This is going to be a busy week. I like busy weeks. They keep me energized and involved with all the little pieces that make up my job. Updating the web site, troubleshooting problems, answering teacher questions ("My email is all messed up. How do I fix it?"), finding good prices on the web for hardware. And of course teaching my classes. The special piece for this week is writing grant applications. We are lucky enough to have an educational foundation here in our town that raises money for things that can't be fit into the yearly budget. In the past they've bought us tablet pc's, gym gear, musical instruments, a kiln, digital cameras and camcorders, a climbing wall in the gym, classroom books, and lots more. Since the budget failed last year, for the first time in over twenty years, our budget has been tightened and there are several things I want to ask the foundation for.
For those of you who might not live in New Jersey, I should explain about the budget process. In fact I should start with our odd patchwork of tiny school districts. In a lot of states, like Maryland where my cousin Terry works, the school districts are county-wide. He is responsible for the library system in over thirty schools. Here in New Jersey we like home rule. Every town has its own school district. Our town of seven thousand people has two schools, elementary and middle, that together make up the Rumson Elementary District. Our high school is regional with the neighboring town of Fair Haven. It's not very efficient, but that's how we do it here. Furthermore every year in April the voters of the town get to approve the budget at the same time they elect candidates for the school board. Our town is relatively affluent and most people know that the value of the schools upholds the value of their real estate, so the budget almost always passes. But last year we got a little complacent and it failed. When that happens the town council imposes a cut. The cut was not massive by comparison to the total budget, but it fell heavily on technology since that's an area where cuts can be made, unlike places like salaries and the heating bill which are largely fixed. So far the administration has avoided layoffs and that will apparently be the last resort.
So to wind up the story here, I am applying to the foundation for things that really should be in our budget, like network management software, but that aren't. So we'll see what happens. The foundation board is independent from the school system and they make their own judgment about what they want to fund.
Technorati Profile