Local Supers Cool to Rounds K-12 5% Cut

The Madison Daily Leader gets three of our local superintendents on the record about Governor Rounds's proposed 5% cut to state aid for K-12 education. They don't sound happy, but they aren't jumping off any grain elevators yet. They list the cuts we'd face under the governor's plan to lower aid by $240 per student (with adjustments for the small-school formula):

• Madison: enrollment approx. 1150, cuts $275,000 (eliminate the new gym proposal, save $2.9 million, and we cover that shortfall for ten years, maybe more).
• Oldham-Ramona: enrollment 124, cuts $30,000.
• Rutland: enrollment 131, cuts $31,000.

Madison superintendent Vince Schaefer refers to the proposed education hacking as "just talk." He seems to be thinking along the same lines as legislative leaders who are waiting to see what revised budget Governor-Elect Daugaard will submit once he takes office.

Superintendents John Bjorkman from Oldham-Ramona and Dr. Carl Fahrenwald from Rutland both make the point that there isn't any fat left in their budgets. They've already been cutting academic muscle, eliminating programs like FFA and consumer sciences. Anyone who fantasizes that cutting K-12 funding 5% is just getting rid of darned gum'mint waste needs to visit these superintendents.

Update 08:55 CST: John Nelson juxtaposes the proposed cuts to education with news that kids in Shanghai are kicking our cans on math, science, and reading scores.