Parish School Boards were given instructions to make 8% cuts in their budget. Boards collaborated in an attempt to make the most efficient cuts for all schools. These are some of ideas that were tossed around the room:
Virtual Learning: Bogafalaya and Cane Parish had similar ideas of eliminating library and textbook costs by pushing online and virtual education. Bogafalaya specifically stated that textbook costs were rising due to increases in enrollment across their parish.
Transportation: Cane Parish pitched the idea of a 4-day school week to save on the cost of transportation. Students would have virtual assignments on Fridays and weekdays would have extended hours. If student transportation was not necessary on Fridays, the parish would save the cost of 36 transportation days a year.
Pre-K: Bogafalaya Parish discussed cutting out Pre-K programs across schools. With an increase in private daycare enrollment and decrease in public Pre-K attendance, there is less of a need for public Pre-K.
Food Production: Atchafalaya mentioned the product of the schools food in home economic and agricultural classes. It was stated that this will save money on catering costs and also provide more educational opportunities for students.
Comparing Budgets to Other States: Mississippi made a point to look at the Budgets of other School Boards across the country. Since many school boards are facing similar difficulties, Mississippi Parish looked to other boards for ideas and solutions.
– Jude LeBoeuf: Citizen Author, Editor in Chief
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