Right Time For Rightsizing

(Augusta) - The Richmond County school board has to cut more than three million dollars from its budget and ironically the “Rightsizing Plan,” it is trying to put into place will help it do that.

With more budget cuts coming down the way it’s more and more critical.

The basis of rightsizing according to this outside audit is academic performance and that partly means changing class structure, some magnet programs and that would lead to administrative cuts too.

Instead of having every school K-5 and 6 through 8 and 9 through 12 that we could adjust some and combine either campuses such as what we’ve done at Freedom Park.

This month a draft of the Rightsizing plan is set up.

In December, the board will take action on the final plan and in January the plan will start to be phased in.

Padgett:  “I don’t think we’ll have one plan that fits all schools.  I think we need to adapt the schools to the community and to the needs of the community and certainly to meet our budgets and that’s the critical issue.”

Renita Crawford, reporting: “Do you see schools closing?“

Padgett: “Very possibly. The MGT study said, very succinctly, that we need to close three elementary, one middle and high school, and that’s not a mandate, it’s a recommendation. Certainly, I think we might look at some.”