Woodstock - any budget woes?

This morning's Northwest Herald reports in separate articles that the Village of Algonquin expects a 4.5% drop (that's all?) in revenues and that District 300 is delivering pink slips to all 32 of its first-year, general education teachers.

You know the rule, right? Last hired, first fired.

Maybe District 300 should be looking at the total picture. Some of those first-year teachers deserve to keep their jobs. Why not toss out some of the dead wood that has been around for a long time? You know, those who are under-performing teachers and are just riding along on the wave of seniority? And I don't mean "buy them out with a sweet package". Or is District 300 lucky enough not to have any dead wood?

You might get 2-3 first-year teachers for the price of one long-term, under-performing teacher. Obviously, this would be an unpopular position with the union, but wouldn't it be in the best interest of the students, the school district and the taxpayers?

Get rid of pay-to-play in the school districts and other taxpayer-funded business operations. Change it to "pay-for-work".

And while the school districts are looking for ways to save money, why not kill those pay increases based on more degrees? School districts guarantee their financial disasters by first paying teachers to get M.A.'s and Ph.D.'s and then paying them more for having them - or waste the money because the teacher then moves to a different school district with a higher pay scale for that degree and experience.

That result is certainly a waste of taxpayer money and results in a negative return on investment.

Do our students need a Ph.D. to teach them how to write a decent composition in English class? Requiring the teachers to get CEUs in courses directly applicable to their employment classification and assignment is fine. We want expertise in teaching skills. And we want those skills applied!

What's happening in the City of Woodstock and District 200, which had an explosive building program just as the real estate bubble burst?

Will some of the new schools be shuttered and student bodies consolidated to reduce building maintenance and operating costs and student transportation costs?

Is the City of Woodstock on the leading edge of financial crisis planning and making expense cuts across the board? Is the City being conservative in its estimate of revenue drop?

Revenues will not drop just this year. It's a recession, folks; maybe a depression.

If you fall off the ship and it's a long way to shore, you don't burn up all your energy sprinting for the shore. You paddle and float.