Tue, Nov 24 2009
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School statistics reflect low wages Nearly 92 percent of students at Thurgood Marshall classified as ‘economically disadvantaged’ By CARL E. FEATHER - Lifestyle Editor - cfeather@starbeacon.comStar Beacon “They need to be ready to learn, or our best instructional efforts will be of no avail,” Donatone says. “You can’t teach a child who has more pressing things on his mind.”
One of those issues is residential instability. Several years ago, the district did a study of intradistrict transfers: students who moved between or among buildings during the course of a year. Donatone says the district identified some 700 such transfers, which are indicative of unstable conditions within the family. Sometimes, that instability is driven by economics: for example, a family making frequent moves because of evictions. Other times, it is due to a child being shuffled between parents and grandparents because of drug use or relationship-instability issues. Donatone says these transfers can’t help but disrupt the students’ focus and learning, even though the district takes many steps to ensure a smooth transition. “Every time a child moves, he or she has to reacclimate him (or her) self to a new teacher, building, peers and different way of instruction,” Donatone says. Levy pains The county’s low per capita personal income affects education on the revenue side, as well. Homeowners stressed by rising costs over which they have no control can’t help but be stingy at the ballot box, where they do have a say in how much they’ll pay in real estate taxes. Earlier this month, voters delivered yet another blow to Conneaut’s struggle to raise $1.2 million with an emergency levy, the third attempt. Zappitelli says the district’s situation has been created by rising costs and declining revenues. On the revenue side, property values are falling, as is the student population. Any reader who has purchased gasoline, paid a natural gas bill or had an increase in health insurance should be able to comprehend the rising-costs portion of the issue. Staffing levels have been cut, a pay-to-play fee implemented, wages frozen for a year and the number of administrators cut from 17 to 12. Cuts can’t be made quickly enough to make up for the loss in revenue and rise in other expenses, however. Meanwhile, the state refuses to address its unconstitutional way of funding schools. It’s a mess that is frustrating for administrators and voters alike. “We’re learning people feel they’ve had to tighten their belts and so should we,” she says. Trends in the Conneaut district aren’t encouraging. In the 2003-04 school year, 50.9 percent of the students were economically disadvantaged. Three years later, the number had grown to 54.3. The district’s rate of students with disabilities also increased, from 12.4 to 13.7 percent. “We have more than 400 students who have individualized education plans in place as a result of disabilities,” she says. To make matters worse, there is an exodus of students, which translates into decreased reimbursements of state and federal funds. Zappitelli feels at least a portion of the decrease is because of a lack of economic opportunity for young families. “They are leaving this area,” she says. “They are vacating.” 
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