Dr. Alonso, City Schools CEO, presented the 2009 budget and his Fair Student Funding proposal at a school board meeting last month that outlined how $40 million will be redistributed from North Ave’s Central Office to the schools. The goal is to give principals more autonomy in how money is spent and how students are supported in their individual school therefore holding principals accountable for the progress made by students. This plan includes cutting over 300 full time jobs from North Ave. and working to concentrate the resources where the kids are: in the school buildings.

In an article written on March, 14th in the Baltimore Times, Baltimore City Schools to shift millions of dollars from Central Office to classrooms, Dr. Alonso says, “After I heard there was not an afterschool program or an arts program in the schools, I felt that it needed to change. And it could not change by somebody here (in the Central Office) making decisions-but from the perspective of the resources in the schools and people in the schools making decisions about what is best for students.”

I could not agree with Dr. Alonso’s statement more. I spent about an hour talking to a group of students yesterday about why they repeatedly said their high school wasn’t a “real high school.” The bottom line: everyone must do the same thing, take the same classes and there is very little opportunity for engaging in activities, classes or clubs that really interest an individual student. One of my girls is very interested in studying music, especially singing, but our high school does not offer music classes, band, orchestra or chorus. Another one of my students pointed out that there are no AP classes for students to take advantage of to prepare for college. High school is the time when students are supposed to be exploring a variety of disciplines, classes and activities in preparation for choosing a college major or general course of study for their post-secondary education. If we are not offering these options to our students, how will our students know what career path to choose? How will they get excited about going to college to study their passion if they don’t have an opportunity to develop a passion?

I am excited that principals are being given the opportunity to address the unique issues that inhibit the students in their school from achieving. After school programs, tutors, arts programs, educational trips, sports, AP programs and curriculum resources are just some of the things that money can be used for based on exactly what that population of students needs and wants. I am also excited that principals must thoroughly prepare a budget, including having a public conversation with their school communities, before submitting their proposal. It is important to do the proper research before allocating funds based on what sounds like a good idea. I hope many of our students are able to benefit from this restructuring of the way funds are spent in Baltimore City.