Have you ever wondered about the finances and funding at Churchland High school? Well, here are some insights, facts, and opinions on what is being funded.
Most of the school's funding, along with other Portsmouth Public Schools, are controlled by a budget given to them from the Superintendent, the Financial Officer, along with the school board. There are certain amounts that the board gives to each section and areas to accommodate the school´s needs and educational purposes.
¨We get a budget each year from downtown and it’s placed into different categories and we put in a budget request usually in November for the next school year,¨ said Mr. Millaci, principal of Churchland High School, on the budget for CHS.
The budget for the school is mostly supporting the educational instruction side of things, while other smaller things like, office supplies and utensils, are not funded as much. If the staff are in need of materials, they simply just need to ask because a request can be sent or money can get transferred around.
Things like the cafeteria and custodial funds are beyond the control of the principal and are in the hands of the school board. For the 2021-2022 school year, the total funds that the superintendent and financial officer have set is $216.6 million. They have divided that total into helping different sections like the general funds, the risk management funds, textbook funds, cafeteria funds, and funds for grants.
¨I think that the things that are being financed the most are things that we don't really think about, like websites, textbooks, and fixing things around the school,¨ a junior student said.
The ceiling tile appears to be missing with a trash can underneath to catch the
dripping water as repairs are being made within the school.
¨The things that I think are getting financed the least would probably be the bathrooms and clubs at Churchland High school,¨ said a freshman student.
Teachers and the educational department can send requests to the principal for certain needs or wants for the classroom or to help educate students in a more efficient way. According to the principal, money can get moved around to help get the needs or wants of those workers.
Math teacher, Mr. Zahroui, says that there could be more improvement in instructional mediums. The classrooms that teachers are currently working in currently are the same classrooms that they have been working with for the past 10 or 20 years. Changes in technology, set up, and classroom sizes could all help with the improvement of the classroom environment.
¨Many of the boards are not set on the wall. For example, like BenQ. It is set on a stand that takes up space and if it is on the wall, we could have multiple TVs. There are students that can't see very well and with the glare. So for example, we could use a TV in the front and then a TV midway for someone that sits in the back,¨ Mr. Zahraoui said on the topic of technology.
Funding the education department with the amount that it needs is important because the students need to have sufficient supplies and technology to help them learn in the classroom. Education gets the most funding between the other sections of the school, but another section that does get attention is the athletic department.
The athletic department has a starting budget of $50,000 and can get their funding and money from different sources and not just from the budget that the school gets.
¨We usually get a large pot and I have to split it up amongst all the teams. Some teams are larger than others, so you know I always ask coaches their wants and needs. I gotta buy uniforms, I gotta buy equipment,¨ said Athletic Director Coach Whittington.
¨Yes, especially in sports. For instance, certain sports, especially the male sports, seem to get funded more than other sports that aren't as popular,¨ a female student athlete said on the question of if they think that the school is biased with their funding.
Each sport has different needs and materials so the budget cannot get evenly distributed amongst each sport. Some sports do receive more money than others because there are more players and the materials they need cost more.
¨I don´t believe that it is fair, but the athletic department will always get more funded due to the fact that equipment is expensive. Because that is what particular colleges are looking for, schools would normally dump a lot of cash into the athletics side of the school,¨ a senior said.
Fundraising is one way that the athletic department can receive funds and donations. The fundraisers can help the athletes buy things that they can use for the sport that they play. Another way that they can get money is through tickets. There are a couple of sports that require a ticket to watch the game. The money that they make from the tickets can also be used to help the athletic department and the athletes get what they need.
¨So the way that I do it is to task each team with a fundraiser so if they want to buy hoodies or things like that I can pay for them. Then, the team would go out there and do fundraisers so if there’s anything that they want, the teams can buy it and the best part is that they can keep it. Some teams fundraised over $7,000. That's money that they can use however they want and I can’t touch it,¨ Whittington said about fundraising.
Photos: Emily Layola