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Carver/Century Not The Only Escambia School To Close
January 16, 2009
Carver/Century K-8 is not the only elementary school in Escambia County that Superintendent Malcolm Thomas wants to close to save money.
Thomas released a list of four West Pensacola area elementary schools on Thursday, one of which he says he intends to close. NorthEscambia.com was the first media to report the impending closure of one West Pensacola schools last week after an exclusive interview with Thomas.
Edgewater, Navy Point, Warrington and West Pensacola elementaries are on Thomas’ short list. He has not yet announced which school will be the one closed.
The West Pensacola area school closure will put the district’s total savings at at least $1.1 million.
The state legislature has cut another $5.4 million in addition to $16.1 million that was cut prior to the first day of school.
Thomas told NorthEscambia.com last week that he would begin a serious of cost-cutting measures that might eventually include teacher layoffs.
He announced a hiring freeze earlier this week, and implemented a travel restriction for employees. That restriction does not extend to student field trips.
Thomas has personally cut his travel; he’s funding mandatory trips out of his own pocket rather than district funds.
Comments
2 Responses to “Carver/Century Not The Only Escambia School To Close”
I am v ery proud of the citizens of Pensacola for not bashing and supporting Mr. Thomas after this announcement. What class!!!!!
Hiring freeze further damages students education, since Mr. Thomas plans to hire substitutes–more unqualified teachers. The schools are already full of non-certified/unqualified teachers–remember the 435 new hires hired under Mr. Paul–same gimmic, different flavor!! All parents MUST attend the next board meeting and voice opinions about the decline in our school district. This is the REAL reason that parents homeschool, select private schools, remove children from public schools and/or move out of the county/state. The consequences of a child leaving public schools equates to a minimum budget loss of $10,000. Double that cost for a special needs child. Ask the school district to compare the numbers of in-school student per populace of Escambia County to students who reside live in this county. In those numbers one sees why the Escambia County School District is required to with its declining budget. Also, as the School District continues to expel students, who commit minor infractions in school rather that using an intelligent strict in-school suspension program, the Superintendent will continue to preside over a system that will eventually come under the State of Florida jurisdiction. Much work must be done to keep students in school and learning rather than pursuing spending policies that waste resources. Accountability, productivity, and conservative measures will alleviate our many budget contraints. Since the district lives well above its means, it takes different policies, new procedures, changed attitudes, and savvy choices to realign the system from top to bottom. Parents, teachers, principals, and community participants along with a School District willing to make positive change will make the difference in our educational pursuit.