Yes, lavish facilities & lavish spending. We build and staff schools based on "inputs" - usually state mandated - for things like square feet of classroom, gym, cafeteria, "media center," ourdoor fields, etc on a per pupil basis. We teach to state mandated tests, rather than skills & knowledge (and yes, teaching to tests and teaching skills/knowledge are two very different things).
We build a new school in our town several years ago. Included in the 30 year bond were 2 very expensive (at the time) electronic blackboards (really white boards) so that kids that had to stay home for extended periods could still participate in class via the internet. First problem - the media center director (who has to have a degree in library science) didn't want to let them out of her media center. Second problem, after solving the first problem - they wouldn't fit into the elevator to take them to the floor where they were first needed (and of course they had to be locked up at night). So the whole class had to move to the first floor for 1 period per day. It was a massive disruption. Massive waste of money.
When a group of parents toured the new school, one mother exclaimed, "What a beautiful building! Our kids will get a great education now!" When parents in upper middle-class towns believe that the quality of education is directly correlated to the lavishness of the building, we are going to have trouble.
And yet, put a special ed kid in a mainstream classroom without an aide, don't wonder why the whole class productivity suffers. When the teachers union insists on cadillac health insurance plans (no deductible, no co-pay, 100% employer paid, increases 20%/year), don't wonder why the new contracts get voted down year after year, and don't say we don't support education. We do - they are our kids. When there is a "bubble" of kids moving through the system, don't try to use it as a way to sneak in class size reductions (by not moving teachers with the bubble) when your other attempts were voted down.
The lavishness breeds distrust, and distrust leads to all kinds of bad outcomes.
Even with your math, it is still almost $10 billion more than appropriated in 2001 - so we have a budget that has increased by almost 50% in 10 years.* I'm sure they can shave off a couple of points here and there -- maybe just cut the funding for their most stupid research, like studies on fruit fly beauty, watching TV reruns, and the link between heavy drinking and feeling immature.
* Yes, I blame both parties for the mess we are in. They may as well merge into "The Big Government Party."
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Yes, lavish facilities & lavish spending. We build and staff schools based on "inputs" - usually state mandated - for things like square feet of classroom, gym, cafeteria, "media center," ourdoor fields, etc on a per pupil basis. We teach to state mandated tests, rather than skills & knowledge (and yes, teaching to tests and teaching skills/knowledge are two very different things).
We build a new school in our town several years ago. Included in the 30 year bond were 2 very expensive (at the time) electronic blackboards (really white boards) so that kids that had to stay home for extended periods could still participate in class via the internet. First problem - the media center director (who has to have a degree in library science) didn't want to let them out of her media center. Second problem, after solving the first problem - they wouldn't fit into the elevator to take them to the floor where they were first needed (and of course they had to be locked up at night). So the whole class had to move to the first floor for 1 period per day. It was a massive disruption. Massive waste of money.
When a group of parents toured the new school, one mother exclaimed, "What a beautiful building! Our kids will get a great education now!" When parents in upper middle-class towns believe that the quality of education is directly correlated to the lavishness of the building, we are going to have trouble.
And yet, put a special ed kid in a mainstream classroom without an aide, don't wonder why the whole class productivity suffers. When the teachers union insists on cadillac health insurance plans (no deductible, no co-pay, 100% employer paid, increases 20%/year), don't wonder why the new contracts get voted down year after year, and don't say we don't support education. We do - they are our kids. When there is a "bubble" of kids moving through the system, don't try to use it as a way to sneak in class size reductions (by not moving teachers with the bubble) when your other attempts were voted down.
The lavishness breeds distrust, and distrust leads to all kinds of bad outcomes.
Even with your math, it is still almost $10 billion more than appropriated in 2001 - so we have a budget that has increased by almost 50% in 10 years.* I'm sure they can shave off a couple of points here and there -- maybe just cut the funding for their most stupid research, like studies on fruit fly beauty, watching TV reruns, and the link between heavy drinking and feeling immature.
* Yes, I blame both parties for the mess we are in. They may as well merge into "The Big Government Party."