Benson bow to the teacher's union, and his obsession for more money, and recommend two elementary school closings--to force the board to say NO! This allows the superintendent to pressure the board for more money if the board votes to keep them open. It's all about money.

Neither the board nor administration has demonstrated any honest concern for the kids! Honest concern for the kids would have taken school closings off the board meeting agenda and placed the need for better school management on the agenda!! It hasn't, and it isn't likely to happen with this lax school board.

If any building in the Cedar Rapids school district should be closed and sold, it is the new $44 million Administration Building, Taj Mahal, under construction for elite administrators. There is more than ample room to merge administrators into unused space in the 4 elementary buildings. threatened to be closed. What could be better than housing elite administrators in buildings that are considered good enough for district kids?? Perhaps administrators would then clearly see things through the eyes of the kids, and give the kids more respect, attention—and a much better education, as a result.

As discussed farther below, school mismanagement caused the big school closing mess. But there is more.

The table farther below shows it is no big financial deal to reallocate .9% of the district’s budget to keep all the schools open. Would any administrator in the district like to argue there is not .9% waste in the district? On what grounds? It would be a hoot to hear any administrator claim, or argue, the district is operating at 99.1% efficiency. Operation at that level is unheard of for organizations specialized in continuously improving their operating efficiency. It just doesn’t happen. But there is still more.

The district has 19 schools on the NCLB In Need of Assistance List for academic failures—and will spend over $57 million to mismanage the district and operate the new $44 million administration building--and its 340 full time equivalent army of employees to be located in that plush building.

Parents know the district is academically failing and enroll their kids out of the district. The following chart shows the net outflow of students. If the district would eliminate academic failures, the parents and kids would flock to the district and fill the schools. Judy Hintz, at Educational Resources in West Des Moines knows how to fix the schools and district officials avoid her like the plague. They have no interest or intention in fixing the schools for kids. They want MORE MONEY FOR THEIR SALARIES AND BENEFITS!

A BETTER MANAGED SCHOOL DISTRICT, THAT CARED ABOUT KIDS, WOULD EASILY AND WILLINGLY REALLOCATE FROM 0.33% TO .9% OF ITS TOTAL BUDGET TO KEEP ONE, OR ALL, SCHOOLS OPEN!
DESCRIPTION	DISTRICT CLAIMED POTENTIAL SAVINGS IF CLOSED
HARRISON	$723,571
POLK	$757,410
MADISON	$600,835
MONROE	$606,257
TOTAL POTENTIAL SAVINGS	$2,688,073
2012 DISTRICT BUDGET	$289,442,327
TOTAL MINIMUM COST FOR DISTRICT TO STAFF AND OPERATE THE NEW ADMINISTRATION BUILDING. Administrators could easily be merged into unused space in buildings to be closed!	$57,112,028
% OF 2012 BUDGET TO BE REALLOCATED TO KEEP ALL 4 SCHOOLS OPEN	0.9%
% OF 2012 BUDGET TO BE REALLOCATED TO KEEP HARRISON OPEN	0.25%
% OF 2012 BUDGET TO BE REALLOCATED TO KEEP POLK OPEN	0.26%
% OF 2012 BUDGET TO BE REALLOCATED TO KEEP MADISON OPEN	0.21%
% OF 2012 BUDGET TO BE REALLOCATED TO KEEP MONROE OPEN	0.21%
Anyone claiming to have better numbers is asked to provide them.

The following websites serve as more compelling evidence there is no need to close any Cedar Rapids elementary schools, as administrators are maneuvering to do—to provide more money for themselves and teachers—who currently caused 19 Cedar Rapids schools to be placed on the NCLB In Need of Assistance Lists for Academic failure and child abuse. http://www.iowalive.net/poormanagement.htm http://www.iowalive.net/kidsorcorruption.htm

1. Duping taxpayers into building unneeded classrooms and a new school building, as shown in the following chart.

4. Building a $44 million unneeded administration building for 340 full time equivalent employees. Administrators should be merged into unused space in existing buildings--now on the chopping block for closure