APS to see cuts, but where?

Even a casual glance at the figures, points to the need to cut everything. We simply cannot exclude whole parts of the budget that together account for more than half the budget, and expect the remaining departments to take the whole hit. Are we really going to spare education by crippling the justice system? Are we going to stop maintaining bridges altogether?

Bottom line; education is going to take a hit. APS is going to take a hit. But where?

The current rhetoric is spare the children, cut the fat out of the administration.

Which begs the question; where is the fat in APS' administration? The answer is, it is a secret.

The leadership has steadfastly refused to have an independent auditor come it and look as APS management structure. Specifically, they don't want anyone to come in and point fingers at specific people and programs no matter how inefficient, ineffective, or useless.

We have no idea who the budget ax will lop, and who it will miss.

Why does it make any difference?

There are administrative slots that are more or less important to classroom success. If you asked the people who work at the educational interface, the place where students and the system meet, they could tell you who is helping them succeed, and who would never be missed.

You will get a different answer if you ask senior administrators which of their cronies and underlings are superfluous. They might even settle on a last in, first out strategy.

Teachers and EAs will never be asked or given an opportunity for input. Why? Because they have no standing in the process. Their opinions, their expertise, their experience, simply don't count.

The leadership of the APS has never asked teachers for their opinions, and they aren't going to start now.