APS Redistricting Round II - The Preview

[Shamamama]

There's our t-shirt!

Redistricting advocacy as only Cabbagetown could do it:



Very awesome - via the Patch

[strawberrythief]

Did anybody else see this? Apparently the central office at APS is going to be going through some reorganization that is expected to save the district 500k. They are eliminating 64 positions while creating 63 new ones. So, only one job will be completely eliminated. The cost savings will be come from "adjusted pay grades" for the new positions. 

http://www.ajc.com/news/aps-superintendent-proposes-changes-1330139.html

It is pretty common knowledge that APS spends more money on salaries in their central office than any of the other districts in the metro area. This is a step toward improving that, and I hope they are able to trim some inefficiencies but I'm not sure why they aren't just eliminating more of these jobs completely. I hate to see anyone out of work, but it seems a little bit like putting a band-aid on a gun shot wound.

[Opti1]

Looked to me like the re-org/re-classification was more about getting rid of bureaucrats and giving more resources to schools and teachers. The $500k savings, of course, would be what he (rather, the ajc) was leading with, but I think it's just a side benefit.

More shared services resources and fewer bureaucrats would be a great thing, in my opinion. If they save some money to boot, double-hells yes.

[The Lord of the Jungle]

Looked to me like the re-org/re-classification was more about getting rid of bureaucrats and giving more resources to schools and teachers. The $500k savings, of course, would be what he (rather, the ajc) was leading with, but I think it's just a side benefit.

More shared services resources and fewer bureaucrats would be a great thing, in my opinion. If they save some money to boot, double-hells yes.

An emphatic +1bajillionty.


I worked on the development of that building, and got to meet many of its denizens.  Lots of really good, really smart, really dedicated people.  Also more than their fair share of folks just cashing a substantial check.  You definitely got the sense that the org was top heavy.


My reading of the news is similar to Opti's (and something that I think most APS parents have been advocating for a decade):  Less management downtown, more support locally.

[strawberrythief]

I guess I was just surprised that the actual number of bureaucrats only decreased by one. Instead of eliminating more positions which could have been done; titles, salaries, and responsibilities were just shifted around.

But, also from reading the NYT article written about Davis that was recently published it seems as though he has already fired a number of people at the central office before this reorganization. So, maybe more has been done to trim the fat at the central office than what was written about in the AJC article.

[Opti1]

I think I read the article as "we've shifted resources to be of actual use" as opposed to "we saved you tax payers $500k".

Seems they got rid of bureaucrats, and 'replaced' them with people who will serve instead of impede. I took the money saving as a hook or headline for people who assumed APS was already serving schools, but with an added layer of bureaucracy, when in reality services were slim and they were fat at the top.

I, personally, do not believe APS has a strong history of serving schools and giving them what they need. Seems more like an ivory tower that issues decrees of educational philosophy that often differ from what qualified principals and teachers see. My hope is that the land of unicorns has been replaced by a genuine desire to see schools work.

My view is that they decreased the bureaucrats by 32, but only decreased the number of jobs by 1.

[strawberrythief]

Reynoldstown wants to be zoned for BPA/Coan/Jackson....

http://eastatlanta.patch.com/articles/aps-redistricting-reynoldstown-supports-option-a