Mr. Rogers Couldn’t “Make Believe” this Neighborhood — Gulfport’s School Superintendent asking for tax increase…”…Gulfport Schools Superintendent Glen East…has had to chop more than $5.3 million from next year’s budget…The biggest chunk comes from salaries. All 400 teachers in the district could get a $3,000 cut in their local supplement…” ‘All 1,800 employees will suffer from budget cuts’ warns school superintendent…”[Harrison County School District Superintendent Henry] Arledge has already delivered the dire news to some of his employees. “Principals of schools will lose 20 days of pay from their pay check for next year. Assistant principals might be moved to another position. Lead teachers might be put back in the classroom …” NAACP president talks to Biloxi leaders about closing Nichols Elem...Nichols is one of three schools Biloxi city leaders have decided to close because of budget constraints.
Much of what Katrina didn’t destroy, was lost to the uncertainty of “Big Insurance”. The BaySt. Louis – Waveland School District introduces the story:
As we look to fiscal/school year 2010-2011: enrollment is still down 699 students from pre-Katrina enrollment. A loss of $1, 894, 193.00 is equal to the 669 students we are still down in enrollment.
However, the reduced enrollment is not just reflected in the associated reduction in State funding. The 699 fewer students also reflect the number of families who no longer own homes in the district and an associated reduction in the property tax revenue that provides the base funding for public education.
By the time “Big Oil” rolled in, education leadership had figured that out and we turn to School Officials May Seek Oil Spill Compensation for the rest of the story:
State education officials throughout the Gulf Coast, worried about economic fallout for already-strained K-12 coffers from the massive BP oil spill, are weighing whether to seek reimbursement from BP to make up for it.
Meanwhile, at least one top school official is raising the specter of health concerns for students in schools near the oil-tainted gulf—and even the prospect of relocations.
“This has the potential of having an impact equal to some of the many [hurricanes],” said Tom Burnham, the Mississippi state superintendent. “It’s just a different kind of storm.”
Already, a marked decline in tourism since the spill began two months ago has squeezed a major source of revenue for the region, officials say, and added to the strain on fragile state budgets. The disaster also is expected to affect both sales and income taxes, key funding sources for schools and states.
Alabama state education officials have already announced plans to request reimbursement from BP, and some officials in Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi say they may do the same.
The company agreed this week to set aside $20 billion in escrow to compensate victims of the environmental disaster…But it’s still unclear whether that funding will include money for affected states and school districts…
Still, Alabama state schools chief Joe Morton has made it clear that he expects BP to pick up the tab for lost state revenue resulting from a projected 50 percent drop in tourism. Mr. Morton said he plans to file a claim with BP—and will take legal action if necessary.
“As tourism diminishes along Alabama’s Gulf Coast, as the seafood industry is crippled due to the ‘no-fishing’ areas, and as oyster and shrimping areas are decimated by the oil spill, tax receipts to the [state’s] Education Trust Fund will suffer,” Mr. Morton said in a statement released last week.
The oil hasn’t made it to Mississippi’s shores yet, but it already seems fewer tourists are visiting the Magnolia State’s beaches and casinos, said Mr. Burnham, the state schools chief. That means less state revenue, which in turn means less funding for education in a state where money for K-12 schools is already tight, he said…
Mr. Burnham said some of the schools in the Gulf Coast area are located close to the water, meaning that it is possible to see the Gulf of Mexico from the school building. That has him worried, for instance, about children with asthma. He has met with local superintendents and asked them to prepare for the possibility that they may need to relocate certain students, or even entire schools. And he’s asked them to document the cost of any steps they take.
Mr. Burnham is not ruling out urging the state to take legal action if the necessary reimbursements don’t come through. He said he would work with the state school board and other state leaders to determine the best course of action.
In Louisiana, meanwhile, state schools Superintendent Paul G. Pastorek said the Pelican State is still considering whether to ask BP for reimbursements. He said in an e-mail that the state education department is working with local school districts, the state attorney general, and the state board of education to gather information and decide on the best course of action…
In Florida, state Sen. Stephen R. Wise, a Republican, who chairs the Senate appropriations panel that oversees K-12 education, said there’s been a marked decline in tourism—a major source of income- and sales-tax revenue in the state—since the oil spill. He’s also concerned about the future impact on property taxes.
“If you have a restaurant on the beach and no one is showing up, these properties become essentially worthless,” Mr. Wise said. (all emphasis added)
Education, however, has never been worth more! Nowdoucit?