Although state officials everywhere are making attempts at continuing to fund classrooms, increasing budget cuts may lead to the loss of many useful and even necessary tools. An example of this is the case for the Star System, used by over a hundred school districts in Tennessee.
The Star System is the name of the software package that manages the attendance, schedules, and discipline of students in the schools. It is also the way the schools’ reports are sent to the state. Word is pending by Tennessee state governor Phil Bredesen of whether or not this budget item will be cut. Should that be the case, funds will no longer be provided for it, and schools will have to either find their own management software or pay for a state contract.
As these cuts continue, other schools share the worry of the possible negative effects on tutoring or after-school programs. Johnny Chandler, Dickson county director of schools agrees these are important and beneficial to the students’ learning.
“Keeping our [general classroom funding] is vital for us, for all our school systems in Tennessee,” said Chandler. “I don’t know how we would make it if we didn’t get our [general classroom funding] money.”
Additionally, the Star System software is widely used for reporting special education. The state of Tennessee is trying to divagate federal dollars to pay for that.
Ultimately, Gov. Bredesen and the state legislature will decide which school programs will be cut and which could be saved. The education commissioner is currently traveling the state, informing districts of what cuts to prepare for.
