KPBSD - Unprincipled Principals

OK, here's your challenge: name more than 5 principals in the entire KPBSD that are genuine educational leaders (and not just former coaches), are honest and fair with both students and teachers and are occasionally willing to buck the whims of the Central Oriface and actually let some building decisions be hashed out by parents and faculty.  For years, both the CO and the building leadership positions have been prime examples (with a few notable exceptions) of the Peter Principle - the incompetent rise to the top.

The latest crop of new principal hires might have a few promising candidates, but OMG, Norma Holmgaard (shudder), currently the federal programs director for the district and now the newly appointed replacement for the failed principal at Kenai's Mt. View Elementary, hasn't a clue about education, has poor people skills and a way of being pompously self-righteous. Once, at a public meeting, without ever being able to back up her statements (despite being asked to provide such evidence), proclaimed that bright kids don't need extra challenges in school, and that such challenges were actually harmful to them.

Now, there's some educational leadership for you - if you want to be led down the path to mediocrity.

Spending it Down

What is a poor school district to do?

Flush with stimulus money and an increase of per/student funding from the state, the KPBSD has managed to accumulate a healthy surplus.  As we all know, the school district initially received $4 million less than it requested from the borough assembly.  The assembly later added $2 million of funding, but the district knows that as long as their bank account is awash in black ink, the odds are good that the borough will fund under the cap.

The solution?

Spend, Baby, Spend.

Quite a bit of the surplus money is designated for the district's several charter schools, so these schools have been ordered to make the money go away. This summer, these school have hired teachers and administrators at per diem (from $250-$500 a day) to come work an additional 20 days.

That's 20 days without kids.  Doing what you might wonder?  Work that teachers in traditional school are expected to do on their own time: planning lessons, cleaning up the classrooms, placing orders for next year and etc.

Teachers in these charter schools are already given extra contact days without students (and thus more money) than teachers at traditional schools and this latest boon seems like ploy that has just one purpose - to get more money from the borough.

Mayor Davey: Do as I say, Not as I Do

Mayor Davey and outgoing Sup't of Schools, Donna P have been in a slap down of sorts lately as Dave is considering not funding Kenai Schools to the cap. Carey has accused the schools of being reluctant to share information about any budget surplus they might have. Here's an exchange reported in the PC.

"They give us a budget, they say that we need this, we give them everything they ask for right to the cap because they say that's what they need. Now to find out, and its been greatly increasing the last few years, there's $9 million more that they've been holding on to," Carey said.

Melody Douglas, chief financial officer for the district, said that presently the district has $19 million in its general fund fund balance. She explained that $9 million of that is in reserves per state statute...She also noted that information on district's budget is all available for public viewing on the district Web site.

Donna Peterson said the amount in savings could easily be wiped out by any of the unforeseen circumstances it is being set aside for.

"The way I look at it is, the amount of money we have in savings is minimal in our budget. It's more than we've had in the past, but far les than any business should have in savings," she said.

"It would take only a few things to wipe that out, like a couple months on increased healthcare costs, a rise in energy costs or if we miss the enrollment projections for next year. If we miss it, there goes the fund balance. Gone. It is not prudent to not have funds set aside."

Now, in Mayor Davey's own 90 Transition Report, the Kenai Borough has a $22 million unreserved fund balance.

Wait a minute - Davey doesn't want the district to have a reserve fund, but it's OK for the borough to have a reserve fund?

Might this be a little grandstanding by hizzoner? Gotta look like you're the little man with a plan to get spending under control. But it could be that his puppet strings are being pulled by ACT.