Budget Battle: Local Schools Close, Teachers Calling Out

[Puddle Jumper]

there really isn't a lot of waste. at least in a lot of areas. a lot of schools don't even have money for supplies in the classroom. We had to use goldenrod paper instead of white paper because of budget cuts. Unfortunately many people think that schools are where to turn to make room in budgets. Mainly because not all voters have kids in school so it's easy for them to say they don't want to pay for the schools.

The average cost of educating a student in the US is $10k/year and in many areas it's substantially higher than then yet their students still perform terribly. Surely with that amount of money we should at least be able to provide proper supplies for classrooms. That's what leads me to say there has to be waste, the teachers sure aren't getting much of that $10k and in most cases it isn't being spent on supplies either so where the **** is it all going?

If anything good teachers and proper supplies/books are what would do students the most good so those area's is where the funding needs to go.IMO.

 

[MindoverMaster]

It goes to administration and the principal. You know, they need papers on all the students, plenty of blue slips, and have these really expensive apple computers.

Edit: does this have anything to do with the sex offenders?

 

[Oreo]

Is it just me or are the UK/US Governments utterly useless ? I swear if you got a large TNC like Microsoft or Google to run a country it'd be much better. Being companies they would be efficient. Already wealthy politicians who live in a different world to us should not be running countries, they have no idea.

 

[Peter.Cort]

i'm certainly no expert on school financing, but there are a lot of people to pay, and more than just salaries, benifits too. remember since it's a state funded institution they have to offer medical and other things. it's liek any business where the little things add up fast. especially when you're running an institution with enough employees to support, in my case, 1200 students.

 

[MindoverMaster]

I wish they would expand, like have schools by them. You'd have free materials, maybe lower cost? Everyone gets a kindle, instead of old outdated books?

 

[Peter.Cort]

there are colleges run by Kaplan that are a business, the problem with that is there drive is to make money, not give a quality education. They just care about getting kids to sign on, pay tuition, and graduate with a degree, doesn't matter if they graduate with a 2.0 or a 4.0, tuition dollars are tuition dollars.


and addressing slay's point, I don't think that they need a pay raise by any means, and if it comes to it if it's either 100% employment for the current teachers in the district and a pay cut for all, or 95% employment of the current teachers to maintain the pay they get, I would hope that they would look out for the greater good and take a cut, but there are so many other sectors that can be cut that are less important than teachers, especially when teachers make so little already, a 7% cut can be quite a lot when for a lot of those families already have to stretch so far to make ends meet.

Also there's a lot more at stake for the teacher union, the law is trying to take away collective bargaining rights and right to unionize.

 

[MindoverMaster]

And I knew some teachers that had 2 jobs...

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

Believe it or not, teachers don't make much, most of my teachers in high school made $23,000 at most a year.... And a LOT of them would buy supplies for the students as a lot of students have issues getting supplies...

Honestly, the biggest issue this country has is the absence of unions, there is actually a graph somewhere on CNN (god I HATE CNN, but it makes a good point) showing the difference, with adjustments for inflation over the years, the top 5% wealthiest in the states has had a HUGE increase in earnings, while the middle class has stayed the same for 40 years, even with the SMALL pay raises. Now, the graph also showed those in workers unions, those people, had an increase SIMILAR to that of the richest. So you tell me whats screwing the country.

 

[patonb]

No no no...... Unions as they are are a horrible idea..... Just like a Prof with tenure who can't teach.

I think the last thing to be cut are schools. The only way to grow back to a strong Continent is to educate the younger generations.

I have so much respect for teachers and all the crap they put up with because parents don't parent anymore.

Lastly there can never be schools run like a buisness, ever!

 

[Peter.Cort]

unions are the only thing that teachers can really rely upon to maintain a halfway decent salary. especially for new teachers.