As part of its efforts to meet the expected deficits over the next two years, the AAPS launched an initiative to restructure the middle school program and curriculum so as to find about $2 million in cost savings. They started with the middle schools because they have the highest cost of operation per student. Cutting funding from programs that do not have a lot of leeway is never a desirable thing, but it is clear that the district will be under a lot of budget pressure for some time to come.

The question is, are the current proposals the best solution under the circumstances? Are other ideas on the table? Will these budget savings, however they are achieved, be the end of the cutting, or will we need to do this over and over? The process has gotten only moderate public attention, but key decisions will be made very soon that will affect the workings of our middle schools for years to come. Please join us in discussing the current proposals and the broader question of how to cut funds without gutting our schools' programs.