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I just finished my letter to the superintendent. Help me folks! What am I missing?
>>>>start of letter First of all, I want to commend you for asking parents for input on how to ease the budgetary constraints imposed by the state.
The easy answer was for Perry to accept the stimulus money. But that didn’t happen.
The next easiest thing would have been to raise taxes to a penny on the dollar. That, by itself, would have eased the entire burden to all of the schools in the state. It didn’t happen either. However, voters have no problems raising taxes to build sports stadiums that generate millionaires more millions, yet cringe over pennies spent on educating our children, but, I digress and put the disclaimer out there that I did not vote for this.
So, now schools have to depend on austerity cuts to survive, assuming it will be cheaper to lay ancillary staff off. We all know it is cheaper to add to the Medicaid rolls and Food stamp rolls than it is to pay an extra penny on the dollar. I hope that you can hear my sarcasm. Not to mention the cost to the children—it isn’t monetary but it should be looked at very carefully.
With all of that in mind—school cuts should NOT come at the expense of people losing their jobs. While it may fix the school problem, it creates more unemployed and underemployed which doesn’t solve the larger problems that we face as a state and as a nation and significantly impacts it negatively.
Presently, our children go to school Monday through Friday, from 8 until 3:15. That is 36 hours and 25 minutes per week. School is in session for 40 weeks a year. IF school started at 7:55 am and ended at 5 pm—a normal workday for most—and ONLY went to school Monday through Thursday, which is a total of 36 hours and 20 minutes per week, it would save 40 days a year of lunches, fuel for the buses as well as wear and tear, electricity, water, etc. It would give the same amount of education to our kids in the four days; generate a substantial savings to the school district without impacting existing jobs. Without knowing exactly daily expenditures for the school, I can imagine that shaving 40 days of expenses off of the year would be helpful.
Personally, with the budget crisis in the schools, we NEED to discuss other options. But, the sad truth is, that sacred cows will NOT be slaughtered. Our teachers and administrators will be the ones that pay the price. The main objective of school is education. Period. We need to remember that when we have the school budgets on the chopping block. Ultimately, at the end of the day, at the expense of EVERYTHING else, education needs to be preserved.
We need to look at the extracurricular activities—sports, band, etc. ANYTHING that is NOT related to education and it needs to go. The expenses of transporting students to and from these events, the sometimes inflated salaries of coaches, utilities, uniforms, etc. all contribute to the bottom line in the school budgets. They are extracurricular. That is where the cuts should start—at least on a statewide basis, and arguably on a nationwide basis. There is NO reason that booster clubs cannot figure out how to run the sports programs on corporate sponsorships and that the competitions, etc not be sanctioned and paid for by school districts—but instead be run like Little League organizations. I also understand this is one sacred cow that won’t be touched. Governor Mark White was run out of town on a rail when he dared to enact No Pass No Play.
However, things are different now. We have an educational crisis like none we have ever seen. Drastic measures will have to be taken to save public education. There is a nationwide assault on schools. As a taxpayer, as a citizen, and someone who understands that our students are the key to our future, I do not want to see our schools privatized out to the highest bidder—which is the ultimate goal at this point. I want my grandchildren to be taught more than how to scan items at Walmart or how to better serve corporate America.
I was on the front lines for the corporate takeover of hospitals. Bottom line now is profit—and that profit is made by cheaper and less experienced staff, understaffing, and an incessant battle cry to cut more and more while profits soar. The end result is health care that nobody can afford and patient dissatisfaction.
I hope you ready for this fight. I have been avidly watching the battles across the nation on education. The agenda is very clear. I have to say that I am heartened by the response to the assault on teachers in Wisconsin. It has been one of the high points. The assault on education in Detroit is a low point.
Good luck.
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