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How did Cy Fair ISD become such a disaster?

14,347 Views | 128 Replies | Last: 4 mo ago by Ghost of Andrew Eaton
TarponChaser
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10:27a, 8/22/24
The way I read this, Humble ISD has a $15M shortfall between 2024/25 revenues and planned expenditures because they have initiatives they've been holding off on completing that they plan to do this year while they will still have a $62MM on hand AFTER funding the $15MM shortfall this year.

Humble ISD finances

Seems like the district is actually doing pretty well managing its finances.
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schmellba99
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In reply to cajunaggie08 • 10:33a, 8/22/24
AG
Schools have significant say in the income - they are a state mandated taxing authority and they set tax rates.

You cut budgets by eliminating the bloat in the admin first. I believe Cy Fair has something like 10-15 "associate superintendents" and a stupid amount of other upper admin staff, most of whom have massive overlapping roles and responsibilities and much of whom could disappear without anybody really noticing outside of there being less people at the office.

You also establish a system that actually rewards fiscal responsibility. You analyze assets and offload assets that are not being used or aren't necessary (many school districts hold onto old buildings and properties to prevent cost effective avenues for charter or private schools from coming into the area). You don't propose billion dollar bonds that will have to be repaid when you are running a negative balance sheet, even if it means that the football stadium isn't on par with many college stadiums.

You prioritize, just like every other industry has to do, and doubly so when the economy is utter crap like it is now and there just isn't any more blood to squeeze from the turnip.

I guarnatee you that any one of us could probably take a long weekend and cut a massive amount of fat from any government budget, because they are all so bloaded and fat it wouldn't take much effort to do so.

But the answer is NEVER "oh well, just raise taxes or get the state to raise taxes so they can give more money to a system that can't manage itself right now!".
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cajunaggie08
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In reply to schmellba99 • 10:41a, 8/22/24
AG
schmellba99 said:
Schools have significant say in the income - they are a state mandated taxing authority and they set tax rates.

You cut budgets by eliminating the bloat in the admin first. I believe Cy Fair has something like 10-15 "associate superintendents" and a stupid amount of other upper admin staff, most of whom have massive overlapping roles and responsibilities and much of whom could disappear without anybody really noticing outside of there being less people at the office.

You also establish a system that actually rewards fiscal responsibility. You analyze assets and offload assets that are not being used or aren't necessary (many school districts hold onto old buildings and properties to prevent cost effective avenues for charter or private schools from coming into the area). You don't propose billion dollar bonds that will have to be repaid when you are running a negative balance sheet, even if it means that the football stadium isn't on par with many college stadiums.

You prioritize, just like every other industry has to do, and doubly so when the economy is utter crap like it is now and there just isn't any more blood to squeeze from the turnip.

I guarnatee you that any one of us could probably take a long weekend and cut a massive amount of fat from any government budget, because they are all so bloaded and fat it wouldn't take much effort to do so.

But the answer is NEVER "oh well, just raise taxes or get the state to raise taxes so they can give more money to a system that can't manage itself right now!".
In theory, that is what the school board is supposed to be. They aren't government officials and its a non-paid volunteer job to be the public making sure their INDEPENDENT school district is running how it should. It sounds like not just any one of us could take a long weekend and trim the fat because if it were that easy, they would have done it since Cy-Fair has 7 conservative minded board members.
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TarponChaser
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In reply to cajunaggie08 • 10:41a, 8/22/24
Social conservative =/= fiscal conservative
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cajunaggie08
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In reply to TarponChaser • 10:47a, 8/22/24
AG
Very true
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TXTransplant
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10:48a, 8/22/24
Clearly CFISD is an outlier in the area when comparing budget shortfalls across districts.

But just looking at the articles written (assuming they are correct), in quite a few districts, the majority of the shortfall is attributed to faculty/staff raises (on the order of 3-4%, not even enough to cover inflation). Conroe ISD opted to forgo raises this year because of their shortfall.

And as a previous poster said about Humble ISD, many of these districts are covering their shortfall with reserves.
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Jack Cheese
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10:52a, 8/22/24
AG
To the education-industrial complex, the only answer is increasing per-student expenditures. More spending = better "outcomes" (however that is defined this week).

I always love driving by the brand new Mark Henry EdD Administration Building and Fine Arts Center on my way to work. Dude designed his own legacy and got me to pay for it. That bastage prided himself on how many schools / employees / facilities he presided over. The massive leviathan size of CFISD was a feature, not a bug, as far as he was concerned.

My kids went through Cy Fair. It was not nearly as good as advertised. Just a gigantic, mediocre institution.
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Fishing Fools
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10:52a, 8/22/24
Silly question…. If Abbott decided to pay off the deficits with "His" Surplus, would that solve the problem?
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jenn96
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11:28a, 8/22/24
AG
The real issue is the size of CFISD. No organization that large can be efficient without ruthless accountability, which is not going to happen in any government program. Spending per pupil is a chimera - I believe Washington DC and NYC have the highest per pupil spending in the country, with abysmal results. But it's true that teacher salaries aren't excessive, and haven't kept up with inflation. We're making it less and less rewarding to be a teacher financially while it's also just a lot harder in practice. Covid broke public schools on a lot of levels and the damage may just be permanent. A huge leviathan ISD has far fewer options to right the ship because the weight of inertia and entrenched positions becomes overwhelming, and the best teachers and students just leave because it's not worth fighting a monster.

My kids are in CFISD and at elementary and junior high we've been happy - we had 2 good schools. But my son is a freshman at Cy Fair HS this year and I'm worried about where it will be when he graduates.
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bigjag19
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1:58p, 8/22/24
AG
Elementary schools in CF have multiple assistant principals. How is that remotely necessary at I'm sure 80 to 100 a year per. Plus the overhead at district level.

Part of the massive statewide problem is the requirement for an armed officer at every school. No one had ever budgeted that for every elementary before.
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cajunaggie08
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In reply to bigjag19 • 3:01p, 8/22/24
AG
bigjag19 said:
Elementary schools in CF have multiple assistant principals. How is that remotely necessary at I'm sure 80 to 100 a year per. Plus the overhead at district level.

Part of the massive statewide problem is the requirement for an armed officer at every school. No one had ever budgeted that for every elementary before.
We had two assistant principals at my Katy ISD elementary in the 90s. I'm not saying 4 are needed but its not a new concept.
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schmellba99
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In reply to Fishing Fools • 3:02p, 8/22/24
AG
Fishing Fools said:
Silly question…. If Abbott decided to pay off the deficits with "His" Surplus, would that solve the problem?
No.

It would alleviate some stress temporarily, but within 5 years most of the problem child districts would be right back in the exact same financial situation.
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drumboy
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In reply to cajunaggie08 • 3:27p, 8/22/24
AG
cajunaggie08 said:
bigjag19 said:
Elementary schools in CF have multiple assistant principals. How is that remotely necessary at I'm sure 80 to 100 a year per. Plus the overhead at district level.

Part of the massive statewide problem is the requirement for an armed officer at every school. No one had ever budgeted that for every elementary before.
We had two assistant principals at my Katy ISD elementary in the 90s. I'm not saying 4 are needed but its not a new concept.
I think we had 2 in tiny @ss Crosby High School in the 90s, but they likely needed all 3 to share the load of swats they were handing out.
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VP at Pierce and Pierce
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In reply to bigjag19 • 4:06p, 8/22/24
bigjag19 said:
Elementary schools in CF have multiple assistant principals. How is that remotely necessary at I'm sure 80 to 100 a year per. Plus the overhead at district level.

Part of the massive statewide problem is the requirement for an armed officer at every school. No one had ever budgeted that for every elementary before.
Paying an armed officer seems like a better investment than the 20 unnecessary paper pushers on the payroll for $1.5 million in the ISD office.
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agproducer
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4:11p, 8/22/24
AG
Agree with a lot of things here:

Raising taxes would not solve the problem. Fiscal responsibility in the district would make the most sense. I'm completely in favor of slimming things down and saving money.

BUT -- CFISD really screwed this one up.

The big issue is transportation and how the district is trying to spin it to parents. They say kids should be able to walk to school or parents should find a way to get their kids there, and that it's not a big deal -- they are wrong. They are also going on social media, making tone-deaf posts that all is ok.

Many students have to walk to and home from school along busy streets with no sidewalks, and don't forget in triple-degree heat. Kids do not have lockers, so they have to carry everything in backpacks. And, if they are in band, they have to carry their instruments too. It's dangerous. Parents who choose to take their kids to school are facing long pickup/dropoff lines. Some have had to wait over an hour for pickup.

Current bus service is also an issue. My oldest is in middle school. Her bus has been 30 minutes late leaving school each day this week. Kids who don't have bus service any longer have been trying to get on buses, and they are getting kicked off. In addition, kids on the buses are getting packed in 3-4 per seat. My daughter said some had to sit in the aisle. Also -- on her route yesterday, they had a substitute driver because the first one quit, and the kids had to give the driver directions. Now -- I take all of that with a grain of salt since I didn't see it personally. But when your kid, who generally likes riding the bus, tells you it was the "worst bus experience of her life" -- you tend to listen.

All of these additional headaches to save the district less than $5 million. That's a drop in the bucket for the $140 million shortfall. I know every little bit counts, but there has to be other places for the district to save.

Also -- and this is not confirmed as I heard it from my kid and her friends -- that the district is turning off the A/C at their campus at night and not turning it back on until the morning. She says the campus is really hot the first couple periods of school. Again -- not confirmed -- but at this point, nothing surprises me

I'm just disappointed in the lack of foresight for the operations in the district. It's not like the shortfall was a surprise. Other districts planned and CFISD is off throwing these Willy Wonka programs.

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schmellba99
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In reply to cajunaggie08 • 4:14p, 8/22/24
AG
cajunaggie08 said:
schmellba99 said:
Schools have significant say in the income - they are a state mandated taxing authority and they set tax rates.

You cut budgets by eliminating the bloat in the admin first. I believe Cy Fair has something like 10-15 "associate superintendents" and a stupid amount of other upper admin staff, most of whom have massive overlapping roles and responsibilities and much of whom could disappear without anybody really noticing outside of there being less people at the office.

You also establish a system that actually rewards fiscal responsibility. You analyze assets and offload assets that are not being used or aren't necessary (many school districts hold onto old buildings and properties to prevent cost effective avenues for charter or private schools from coming into the area). You don't propose billion dollar bonds that will have to be repaid when you are running a negative balance sheet, even if it means that the football stadium isn't on par with many college stadiums.

You prioritize, just like every other industry has to do, and doubly so when the economy is utter crap like it is now and there just isn't any more blood to squeeze from the turnip.

I guarnatee you that any one of us could probably take a long weekend and cut a massive amount of fat from any government budget, because they are all so bloaded and fat it wouldn't take much effort to do so.

But the answer is NEVER "oh well, just raise taxes or get the state to raise taxes so they can give more money to a system that can't manage itself right now!".
In theory, that is what the school board is supposed to be. They aren't government officials and its a non-paid volunteer job to be the public making sure their INDEPENDENT school district is running how it should. It sounds like not just any one of us could take a long weekend and trim the fat because if it were that easy, they would have done it since Cy-Fair has 7 conservative minded board members.
Most school boards have great intentions, but given that these are elected volunteer positions, they tend to get the level of real commitment one would expect from a non paid elected position.

The reality is that the vast majority of what the school board sees is a function of what the superintendent presents to them. Most of the time the board members aren't spending their spare time from their jobs and families pouring over budgets looking for what they can trim out, and since it's also an elected position that it seems most want to keep, most unfortunately aren't going to stick their neck out and rock the boat.

Like most organizations, the board relies on the management to do their job, and when the management hides problems for a significant amount of time, you get problems like $140MM deficit that become massive problems in a very fast manner when the light is shined upon it. The superintendents job is to manage the district - educationally, financially, legally, etc. That is why that guy makes a half million dollars a year. He failed at his job, and failed miserably.
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schmellba99
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In reply to TXTransplant • 4:19p, 8/22/24
AG
TXTransplant said:
Clearly CFISD is an outlier in the area when comparing budget shortfalls across districts.

But just looking at the articles written (assuming they are correct), in quite a few districts, the majority of the shortfall is attributed to faculty/staff raises (on the order of 3-4%, not even enough to cover inflation). Conroe ISD opted to forgo raises this year because of their shortfall.

And as a previous poster said about Humble ISD, many of these districts are covering their shortfall with reserves.
That's kind of the point of having reserves.

You have savings/rainy day fund in your budget (I'm assuming). I have a savings account for unexpected expenses or occurences. My company maintains cash reserves to cover unforseen expenses. I expect every entity to do so.

The only caveat I'd put is that government entities should be limited in what they can have as cash in the bank to a percentage of the last 5 year's budget average (or something similar), because I don't want governmen entities to sock away taxpayer money while still demanding taxpayer cash year in and year out. But they should have some level of available reserves on hand simply because that is just sound financial policy.

And, frankly, there should be pretty severe penalties associated with piss poor financial management of public funds, as well as incentives for running as lean an organization as possible with public funds.
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CDUB98
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4:20p, 8/22/24
AG
Question from the resident idiot:

What are these schools going to do when their money runs out?

I mean, it's not like they can just hold bake sales to bring in $15-30MM in revenue to make up a shortfall. Did they actually trim to get within budget, or are they headed for a cliff?
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schmellba99
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In reply to drumboy • 4:26p, 8/22/24
AG
drumboy said:
cajunaggie08 said:
bigjag19 said:
Elementary schools in CF have multiple assistant principals. How is that remotely necessary at I'm sure 80 to 100 a year per. Plus the overhead at district level.

Part of the massive statewide problem is the requirement for an armed officer at every school. No one had ever budgeted that for every elementary before.
We had two assistant principals at my Katy ISD elementary in the 90s. I'm not saying 4 are needed but its not a new concept.
I think we had 2 in tiny @ss Crosby High School in the 90s, but they likely needed all 3 to share the load of swats they were handing out.
At my elementary in the 80's we had a principal and *I think* an assistant principal. Can't remember on the assistant for certain, but also can't really imagine not having one either. Didn't matter, we were all terrified of Mr. Lee.

Junior high had a principal and 2 assistant principals. Assistant principals and coaches were the bringer of the wood when it came to discipline, and they spread the wealth for sure.

High school had a principal and 3 (could have been 4, but pretty sure it was 3) assistant principals.

The amount of overhead today is ridiculous. I will say that a whole lot of it is necessitated because of state and federal regs and all of the garbage that comes with them, but even without those regs you could chop half of the admin at most district schools and it would operate just the same after, but with less costs.
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schmellba99
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In reply to CDUB98 • 4:27p, 8/22/24
AG
CDUB98 said:
Question from the resident idiot:

What are these schools going to do when their money runs out?

I mean, it's not like they can just hold bake sales to bring in $15-30MM in revenue to make up a shortfall. Did they actually trim to get within budget, or are they headed for a cliff?
Headed for a cliff.

But they will raise tax rates to bring in more revenue, and spend a lot of time and money lobbying in Austin to find ways to get more money.

But rest assured, trimming the fat is not in the cards the overwhelming majority of the time.
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jenn96
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4:43p, 8/22/24
AG
There are also a lot of state-mandated services the schools have to provide. The percentage of special needs kids has skyrocketed, which brings mandated transportation, dedicated paras and a much higher staff to student ratio for those reasons. My own kid is one of them, and I am very happy with the education and resources he received. But providing those services adds a lot of cost to running a school and can't be cut under state law.

Again, it goes to size. In a small ISD with smaller campuses they can pivot and respond to situations a lot more effectively than monsters like HISD or CFISD. The superintendent and school board for CFISD have to make uniform policies and decisions for 100+ schools, all of whom have separate and unique challenges. It's not a good model and it's breaking down.
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cajunaggie08
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In reply to agproducer • 5:09p, 8/22/24
AG
agproducer said:
Also -- and this is not confirmed as I heard it from my kid and her friends -- that the district is turning off the A/C at their campus at night and not turning it back on until the morning. She says the campus is really hot the first couple periods of school. Again -- not confirmed -- but at this point, nothing surprises me
I can't speak for Cy-Fair but I know they are doing this at Katy ISD. My kids' cub scout pack uses our elementary for monthly pack meetings and the rate to rent the cafeteria tripled on us this school year and the school cited having to run the AC longer as part of the reason why. That was a kick to our pack budget. Looks like we're gonna have to find a new place to meet soon or sell ALOT more popcorn. Speaking of which, anyone want some popcorn?
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AgLiving06
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In reply to cajunaggie08 • 9:29p, 8/22/24
cajunaggie08 said:
schmellba99 said:
stevopike said:
The bond money can't be used for everyday funds it mainly has to be used for construction projects. The tax rate is broken into two parts Maintenance and Operations (teacher salaries, keep lights on, etc) and Interest and Sinking (money to pay down bonds). Can't take money out one to pay for the other.

Main reason for deficit is Abbott is withholding money from the schools till he gets his school voucher program approved.

Ahh yes, blame the fact that a whole lot of taxpayers and voters want accountability in the education system for the fact that the education system is incapable of operating on financially sound principles.

And if the state is witholding so much money that the district is running a $140MM negative balance, the issue is far beyond what the state is supposedly witholding.

There is a lot of to blame, and the state certainly has its fair share of it (mostly with recapture), but this line of thinkng above is just garbage and dumb.
Texas is $4000 below the national average on spending per student. Cy-Fair has around 118,000 students. If Texas increased the per-student allotment by an additional $4000 that is $472 Million. If Texas just paid the national average none of these districts would be facing deficits. Texas has a $32.7 BILLION surplus in its budget right now. If you ask me, they could increase educational spending without even raising taxes. They just have chosen not to without allowing private corporations and schools access to state funds

The question though is that a good measure?

Does spending more result in better scores or students?

I suspect the answer is "maybe?" and not just yes.

It probably comes down to the efficiency with which the money is spent and just giving more money without fixing the inefficiencies probably doesn't do very much.
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Mulberrywildman
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In reply to AgLiving06 • 10:03p, 8/22/24
AG
Don't have links handy, but I remember reading one of Thomas Sowell's books where he debunks the theory of more spending per student equals better results (so to speak).

He gave several examples of I believe were schools in DC with crazy amount of expenditures per student, yet still terrible results.

He obviously dived much more deeply and backed up his arguments with much more data than my post here will provide.

As always, I would imagine things like family stability, positive social influences and myriad of other factors related to culture and behavior were much better indicators of a student's success vs how much money the school "spends" on them.
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EclipseAg
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In reply to jenn96 • 8:14a, 8/23/24
AG
jenn96 said:
There are also a lot of state-mandated services the schools have to provide. The percentage of special needs kids has skyrocketed, which brings mandated transportation, dedicated paras and a much higher staff to student ratio for those reasons.
My family member's school has more than 100 special ed students (out of a population of around 650). Each student has two to three ARDS a year, lasting an hour or more (nor counting prep work). Many have special aides or helpers.

They also have another 30 or so special needs students, some of whom come from as far as 50-60 miles a day, and their districts pay for their transportation (van service). One child -- one van -- to and from school, every day.

In addition, every year there are 10 or so kids who show up from all over the world with absolutely zero knowledge of English. And their parents don't speak English, either.

There's an huge amount of time and expense baked into these types of services, which most schools didn't offer 30 years ago.

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Ghost of Andrew Eaton
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In reply to EclipseAg • 8:27a, 8/23/24
EclipseAg said:
jenn96 said:
There are also a lot of state-mandated services the schools have to provide. The percentage of special needs kids has skyrocketed, which brings mandated transportation, dedicated paras and a much higher staff to student ratio for those reasons.
My family member's school has more than 100 special ed students (out of a population of around 650). Each student has two to three ARDS a year, lasting an hour or more (nor counting prep work). Many have special aides or helpers.

They also have another 30 or so special needs students, some of whom come from as far as 50-60 miles a day, and their districts pay for their transportation (van service). One child -- one van -- to and from school, every day.

In addition, every year there are 10 or so kids who show up from all over the world with absolutely zero knowledge of English. And their parents don't speak English, either.

There's an huge amount of time and expense baked into these types of services, which most schools didn't offer 30 years ago.

Transportation for these students is usually reimbursed by the federal government. It's why those smaller school buses can't be used by the golf or tennis teams.

SpEd is a huge cost to all districts. The amount of people involved is just absurd at times and there has to be a better way.
If you say you hate the state of politics in this nation and you don't get involved in it, you obviously don't hate the state of politics in this nation.
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JDUB08AG
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8:47a, 8/23/24
AG
How many employees does CFISD have in administrative roles outside of campuses? I'm genuinely curious how bloated that portion of the budget it.
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Ghost of Andrew Eaton
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In reply to JDUB08AG • 8:57a, 8/23/24
JDUB08AG said:
How many employees does CFISD have in administrative roles outside of campuses? I'm genuinely curious how bloated that portion of the budget it.
I don't know the answer but many of those positions are regulatory so that comply with federal and state laws.
If you say you hate the state of politics in this nation and you don't get involved in it, you obviously don't hate the state of politics in this nation.
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sts7049
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In reply to Ghost of Andrew Eaton • 9:23a, 8/23/24
AG
Ghost of Andrew Eaton said:
EclipseAg said:
jenn96 said:
There are also a lot of state-mandated services the schools have to provide. The percentage of special needs kids has skyrocketed, which brings mandated transportation, dedicated paras and a much higher staff to student ratio for those reasons.
My family member's school has more than 100 special ed students (out of a population of around 650). Each student has two to three ARDS a year, lasting an hour or more (nor counting prep work). Many have special aides or helpers.

They also have another 30 or so special needs students, some of whom come from as far as 50-60 miles a day, and their districts pay for their transportation (van service). One child -- one van -- to and from school, every day.

In addition, every year there are 10 or so kids who show up from all over the world with absolutely zero knowledge of English. And their parents don't speak English, either.

There's an huge amount of time and expense baked into these types of services, which most schools didn't offer 30 years ago.

Transportation for these students is usually reimbursed by the federal government. It's why those smaller school buses can't be used by the golf or tennis teams.

SpEd is a huge cost to all districts. The amount of people involved is just absurd at times and there has to be a better way.


i think we can do better than pointing blame there
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Ghost of Andrew Eaton
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In reply to sts7049 • 9:34a, 8/23/24
Nobody is blaming SpEd students. It's a fact that is costs significantly more money to educate a special education student. Most people are uncomfortable with acknowledging this for some reason.
If you say you hate the state of politics in this nation and you don't get involved in it, you obviously don't hate the state of politics in this nation.
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schmellba99
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In reply to jenn96 • 9:36a, 8/23/24
AG
jenn96 said:
There are also a lot of state-mandated services the schools have to provide. The percentage of special needs kids has skyrocketed, which brings mandated transportation, dedicated paras and a much higher staff to student ratio for those reasons. My own kid is one of them, and I am very happy with the education and resources he received. But providing those services adds a lot of cost to running a school and can't be cut under state law.

Again, it goes to size. In a small ISD with smaller campuses they can pivot and respond to situations a lot more effectively than monsters like HISD or CFISD. The superintendent and school board for CFISD have to make uniform policies and decisions for 100+ schools, all of whom have separate and unique challenges. It's not a good model and it's breaking down.
No, they don't.

But they do because it's quicker and easier and everybody can simply point to the rules and absolve themselves of any real blame or having to think critically and logically.

And schools do everything they can to have as many 504 students as possible because there are incentives to do so, even when a great number of those classified under 504 have no real disability.
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sts7049
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In reply to Ghost of Andrew Eaton • 9:38a, 8/23/24
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Ghost of Andrew Eaton said:
Nobody is blaming SpEd students. It's a fact that is costs significantly more money to educate a special education student. Most people are uncomfortable with acknowledging this for some reason.
what percent of the overall spend is directed towards those programs?
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schmellba99
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9:39a, 8/23/24
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Another big elephant in the room that a whole lot of people don't want to acknowledge along with the 504 classifications is the fact that the state mandates that schools bend over backwards to accommodate non-english speaking kids, most of whom are illegal or kids of illegals.

Hell, back in the 90's in my high school we had an entire wing that was nothing but spanish speaking english as a second language classrooms. Just like with every other local public service, the sheer numbers of illegals are a massive drain on resources in schools that schools are often handcuffed with handling due to state laws.
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schmellba99
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In reply to sts7049 • 9:52a, 8/23/24
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sts7049 said:
Ghost of Andrew Eaton said:
Nobody is blaming SpEd students. It's a fact that is costs significantly more money to educate a special education student. Most people are uncomfortable with acknowledging this for some reason.
what percent of the overall spend is directed towards those programs?
I'm not sure that you can really calculate this, or it would be exceedingly difficult to do so with a true level of accuracy.

Because beyond the direct costs of 504, you have the hidden costs that really can't be quantified. Every single 504 student has to have, I believe minimum once a school year (but may be each semester or half year) a 504 meeting that goes over the specific 504 plan and requirements for that student. That meeting involves the school's 504 counselor(s), usually a teacher that is primarily involved, a coordinator/director/assistand principal/prinicpal and the student and parents. These meetings can last anywhere from an hour to ofent 2 hours or more, depending on a host of factors.

I know when my wife has to go through these at her distric that she will have weeks at a time where half of her day is dedicated to 504 meetings. That's half of her day that she is not doing her normal work. Plus the time from every other district employee required to be in the meetings.

Quote:
Section 504 requires recipients to provide to students with disabilities appropriate educational services designed to meet the individual needs of such students to the same extent as the needs of students without disabilities are met. An appropriate education for a student with a disability under the Section 504 regulations could consist of education in regular classrooms, education in regular classes with supplementary services, and/or special education and related services.


Beyond that, you have the hidden costs - namely the fact that because the federal law doesn't allow anything they consider discrimination, many of these students are put in regular classes. Which means that, right or wrong, those classes are often watered down or at the very least a significant amount of time is dedicated to the 504 students in class and not to the other students. You can't really account for those costs, but the fact of the matter is that they are there regardless. Compare it to disciplinary issues where you have a small percentage of students that create the largest percentage of disciplinary issues, but the school won't segregate those kids out of fear of being sued by parents looking for a quick payday so they are left to disrupt and otherwise stifle the learning experience and atmosphere for the majority of kids that aren't problems.*

*not saying that all 504's cause problems, just comparing hidden cost type scenarios if that makes any sense.
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CorpsTerd04
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10:33a, 8/23/24
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I hope all public k-12 education goes away completely. I drive by that monstrosity of a Performing Arts Center every day and say not another dime. My taxes are outrageous and none of my kids use these worthless schools. It must be torn down and rebuilt.
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