Budget cuts could mean larger Ft. Bend ISD classes
FT. BEND COUNTY, TX
With no where else to cut, administrators say classrooms in the Fort Bend Independent School District will change, and for some, the changes are hard to accept.
"This is one I don't want to see the kids suffer; I don't want that to happen," said resident Anthony Davis.
"I'm pretty sure they can cut somewhere else and reduce the budget cuts," said resident Mohammad Adil.
Fort Bend ISD has already cut their budget by $23 million by eliminating over 400 positions. They have to do even more this year -- that's because their $488 million budget is expected to be short $30 to $74 million in state funding or up to 15 percent of their budget gone.
"I will be larger classes, maybe 24, 25 students per teachers and it's something we don't want to do," said Ft. Bend ISD Superintendent Dr. Timothy Jenney.
Besides larger classrooms, there are additional possibilities being considered by administrators, such as charging rental fees for extracurricular activities and musical instruments, eliminating low enrollment electives, centralize academy programs for specific courses and limit the number of nondistrict games in all sports.
All possibilities one Ft. Bend ISD graduate doesn't like.
"This won't work. These are things that motivate students to go to college and see what's really happening in the world. I don't want to see cuts," said former student Shola Johnson.
