There’s an old saying, “desperate times call for desperate measures.” FCPS is faced with a budget deficit of around $100 million for the 2015 fiscal year (for more about that check out FCPS’s explanation http://www.fcps.edu/news/fy2015.shtml). Such a deficit would be considered a desperate time, but fear not members of the FCPS community desperate measures have been implemented; FCPS has designed a game that allows users to attempt to balance the budget.
Usually at The Highlander we attempt to take issues like this head on publishing an editorial or opinion article. However, since FCPS has decided to make a complete mockery of the process of balancing a budget it seems fitting to review their game.
Enthralled by the poorly designed graphic and challenge issued by the “Can You Balance the Budget” question, I had fallen for the trap. Instead of thinking “Isn’t this what we have a school board for” I clicked on the scale and prepared to solve a complicated and important problem via online game.
Upon clicking on the scale on the graphic I was led to this screen. This was no game, I felt betrayed, yet valiantly I decided to push on skimming the text before clicking the “Budget Proposal Tool” underlined link.
More text, but another poorly designed graphic so I knew progress was being made. I will cut FCPS some slack here, they most likely have never made an online game before, but even then they should realize no one reads the instructions. For the second time I click the “Budget Proposal Tool” link.
My long arduous journey was completed. I had reached the goal. Instead of enjoying the success of arriving I knew the difficult journey was just beginning. Time now to attempt to solve a problem the school board and paid professionals can not. Time to usher FCPS into a new era, a utopian period of a balanced budget. In ten years time they will remember this day.
At last! Succes. After carefully getting input from different community organizations and coalitions, wait scratch that the game leaves those formalities out, making the game less realistic. But none the less my accomplishment was still significant. I had succeeded at what many have failed. I had balanced the budget.
Now this was truly heart breaking. Having spent a whole five minutes of my time doing what the county has been trying to do for years I thought I had succeed. Instead, the cruel realities of life in the real world came rushing in; I leveled up.
I took the new level with a renewed tenacity, powering through it, who needs Kindergarten anyways? Finally, I had completed the second level. This time there was no false hope, I had completed the challenge.
FCPS attempted to create a game that would allow community members a chance to see the tradeoffs and decisions that need to be made in order to balance the budget. However, by oversimplifying the decisions that need to be made FCPS embarasses it’s self and should be ashamed. The current budget deficit should not be taken lightly, but also FCPS needs to improve how it its marketing the deficit eliminate waste first; waste such as the resources it took to make this game. For these reasons I give the FCPS Budget Proposal Tool a one star out of five star rating (with five being the best).
Fast Facts:
FCPS Budget Proposal Tool
Rating: 1/5
