Feb 13, 2019, KSTP Minneapolis, MN: [Burnsville] School District 191 facing major budget cuts, parents upset https://kstp.com/news/burnsville-eagan-savage-school-district-considers-major-cuts-budget-shortfall/5245503/ The Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District is proposing major cuts to make up for a $7 million budget shortfall. The list of potential cuts includes freshman athletics, middle school orchestra and some elementary school field trips. At a school board meeting Wednesday, parents were invited to share their concerns and thoughts on ways to save money. Hundreds of families showed up. … Dan Gerner started a Facebook page - Fight the ISD 191 budget cuts - to get more parents involved. "Academics and extracurricular activities go hand in hand," he said prior to Wednesday night's meeting. "Those should be two sacred cows that are never touched under any circumstance."… The district cited two main reasons for the cuts: state funding which hasn't kept up with inflation. The district receives around $92 million a year in state dollars and the vast majority of that is spent on salaries for teachers, counselors, janitors, etc. Plus, mandated services like special education classes are underfunded by $12 million according to the district. "We have to spend $12.7 million out of our general fund to make up for the cost of special education services that are not paid by the state and federal government," Superintendent Cindy Amoroso said earlier Wednesday. …

Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.