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Thursday, May 14, 2009

Now THAT's how you save money!

Some of you may recall a few of my district's poorer moments, in terms of decision making and money handling. The most recent and glaring of these, of course, was the $64 million dollar shortfall which resulted in the firing or "retirement" of almost 500 employees.

Well, it would seem that they have taken action to recoup some of that money. A little belt-tightening, a little budget crunching, a little cost saving.

Here are three great ways that my district is saving us money (even as we speak!):

3) Those supplies we ordered with our budget money way back in November? Yeah, they never came, so one can only assume that the orders were cancelled and the money recouped. Ca-ching!

2) I'd say the water bill is most definitely not an issue at my school, since several of the water fountains (most notably the one in the 3rd grade hallway) haven't worked since October. They say water is vital to brain function, but we say saving money is vital to budget!!

1) A decision was made last week to shut the air conditioning off in the classrooms at 3:15 every day. Nevermind the fact that many teachers work in their room PAST 3:15, or that after-school parent conferences are now held in an oven -- think of the coin we're saving!!!

This is just one man's observations. If you've noticed any other cost-saving measures, please feel free to submit them in the comment section.

10 comments:

Mrs. is my first name said...

I hear ya! Our district is cutting positions, but getting a new football field with Astroturf.

Anonymous said...

Certain hallway lights are turned off at 405. Certain hallway lights, including bathrooms, are not turned on until the first bell rings. So, TP, or no TP. That is the question.

Anonymous said...

Your district is not doing it right--our cooler/heaters/ are turned on every weekday at 7:30 and turned off promptly at 2:30. The kids leave at 2:50, teachers stay until 3:30. Lots of fun when temps outside are in the high nineties! But according to the newspaper, the district has saved millions in the past few years, so I guess a little sweat must be worth it. Note: the admin building is definitely not on the same schedule as the schools.

Mister Teacher said...

Mrs, gotta love priorities...

Anon 1, sometimes people are idiots. Sure, the official "school day" may only be from 8 to 3, but those aren't operating hours!!

Anon 2, even sitting in a cool room, my blood is boiling after reading your comment! They shut the air off WHILE THE KIDS ARE STILL THERE????

AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGHHHH! HULK SMASH!!!

Unknown said...

A/C from 7 -4 in my district (humid Houston). Never mind breakfast duty starts at 7 and it takes the building an hour to cool down. Good thing I was never one to wear makeup.

HappyChyck said...

Brand new school and A/C issues here in LV. I'm beginning to think it's a conspiracy to save money. Head janitors running around trouble shooting the problem: facade.

Pseudo said...

First time here, stopping by from Lily's link. I have too many examples to put in a comment thread, but I will say that switching from private sector to teaching 12 years ago was an eye opener.

Mary Mueller said...

Air Conditioning... Try having the heat in the dead of winter being cut off!! Yes, the very brainy heads of district thought they would save money by only having the heat run from 7:30-2:30 on weekdays. Try coming to school in the morning when your classroom is barely breaking 50 degrees. It was a miserable winter because of this.

Mister Teacher said...

I just love how money is SO much more important than physical comfort and safety...

Pseudo, you should read my book! I left engineering to become a public school teacher, and yeah, what an eye opener!! I guess I had lead a REALLY sheltered life before!!!

Ed U. Cater said...

I say they need to turn on the heat. My kids still insist on wearing jackets and hoodies....A big, big, thorn in my side. I actually raise the thermostat temp in my room so the a/c doesn't cool as much. It still doesn't get them to take of those jackets.