Guest Post: Jason Downey on County Bibb Schools

[Editor’s Note: Jason Downey was elected to the Bibb County Board of Education, District 6 in 2012. He posted this on his Facebook page and I asked to run it here. This is a good example of an elected official using Facebook to communicate with his voters; not only is it a smart and efficient way of keeping voters informed, I suspect it will help his reelection if he runs again.]

Personal Agendas may be the most overused phrase of politics. Who has a personal agenda on the Bibb County School Board?? Not I, and I would certainly hope that EVERY member of the Bibb County School Board made the sacrifice to give back to the community through public service for one reason only: to better our public education system here in Bibb County.

I applaud the Charter School Movement in Bibb County, and have been very vocal about this. Some have asked, “How can you serve on the Bibb County School Board, and support Charter Schools?” It’s simple: I believe in education. I believe in having choices for ALL children, not just the wealthy or capable. Charter Schools in Bibb County, a county where the public school system has traditionally performed poorly as a whole, makes perfect sense. So, I guess you could say I support both public AND charter schools! What’s wrong with that?

Also, I’ve had some people ask if any of the proposed consolidated school buildings could be sold to make use for a new Charter School. We are putting the cart WAY before the horse when we start predicting WHEN a Charter School is available, and WHERE that school would be situated. Who knows? I sure don’t, and I certainly am not advocating school consolidation or closures for the sake of making facilities available for proposed Charter Schools. There are PLENTY of locations throughout this county where Charter Schools could be located. We will just have to wait and see on this.

On the issue of consolidated schools, and school closures, I’ve been pretty vocal about the need for us to take a look at consolidating in areas where they need to be consolidated. This has nothing to do with race or class: this is a decision made on financial factors, regardless of where the schools are located. If a school has an extremely low amount of students (which some schools in Bibb County do), and if we are running at an extreme deficit which is only going to get worse, we would be derelict in our duties as public officials to NOT take a look at consolidation. Public input is critical, and mandatory: that’s why we have FOUR public hearings scheduled for the proposed school consolidations. I’ll post that schedule soon- all of the hearings will be at the schools affected by these proposals. Keep in mind that the consolidation and restructuring proposals reflecting a reduction in annual expenses of over $850,000.00. The key question is: will it impact the everyday education of the students of the affected schools. Through the public hearings, we hope to find that out.

Many people have reminded me that school consolidations were an idea reflected in the Macon Miracle and originated from Dr. Dallemand during his tenure as superintendent. True; Dr. Dallemand attempted to advocate for school closings when he was sitting in the Superintendent’s chair, but I again am not concerned with that. Too often, we focus on what HAPPENED, what some SAID, whether someone should get credit for a UNIQUE idea. Here’s the things: school closures and consolidations are NOTHING NEW. That’s been around for a long time, and to think one individual should get credit for an idea that’s been around for years is ludicrous. We are at a point, now, after a couple of years or more of fiscal mismanagement, where we now have to seriously consider the consolidations this year (and perhaps more next year).

The Budget is taking shape. I am not thrilled with it, but it does lock in furlough days at 5 for teachers, with 2 less classroom days, for a total of 7 furlough/contract reduction days for most employees. It reflects a reduction in salary from many Board Office Administrators, as well I believe 12 total contract reduction/furlough days. Unfortunately, it still reflects potentially larger classroom sizes, and it still requires us to go to our reserve fund. However, we do not have to go below our “floor” of 8% in the reserve, and we will not, at this point, need to raise taxes. We will, however, need to start looking at ways to reduce the starting deficit we have next year of about $8 million dollars. It’s time to start thinking about PERMANENT savings (school consolidations, reductions in staff and positions) versus TEMPORARY savings (furloughs, etc). There is a method to our madness!!!!

Thanks to all who continue to email me with concerns. Remember- Dr. Steve Smith will be sworn in as our interim Superintendent next Monday. Good things are coming. Let’s all work together, all of us, with POSITIVE energy and mind, to make a difference.

After all, the children depend on it.