This is not a drill, Lawrence Schools Supt. Randy Weseman tells the dozen men and women in the room.
Their eyes enlarge. Groans ensue.
You have half an hour to cut $2.4 million from this year's $62 million budget, he continues. Your names will accompany your recommendations, and the newspaper is here to report what you decide.
The lesson: Leaders must have the courage to stand up in front of their colleagues and the public and make important decisions.
"That's what leaders do," Weseman says. "Leaders are in the arena. You're not on the outside criticizing the decisions others make. You're in the circle."
It's one of the realities of leadership that Weseman is trying to teach 12 district teachers and staff members chosen from 41 applicants to participate in a Leadership Development Seminar sponsored by the Lawrence Schools Foundation. Participants meet once or twice a month in the evenings to discuss what it takes to be a leader principles Weseman expects them to take back to the schools in which they work.
"In an organization like ours, you need people in buildings who will assume leadership roles," Weseman said. "Leadership isn't titles it's how you work with people."
No fat to trim
A few minutes into the budget-cutting exercise, group members begin to realize the difficulties of such a monumental and personal task.
"There's no fat to trim here," says Kassie Shook, a first-grade teacher at Sunflower School.
Martha Doennig, who teaches third graders at Langston Hughes School, gets caught up in the numbers for a moment and then backtracks.
"But these are people," she says.
There must be some way we can raise more money, group members protest.
Weseman dampens their optimism, informing them that state law doesn't allow them to raise money in excess of the $62 million cap.
"You've got to cut," he says. "Take out the knife. Be brutal."
"This is one of the most agonizing things I've done in my life," says Terri Johnson, a counselor at Pinckney School. "We're talking about our fellow teachers. We're talking about our students."
Group members hate the idea of putting their names on their suggestions. But they agree on some of the same reductions, such as charging the parents of students who ride buses to school, which could save the district more than $400,000. Other "popular" cuts though none is really popular include eliminating zero hour at the high schools, a potential savings of more than $222,000, and trimming a percentage of the athletics, music and art budgets.
Joys and discomforts
Weseman listens to the groups' suggestions, asks them how they reached their conclusions and then sympathizes.
"We've been doing this all year in budget committee, and nobody's any farther along on it than you are because it's so value-laden," he says. "I don't believe there's a right cut. I believe there's a process, and you learn from the process."
Sponsor Lawrence Schools Foundation a nonprofit organization that also provides funding for early childhood education programs, recognition of outstanding educators, opportunities for staff development, scholarships for graduating seniors and support for special-needs students is betting participants and the district will benefit from the 11-session seminar. Foundation Director Lori Johns has been sitting in on the workshops.
"It's been really fun. There's been lots of great interaction," Johns said. "A lot of people will fire questions right back at Randy (Weseman) about his leadership role."
In exchange for their time, participants will receive a $1,000 stipend when the seminar ends in May.
Perhaps by then participants will have grown accustomed to both the joys and discomforts of leadership.
"I wanted you to get that feeling in your stomach that you get when you're making a tough decision," Weseman tells them after the budget-cutting exercise. "That feeling never changes."
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.