A Radical Notion on the School Budget

The comments and suggestions made during to address the Albany schools’ budget gap for next year pretty much focused on where cuts could be made, or whether furloughs might possibly be a temporary fix. During the public question period I asked whether it might be possible to bring new revenue into the city by opening up MacGregor High School to nearby cities and towns that might have had to close their alternative high schools for budget reasons. That idea was summarily –albeit politely – dismissed when the city budget manager responded that state and federal laws prohibit public schools from charging tuition.

After hearing this, I didn’t even bother venturing the other idea I had brought to the hearing – one that would have addressed both the budget deficit and the issue of out-of-area school attendance: charging tuition for out-of-town families seeking to enroll their children in Albany schools.

As I sat and listened, and stewed, I realized that it’s not the fault of the school board or school administrators that they’re focused solely on spending; they’re not programmed to think in terms of revenue generation unless it’s in terms of the per-student revenue the city receives from the state. Maybe it’s time to change the way we think about the schools; instead of looking at them as cost centers, why not consider how they might become profit centers, instead?

If I’ve learned anything from working in the public and private sectors over the past 25 years, it’s that laws can change; they can be amended, retracted and altered in myriad ways, for specified durations or indefinitely. Certainly as times change, so does the need for legislation that is pragmatic and forward-thinking. Many laws that were passed with the best of intentions have subsequently been overridden, given "passes" in budget line items, or amended or revised in new legislation. I suggest that maybe it's time to do just that for Albany.  

Albany schools are clearly East Bay academic destination spots. Why not capitalize on this reputation and make it work for families and schools alike? We all know that the school district's efforts to who are in our schools illegally have resulted in the identification of but a fraction of those scofflaws. If these parents could pay less than a private education would cost, but still more than they’re doing now (which is freeloading), where is the harm?

Desperate times call for desperate measures. I’d bet it wouldn’t be too difficult to convince our local Assembly representative and our Congressional rep. to sponsor a line item fee on some piece of legislation that would make it lawful for Albany to offer a limited number of enrollment slots to its schools for a set tuition. And even if some parents still preferred to enroll their children illegally, then at least the city would have more money in hand to use identify and “evict” these families.

If this seems harsh, then consider the “benefits” these freeloading families bring to our schools: larger class sizes (i.e., higher teacher-student ratios), fewer available textbooks, overcrowded public spaces (bathrooms, hallways, classrooms, cafeteria/food services, etc.). More money would, at least, allow for the possibility of physical expansion as well as resource materials.

And let us not forget in the process, as it would be to the benefit of continuation students everywhere for MacGregor to remain open and provide them a quality education.