PGCPS explains changes to specialty programs, cites cost and capacity concerns for select IB and AVID changes

Council members asked the district to clarify which specialty programs were at risk or changed under the proposed budget. Dr. Shawn Joseph explained the administration's approach and the data that drove recommendations.

On IB programs, Dr. Joseph said the administration examined costs and student participation and concluded some high-school IB offerings had low enrollment relative to cost. "Long story short, we were spending millions of dollars for less than a 100 students actually getting the program," he told council members and offered to provide the specific data.

The district also noted it had recommended retiring a middle-school AVID program as a duplicative service now covered by expanded career counseling. "We did away with a program called AVID. AVID was a middle school program that prepared kids to be in advanced courses. Since we have career counselors in the system now, it was a duplicative effort that, we could save millions on to do the same thing," Dr. Joseph said.

Officials said some immersion programs at elementary schools were preserved after adjustments, and that work continues with the board and community to finalize the status of middle- and high-school specialty offerings. The district said the board set aside $1.9 million to address unresolved immersion-program issues while budget negotiations proceed.