Will student demographics be taken into consideration when cutting budget

Will student demographics be taken into consideration when making decisions for the 2009-2010 budget? If a school or house within a school is more diverse, will there be an effort made to try not to reduce resources for those houses or schools?

Sandra wrote:

Will student demographics be taken into consideration when making decisions for the 2009-2010 budget? If a school or house within a school is more diverse, will there be an effort made to try not to reduce resources for those houses or schools?

A: Resources for schools and high school houses are always based on the needs of students. Any possible reduction in staffing will be guided by the documented needs of students. For example, special needs students have very specific support personnel in many cases and these positions are documented in the students’ Individual Education Plans (IEPs).

What about groups of students who have historically failed to make AYP in recent years for testing? Will any cuts take those groups of students and the possible impacts of the cuts into consideration?

Sandra wrote:

What about groups of students who have historically failed to make AYP in recent years for testing? Will any cuts take those groups of students and the possible impacts of the cuts into consideration?

A: There are some programs that have been developed over the past several years, particularly the last two years, and the Contract for Excellence, which specifically target underperforming groups of students. Under the Governor's budget proposal most of those are protected. However, it is just as important to maintain other programs which support broad educational experiences for all students and enhance the core curriculum.