OPINION: Barrow school system shows good management

Posted by
Staff Writer
in Editorial Archives
Friday, January 21. 2011
Comments (8)
THE Barrow County School System is the largest taxing agency and the largest employer in Barrow County. How the system handles its tax money and how it has adjusted to the cut in state funding is very important to all Barrow citizens.

As a news story this week shows, the BCSS is among the best managed financially in the state based on its conservative spending per student. Overall, the system spent $7,804 per student in the last fiscal year, making it one of the lowest cost per student systems in Georgia. As a quick comparison, both the Madison County and Jackson County school systems spend $1,000 more per student than does Barrow.

That speaks well of Barrow’s fiscal management, not just last year, but also in the years before. It’s clear from the data that Barrow school officials have worked for many years to be conservative financial managers of tax money.

Most of any school system’s money is spent for personnel in salaries and benefits. It’s easy for school systems to load up on hiring too many administrative staff and letting payroll climb too high.

But in Barrow, that seems to not be the case. In General Administrative expenses, Barrow spent only $263 per student last year, one of the lowest numbers in the state. In School Administrative expense, the system spent $498 per student, far below Jackson County’s $678 or Oconee County’s $682.

Why study all of this? Because it’s important for citizens to know how their local governments spend their tax money. The more information and data citizens have, the better decisions they can make about their local government agencies.

Of course, financial measurements aren’t the only way to judge a school system or its overall mission. The long list of standardized test scores from students are also important.

But given these difficult economic times, the Barrow County School System, the state’s 28th largest, is doing more with less and is spending taxpayer dollars in a conservative and responsible manner.

For that Barrow citizens should be grateful.
Trackbacks
Trackback specific URI for this entry
No Trackbacks
Comments
Display comments as (Linear | Threaded)
#1 Barrow parent on 01/21/11 at 07:45 AM [Reply]
Good information, but are we getting what we pay for? I'd rather spend a little more money and have more quality teachers rather than settling for some quality and some not. As a parent of a student, I have seen some shockingly unprofessional teachers that administration turns a blind eye to while good teachers scurry off to more professional establishments. But, hey.....we're saving money!
#2 LD on 01/21/11 at 08:57 AM [Reply]
About the only 'good' thing the barrow department of educations and school system 'manages' is fleecing the taxpayers of the county for a 6 figured salary and providing miserable, sub-standard education as a product.

This county is the laughing stock of the state and most of the country as far as education goes...serious changes need to be made and i cant for the life of me think if ANY reason to believe there is anything 'good' about the barrow county school system.
#3 Robert Lanham on 01/21/11 at 09:10 AM [Reply]
I have to agree with Barrow parent. If the only focus is on the amount of money being spent, then one could argue that the board is doing a good job. A better measure of their stewardship, however, would be a comparison of the output - that is the number of quality students the system produces - versus dollars spent. Given the fact that Barrow County Schools have historically lagged in such measures as graduation rates and test scores, I thing that this analysis would demonstrate a less than satisfactory use of the tax dollars being spent by the board. Sorry, Charlie, but your paper did a half baked job this time. Clearly this effort was not up to your usual standards.
#3.1 Mike Buffington on 01/21/11 at 01:32 PM [Reply]
We have reported, and editorialized, extensively about the school system's testing results. This story was simply about its financial status. We will continue to report and comment on how the system stands regarding testing.
#3.1.1 Tommy Jennings on 01/22/11 at 06:12 PM [Reply]
Nice work, Mike, by your folks for the comparisons.

We understand the shortcomings of the Barrow County School System. Yet we know the improvements those at the top are making to bring Barrow's schools up to the equal of surrounding schools.

BCS personnel are running an efficient system. You and your staff have done a good job to present the various systems, and the results thereof.
#4 gatorfan on 01/21/11 at 12:32 PM [Reply]
I bet the above comment will be "moderated" and never see the light of day. If there were a more appropriate story to attach the comment to I would have. Unfortunatley unlike the Barrow County News, your paper seems to only be interested in tabloid like stories, not the truth.
#4.1 Anonymous on 01/21/11 at 01:47 PM [Reply]
Being a Gator fan I would not expect much in the smarts dept from you. How is this tabloid? The paper is giving an opinion under opinions based on figures. In Winder the definition of tabloid " anything printed that I do not agree with" .
#4.2 Brandon Leslie on 01/21/11 at 04:20 PM [Reply]
gator fan your name says it all! What are you even doing in Barrow County?
Add Comment
E-Mail addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for E-Mail notifications.
To leave a comment you must approve it via e-mail, which will be sent to your address after submission.

To prevent automated Bots from commentspamming, please enter the string you see in the image below in the appropriate input box. Your comment will only be submitted if the strings match. Please ensure that your browser supports and accepts cookies, or your comment cannot be verified correctly.
CAPTCHA

 
   
 
Submitted comments will be subject to moderation before being displayed.
 

Recent Stories

Local event to honor older Americans
Saturday, May 18 2013
Free summer food program for kids starts May 21
Saturday, May 18 2013
CUSTOM MADE SCREENS AND SCREEN REPAIR
Friday, May 17 2013
WINDER 3BR, 1BA house
Friday, May 17 2013
WINDER 2BR, 1BA HOUSE
Friday, May 17 2013

Recent Comments

V about We are all Bostonians now
Fri, May 17, 2013 - 07:43 AM
False Flag to roll out the police state.
Hmmm about Father of BOC member could face charges in helicopter incident involving Sonny Perdue
Thu, May 16, 2013 - 08:23 AM
"Where an excess of power prevails, property of no sort is duly respected. No man is safe in [...]
Two Issues about that about Father of BOC member could face charges in helicopter incident involving Sonny Perdue
Wed, May 15, 2013 - 03:26 PM
1. You live near an AIRPORT, therefore AIR TRAFFIC will occur, I recommend selling or getting [...]
Joe about Father of BOC member could face charges in helicopter incident involving Sonny Perdue
Wed, May 15, 2013 - 02:16 PM
Let's hope the apple fell a little far from the tree.
Mike M. about Top administrator, principal resign from Barrow schools
Mon, May 13, 2013 - 11:26 AM
Sad but true, perhaps those bus drivers should have made better career decesions.
Adam about We are all Bostonians now
Mon, May 13, 2013 - 11:08 AM
Wasn't it Boston-Mass. that turned away help during the Hurricane becasue they weren't Union W [...]

Signup to receive Journal Headline Previews and Breaking News Email Alerts

This Week's Poll

Sister Sites

BanksNews TODAY
BraseltonNews TODAY
CommerceNews TODAY
JacksonHerald TODAY
MadisonJournal TODAY
MainStreetNews OBITS
MainStreetNews SPORTS
MainStreetNews.com
Copyright © 2008-2012 MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.