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This chaps my buns!

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vping

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So Jeani is upstairs prepping all the stuff that the kids need for school. She just got back from Price Club with a ton of stuff, some for school and some for home. I see boxes, not the little packs but full boxes of tissues, each labled with "Spanish", "Core" "Social Studies"... I ask what those are for and apparently, those are for the kids to bring to school. Not for their own personal use but for the entire class. Mind you each of my 3 kids has the same list of stuff to bring.

What am I paying taxes for? I need to supply my kids with tissues for when they might need one? "Excuse me teach, can I have one of my tissues please" Give me a break, I spend a small fortune in taxes and to see this is an insult.
 
I understand your reaction but have you been on another planet for awhile? School students have been doing that drill for years. Here's the other side. My daughter teaches public middle school. Up until a few years ago, she was spending here own money for supplies. Well with the huge salary she's pulling down, that's nothing. Right? Give me a break. She and he colleagues stopped doing it and guess who's helping now? yes , the students. Maybe in a perfect world, they shouldn't need to do this. But if each student (family) contributes it spreads the sacrifice a little.

My $0.02
 
As a public school teacher I understand your frustration with having to supply me with tissue, cleaning, supplies and paper, but if I don't enlist the support of my parents, I will have to buy these things myself. Yes, the school should supply them...they don't. I spend on average bewteen $800 and $1000 EVERY year on paper, pencils,paper clips, staples, maps, glue, lab supplies, rulers, ink for my printer. etc. I painted my own classroom last summer and built my teacher's desk so I would have one.
I do recieve money from the district each year...$24 for "classroom supplies"
The worst part is, I am NOT unusual...in fact I probably don't supply near as much as many others.
Why? Y'all tell me. Where does the money go....I suspect the top 5% of the administrative salaries and perks (like a car and laptop computer)while a 1st year teacher with 2 kids qualifies for food stamps in Arkansas.
 
Okay...

..my BAD!!!

"WHO ~IS~ John Galt?!?!



HUCK EM!!!


"Teach... yer Children Well..."
 
I had a social studies teacher that always handed out "NPs" if you didn't have your "supplies" (pencils, paper, whatever). A certain number of NPs resulted in something, I can't quite remember what.

We usually took care of it by borrowing from other students. It worked out pretty well. Come to think of it we did that all through elementary school too.
 
no doubt.


"Who's gonna come..."


my DOUBLE bad!!
 
Now that I hear a teachers side of it I don't feel as angered by this but now angered at the fact that the teachers have to foot the bill. That'd be like me coming to work overyday and my boss telling me I'd have to pay for my own supplies in order to do my job. That does not sit well with me either. I see it all the time, the cars the laptops and It's not fair to any of us.
Sorry if I offended the teachers in any way. I really should be po'd at the system.

Keep up the good work.
 
Should be P.O.'d enuff to get active in the system, Vince.

We're constantly bickering with the local school system over stuff like this... and we don't even HAVE kids.

As part of a community Leadership program alumni group we can badger about anyone in public office, sometimes to good effect. :wink:
 
As Terri mentioned, a huge part of the budget goes towards the administrative side of things, and the fact that those people get perks while the teachers get comparatively nothing has been a burr under my saddle for a looooong time. The fact is that just about any administrative structure, whether in private enterprise or public service is full of its own self-importance, and the people who actually get things done are looked down upon by them whilst they are building their own little empires.

There is another thread running that feature notable quotes, and not many members need any reminding of my admiration for Winston Churchill, so here is another of his:

"Those who think that we can become richer or more stable as a country by stinting education and crippling the instruction of our young people are a most benighted class of human beings".
 
Having grown up in a household with an elementary school teacher in it I can say... no, no wait. I won't say it here. Nevermind :smile:
 
DrEntropy said:
Should be P.O.'d enuff to get active in the system, Vince.

We're constantly bickering with the local school system over stuff like this... and we don't even HAVE kids.

As part of a community Leadership program alumni group we can badger about anyone in public office, sometimes to good effect. :wink:
Click to expand...

I really should. Up until a year or so ago I've been asleep at the wheel focused on a career and not much else. A change in positions has really made me look at a different side of things.

Steve said:
As Terri mentioned, a huge part of the budget goes towards the administrative side of things, and the fact that those people get perks while the teachers get comparatively nothing has been a burr under my saddle for a looooong time. The fact is that just about any administrative structure, whether in private enterprise or public service is full of its own self-importance, and the people who actually get things done are looked down upon by them whilst they are building their own little empires.

There is another thread running that feature notable quotes, and not many members need any reminding of my admiration for Winston Churchill, so here is another of his:

"Those who think that we can become richer or more stable as a country by stinting education and crippling the instruction of our young people are a most benighted class of human beings".
Click to expand...

And how much does Mike Vick make a year again? And how much do farmers make again? Sickening.
 
Schools are the worst run part of government. The overhead in a school district is enormous. A while back, the school district bragged that the school district only had 15% overhead costs. Not great, but for government not bad. He then went on and bragged the each school only had 20% overhead costs. What! The total overhead cost was 35%.

Overhead costs aside, in this community, the single most expensive program is accommodating the special needs children, who the courts have ruled must be included in the regular classroom. I am sympathetic to the needs of these children but where does it stop? One of the schools here spends $50,000 a year on one student who needs a full time nurse in attendance while at school, plus special transportation to and from the school.

Makes one wonder if the problem is the courts and not the schools.
 
Vince,

Don't even get me started. My school taxes have risen at 3x the rate of inflation for the past few years. Most years the rate is one tenth of a percent below what is legally required for a referendum. This years increase was 4.4%. Not a dime of the increase went toward the $120million operating budget, but rather to fund an emergency/slush fund. At least two school board members opposed the increase as superfluous, but the majority ruled.

I don't fault the teachers for the supply policy, as they should not be responsible for supplying the classroom out of their own pocket. I fault school administrators who need to live in the real world (aka Corporate America) for a while and learn the realities of cost control/avoidance and how to develop/negotiate and manage an operating budget. Most have never worked outside academia and just assume the money will materialize.

And yes, we also send in tissues, wipes, paint, glue, pencils, you name it. I also need to pay "fees" for school activities/sports. I predict it won't be long before parents are required to purchase books for public school.
 
TR6oldtimer said:
Makes one wonder if the problem is the courts and not the schools.
Click to expand...
I see it not so much the courts as the general complexity of a school's governance (I've worked for a school district for 5 years as a DBA, before that in private industry both large and small).

Imagine a business working this way:

US President can set your policy
US Congress can set your policy
US Dept. of Ed can set your policy
State Governor can set your policy
State Legislature can set your policy
State Board of Education can set your policy
Local School Board can set your policy
Local Superintendent can set your policy
Principals can set school policy
Teacher can set classroom policy
Courts at all levels can set your policy
[...]

For better or worse, a school district has many masters, often with completely conflicting agendas and policies. Added to that is the mandate to serve all children, regardless of their situation (health, special needs, language, etc). Things get complicated very quickly. I'm happy to just be a peon doing my best -- I wouldn't want to be juggling the administrative duties of even a small school district.
 
At some risk of introducing politics don't forget the voting public and their wants/demands:

Here, one local public school district has been hamstrung and unable to close schools with falling student roles.

Rather than rationalizing operations to make the best use of its buildings and staff it found that keeping a local school open becomes a political hot potato with protests demanding "Keep our Schools Open"! almost regardless of the costs (those overheads!). So, for example, rather than run more economically with a dozen schools its stuck with keeping 15 going- the parents are happy, but it's less efficient. The knock on effects aren't as important as the closeness of the school. So education suffers and school costs are higher....

A vocal minority can make things a little worse for everyone else....
 
A better post might be, " What in this world is NOT screwed up"?
 
Um....things that are screwed down?? < Sorry, had to toss that one in.... :smile: >
 
For my 2 cents...the people who have the MOST voice in how thier schools are run are the people of the community and the parents of the children we serve. Their voices can be heard and they can make a difference. Unfortunately for our particular community, rather than stand up and fight for what should be, they built their own schools and sent their kids somewhere else. Now, they pay private school tuition AND taxes but they only are active in the private schools because that's where their kids are.
ALL parents should be given MINIMUM 2 paid days off of their jobs in the private sector EVERY YEAR to volunteer at their child's school.
"Come on by, help tutor a child or help with their homework, or serve as a chaperone on a field trip, or just be there to watch at lunch and on the playground....we would love to have you and we could always use the help."
I could use help keeping our computers running, making copies, cleaning my boards and desks, take pictures of kids doing kid things for the bulletin board or website...the list is endless!
This is where TRUE accountability in the schools comes from...not government mandates and more testing.
 
In our state the Lotto has "generated millions for education" and they still don't have enough!!!
 
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