Education Budget Cuts; End of Bookstores?
KAYE: Last week, Memphis City school superintendent Kriner Cash was directed to cut $78 million from the current budget. Entire budgets for non-mandated programs such as junior ROTC, school security staff and early childhood education were cut. The Memphis City School's Board held an emergency meeting last night. The board claims that the city owes them over $151 million, dating back to 2008. And that it would be, quote, "irresponsible" to open schools while cutting all of these services. So, the board voted to indefinitely delay the school year until the city of Memphis pays up. Meanwhile, in Minnesota, legislators agreed on a proposal to end the state government shutdown. Part of the deal would require the state to raise $700 million by delaying state aid checks to school districts. And while you can find reports of delayed payments to school districts all over the country, all of the budget battles have one thing in common: when public sector spending needs to be reined in, education becomes a major part of the equation. So, the question for today's Stream Team is this: are education cuts sacrificing the future or a necessary evil? On the team today: Jeff Gardere is a clinical psychologist. And Steve Perry, he's on the phone with us. He's a founder and principal the Capital Preparatory Magnet School. He joins us also. Let me start with you, Jeff, if I can. Are you in favor of the steps that the Memphis school board is taking? Do you think this is a good idea to delay school indefinitely?</s>JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: I think it's a horrible idea. It's a horrible message to the kids. We are telling them we're playing politics with their education. Education should be the last bastion that should be touched. And I just think they're being forced -- in their own minds, they feel they're being forced to take this drastic action. But, again, I just do believe that it's going to have a very deleterious effect on the minds of the children knowing that this is going on.</s>KAYE: Steve, what are your thoughts on the recession and how it is impacting education reform?</s>STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR (via telephone): The recession has been one of the most important things to happen to public education. Because what it's done is it's shown us that we've overspent and underperformed. And it's now created an opportunity where accountability can be the order of the day. It's also presented us with the opportunity for governors to lead. They've been given a mandate to make certain decisions to just get done. And, finally, what it's also shown us is we as educators have a responsibility to make sure we are fiscally responsible. We've seen for too long that in public schools, we've had whatever we wanted. As often as we talk about the problems of underfunding and over- expecting, we've had an average class size for very long of about 22. As a result, we've gotten -- we've become one of lowest performing public school systems in the world.</s>KAYE: So, it sounds like you're saying that you do believe that schools can actually run more efficiently. How much of a problem is it for schools to not have their whole budget?</s>PERRY: Well, it's a problem for them to not have their whole budget. It would be foolhardy to say you can operate without the budget that you need. But the problem is we don't often need the budgets we're often given. We are overspending. When you give everyone in the school a raise simply because they lived another year, then you're not being fiscally responsible. You have to give raises based upon a person's ability to perform and more importantly, the ability of the organization to pay. You cannot simply give a raise because it's another calendar year. That's what we've done for too long. You simply cannot give bloated benefits because people want them. If you can't pay for them, you can't give them. It doesn't matter if they're educators or eye doctors. It doesn't matter.</s>KAYE: Jeff, who really loses out here? I mean, when you think about school not opening on time and then also, of course, having to extend to make up those days, what happens to the kids here?</s>GARDERE: Well, these are kids now who see adults as playing with their future. It's like all of us as adults who are so through with Washington, with the partisan politics over the raising of the debt ceiling. We now feel that this is just a big game and we're pawns in it. And the kids see the same thing. And even though Steve is giving some very wise words here, I really do believe that he's mixing apples and oranges. This isn't about paying for performance that's not being delivered. This is about closing down a school system because you're owed money. And at the end of the day, the ones who suffer the most, as you're saying, are the kids who are going to have to start school late, perhaps, and then have to work through the summers. It's just not fair to them that the adults are playing politics and I understand that they may have to, but that they are still playing politics with the futures of our children, with the education of our children.</s>KAYE: Steve, I have 20 seconds for you to have the final word here.</s>PERRY: Call it politics or whatever you'd like to. In the end, no government entities can run without money. And we are schools and we are government entities. And in order for us to be able to run effectively, we need to be able to pay people. If there's no money to pay people, it doesn't matter what they do, police, fire or educators. We have to have enough money to pay. Memphis Public Schools has a particular set of circumstances that extends beyond this conversation, not the least of which it's already been taken over by the county. It's a bigger problem. And it's one of the lowest performing school systems in t country.</s>KAYE: Right.</s>PERRY: Much bigger problems than we have the opportunity to discuss here. More important, we as educators have to pitch in and understand that we have a responsibility to be responsible in our spending and in our product.</s>KAYE: All right, Steve. That was more than 20 seconds, because it's such an important topic, I'll let it go.</s>PERRY: My bad.</s>KAYE: Steve Perry, Jeff Gardere, appreciate both of you. Thank you.</s>GARDERE: Thank you.</s>KAYE: Planning on picking up the latest copy of "Harry Potter" at your local bookstore? You may need to hurry up. The nation's second largest bookstore chain is closing. Why and what this means for the price of books, next.