City’s shield against school budget cuts weakening
By: MIKE ALDAX
April 29, 2010
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Budget cuts have become a tradition for state schools, and The City’s funding shield against the onslaught is weakening more by the year. (Examiner file photo) |
When budget time rolls around each year, public schools in The City are told they may lose teachers and vital services while cramming more kids into classrooms — all because of neverending financial problems at the state level.
Despite the dire warnings, little has changed at the San Francisco Unified School District compared with a decade ago. The 55,500-student district has only 11 fewer teachers for 8,500 fewer students, has reduced average class size by more than three pupils and has steadily improved math and English proficiency scores despite state funding problems, according to district data for the 2000-2001 through 2008-2009 school years.
Those results amid the constant decrying of looming financial trouble may have somewhat desensitized many San Franciscans to the problems the school district is facing today — a historic $113 million budget hole during the
Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/Citys-shield-against-school-budget-cuts-weakening-by-the-year-92371499.html#ixzz0mUUKAc4p