School Funding Shortages...AGAIN!!

[UncleDave]

I just watched a story on KSTP about the fact that I believe it was Belle Plain schools (I'm not sure it was Belle Plain) are short of funds (as EVERY district in Minnesota states they are) and that due to funding shortages the district is going to cut back on (you guess):

1. Weed Control

2. Teacher & Admin. Benefits

3. Early Retirement

4. Bus Route Cutbacks

Take a wild guess.  Every time you "punish" these districts by voting down the referendums that come up on damn near every ballot you ever vote on, the districts NEVER cut non-essential expenses, but always punish the taxpayer by hitting parents where it hurts worst (I am childless).  Bus routes are cut time after time.  Would you rather have your 5 year old walk 2 miles to school alone or have salaries cut, benefits cut, early retirement issues lengthened, cut the grass once a week rather than twice, build schools cheaper with less costly building materials, or rather than cut anything, slow down the rate of growth in benefit increases and salaries, etc?  Some of these higher up administration folks are making well into six figures.   

I'm not ripping teachers.  Their job is tough.  So is mine and many others.  But you can't deny the incredible benfits, time off, early retirement, decent salaries, etc.  There is no end in education funding though.  I am watching a pro-funding commercial on TV as I write.  Have you ever heard a district in the past 30 years say 'We're good, we have all of the funding we need'?  NEVER.  I lived in Brooklyn Center in 2002.  The district gave us a referendum for millions more funding via real estate taxes.  It was approved.  The VERY next year, there were newpaper stories that they were broke and needed more money.  What the hay!!??

There is no end.  The cost per student worldwide vs America and the test scores of our students compared to many 3rd world countries who spend FAR less per student should make us blush.  Money doesn't make kids smarter.  We are told again and again that we are underfunding our schools by those who look to make a buck.  Save the kids?  We fund our schools at an alarming rate and at an increasingly alarming rate.  Where are the results in student scores?  I'm fed up.  Can you tell?  Just sayin'.             

[Realtree]

Things are not going to change anytime soon I'm afraid. I don't know what the right answers are for this, but it is  frustrating as the parent of a Kindegardener it is a scary topic. We want the schools to have the funding they need to operate, but there doesn't seem to be any accountability to where it all goes. I have a couple of friends who are teachers, and they are just as frustrated as the parents in all of this. They are there because they choose to be to help the kids learn, but their hands are being tied by the program budgets and reported shortcomings.

 ???

[guythathunts]

The school district that I am most familiar with didn't change the bus distance because to many people cried about it every year. So, they cut 38 teachers this year. The bus will still come next year but the kids have to teach eachother. In 3rd world countries they don't have "The Bus" and kids do walk 2 miles to school. If you don't want your kids walking vote "yes" if you think it will build character vote "no". I'm going to vote "yes" every time because when my kids take the bus I want it to bring them to a sturdy building with teachers in it!
~ Greg

[Mr Harry]

  Frazee, which is a small school district has to cut $1,000,000.00, yes one million dollars!!  Everything is on the chopping block.  There aren't any easy anwsers for this one.

[holdemtwice]

 this is a tough one . i have two children  one in school 1st grade. he rides the bus. i wish someone could get into the administrators  office and do an audit. let see what the admins  are making. i think with a freeze on their salary would and could help . why don't we get  any input as to where the money  goes ??   IT seems like  the districts spend what ever  they want. i guess if "we" had the answers  we wouldn't have the problem.  just my  own 2 cents worth .
    Scott

[JohnWester]

I have 4 kids in our local public schools... and I vote no every time when a referendum comes up.  THEY DON'T NEED MORE MONEY!!! They need a swift kick in the afthole and then get someone in there to run schools like a business instead of a government welfare organization.  The teachers are NOT the problem.  The administrators are.  And all the funky government special ed programs.  In the schools mind, they spend 40,000 on some special program; they'll get a federal match of 40,000.  Sounds like a good deal huh?  Well, then costs over run and now they end up spending 50,000 to get that federal 40,000.  Now they need more money.  Common sense... cut the program; schools say NO, we'll lose 90,000 dollars.  No, you'll lose 40,000 in federal money that you were spending 50,000 to get.  If schools were businesses, they'd all be bankrupt in a year. 

ya, they cut our busses... ya, sometimes it's a pain to drive them in on cold, wet, nasty days... but for the most part they ride their bikes, like normal kids. I don't get socked with an extra $200 dollars a year, and my kids get some exercise.

The school system is a classic government money pit, boondoggle, example of government waste... call it what you want... but it needs change, and more money is NOT the answer.

[holdemtwice]

 VERY WELL PUT !!!!  ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito

[schwinger]

School funding will always be short, when you have to spend every dollar in your budget in order to get that same budget the next year and there is no accountability to where that money goes.

I personally think teachers have an unbelievably tough job, but my wife is a teacher so I may be biased. The amount of crap teachers have to deal with is unbelievable. Parents that use the teacher as day care and put no interest in bettering their child. You can't punish kids anymore because you WILL be sued.

Apparently you can't even report disturbing behavior in kids without being sued. With the horrible tragedy in Virgina and everyone trying to blame the school for not doing enough. Did anyone read the story about the teacher in Grand Marais that reported a child for writing a story about shooting the teacher and then himself. Yep, that teacher was sued. Sorry this doesn't really apply to topic but found it very interesting.
http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1139780.html
 
-"But you can't deny the incredible benfits, time off, early retirement, decent salaries, etc. ". -

I can, unless you are talking about the admins, I think teachers are grossly underpaid, under supported and I have better benefits than a teacher (I am in an entry level job).

[JohnWester]

-"But you can't deny the incredible benfits, time off, early retirement, decent salaries, etc. ". -

I can, unless you are talking about the admins, I think teachers are grossly underpaid, under supported and I have better benefits than a teacher (I am in an entry level job).

I agree... I think I said teachers are not the problem... I know you weren't knocking me schwinger...  but if the majority think this, then why can't this problem in our public school district get fixed?  someone is going to have to step in and radically change things... who should it be?  the governor? the state government(house and senate)?  can this be fixed at the local level? dump your local school board members and get some new blood in there?  I might check into our local school board thing.  I have no free time as it is with coaching kids sports teams, be it hockey, baseball, football, or soccer.. all seasons covered... but if no one else will do it... the status quo needs to be broken up!

[schwinger]

I don't know the answers but I believe you hit on the head BFG. It is just government tripping over themselves and not having to answer for the spending. The city I live in , Bloomington , the schools have something like 9 admins. All making 6 figures or very close to it. Sounds a bit top heavy to me.

[Realtree]

Great thoughts BFG! I agree completely.

[guythathunts]

I personally think teachers have an unbelievably tough job, but my wife is a teacher so I may be biased. The amount of crap teachers have to deal with is unbelievable. Parents that use the teacher as day care and put no interest in bettering their child. You can't punish kids anymore because you WILL be sued.

::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito ::dito
~ Greg

[schwinger]

My wife teaches fourth grade and here is a great example of the non sense some parents come up with. One of her 4th grade students is good at hockey. Good because he is a level higher than most kids his age (squirts vs bantams or however that works). So the parents wanted my wife to change the kids grades in a subject he was not doing well in (because he is not allowed to play on the team if his grades are not good enough). Why? Because she is holding him back from his chance to get into the NHL. This kid is in 4th grade and they think he is going to the NHL. Doesn't matter that he can't read or write because he is set because he is a bantam or squirt or however that works.. How do you reason with a person like that?

[guythathunts]

QUOTE "How do you reason with a person like that?".... Hold the kid back! It is the only sensable thing to do. Ps. I'll bet anyone out there $1,000,000 this kid dosn't play in the NHL. !!!
~ Greg

[Mayfly]

My wife teaches fourth grade and here is a great example of the non sense some parents come up with. One of her 4th grade students is good at hockey. Good because he is a level higher than most kids his age (squirts vs bantams or however that works). So the parents wanted my wife to change the kids grades in a subject he was not doing well in (because he is not allowed to play on the team if his grades are not good enough). Why? Because she is holding him back from his chance to get into the NHL. This kid is in 4th grade and they think he is going to the NHL. Doesn't matter that he can't read or write because he is set because he is a bantam or squirt or however that works.. How do you reason with a person like that?

Sounds like they are teaching that kid some great ethics and morals in that household. My kid doesn't get the grades my kid isn't playing! Sorry sweetie

[Realtree]

I personally think teachers have an unbelievably tough job, but my wife is a teacher so I may be biased. The amount of crap teachers have to deal with is unbelievable. Parents that use the teacher as day care and put no interest in bettering their child. 

I second that schwinger. One of our friends is a teacher at both the Junior High School and the Catholic elementary school in our town. She sees first hand the lack of parent involvement in her students lives. It seems that these people are so busy working and doing their own things, that they don't have any time "left over" to invest in their own kids...they should have thought about that before having kids. One of my biggest frustrations is parents that don't take an active role in their kids lives. My wife and I work with the youth at our church and my wife has taught Sunday school and helped in the Nursery and Toddlers rooms for as long as I can remember, so we see some of that even through our church programs...it's very sad.

[schwinger]

QUOTE "How do you reason with a person like that?".... Hold the kid back! It is the only sensable thing to do. Ps. I'll bet anyone out there $1,000,000 this kid dosn't play in the NHL. !!!
~ Greg

That is exactly my point. If my wife doesn't change his grades ( and she didn't and won't) she will be getting an earful from the principal because the parents will go to her. The principal is another story, oh my. That is the undersupported part I mentioned earlier.