Re: Long rant... school budget cuts.
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Originally Posted by
mainbutter
Cost of living in California is through the roof.. I think that offsets any strict dollar for dollar salary comparison. That's where comparisons get mucky.
In some areas. Get away from LA, San Diego and SF and things become much more affordable. Each District sets their own salary levels............
Look at the pension plans - the packages being paid to teachers in this State are outrageous and account for a large part of our problem. I wonder what the education picture would look like in my State if the teacher retirement benefits were completely self-funded.
Re: Long rant... school budget cuts.
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Originally Posted by
mainbutter
That really sucks.
I hate Unions.
A friend of mine likes to claim that eventually all systems deliver the exact opposite of what the original design was intended to deliver. I think that Unions fit that quite well.
Every year my wife and I go to a Spring Gala put on by our children's school. All across the State schools and parents put these up to raise funds for local schools.
It has become de rigeur at these fundraisers for parents to demand that the money that they are donating be earmarked for the classrooms, the library, a specific teacher, etc. Last year, my wife and I spent almost $1,200.00 making sure that the library and PE are adequately funded through bidding on student art or other donated items.
We live in a fairly affluent area and our kids are in one of the best public school systems in the State. This is inexcusable.
Re: Long rant... school budget cuts.
Our school is an "excelling" school. But look at where AZ ranks....at the bottom. So what is really excelling in a state that is ranked like 49. Skiploader....I am not sure if they have it where you are or not. But we can donate under a tax credit and we can say where the money goes. In fact this is how I put on the reptile show. I also can donate funds directly to my sons class and for special field trips and get tax credits for it. ??.....not sure if the same applies for CA.
Look I am not a teacher....I am just an aide at my sons school. I will loose my job this year due to funding. That is ok that I loose my job as I will be there anyways. I have to say some classes would not make it without those parent volunteers. I am not sure how to fix the system but I like the sounds of what skiploader came up with.
Re: Long rant... school budget cuts.
I don't think California is a good model for what's happening in the rest of the country. It's sort of a island unto itself...lol.
Re: Long rant... school budget cuts.
Many good points have been made about problems with school budgets.
A big problem is accountability. This is due to the unions. They push for more and more and get more powerful which in theory may sounds great to help the teachers but one of the realities is they become less and less accountable and get away with not doing their jobs(which is teaching children). Try firing a teacher. It has become almost impossible in many states even if they are on drugs,dont do their jobs or cheat and steal.
How many jobs are there which if you dont achieve the goals and requirements you were hired to do you dont get replaced? The administrative folks get incredible benefits and six figure retirement plans yet they are failing to meet basic productive goals year after year.
What we need to do in this country is make our politicians and our education system accountable to the American people for the billions of taxpayers dollars they spend with no results. Instead they have provided themselves a system where they get all the benefits and retirement plans and have no accountability for doing a horrific job!
I'm sure I speak for alot of people that know their butts would be canned tomorrow if they stopped carrying out the responsibilities of the job they were hired to do.
Thats why Skiploaders point of how efficient private schools are hold true. Its because they are a business and they can only stay afloat if they are productive and efficient.
Let the teachers union and congress retire on Social security benefits, pay for their own medical benefits or pay into their own retirement plan and see how much money we save. I guarantee you we wouldnt need to close down our school libraries.
I think teachers have one of the most important jobs in our society and should be compensated, dont get me wrong, but they should also be accountable along with the adminstrative folks too who have run the education system into the ground as they earn more and more and our children are being educated less and less.
What we are missing is ACCOUNTABILTY and that starts with our government and continues through many government run services like our education system.
Someone once told me the reason our education system has been left to die is because kids dont vote, have no voice, dont know better and dont payoff politicians so they are easily taken advantage of and stolen from. And yes not providing them with a proper education is stealing from them and their futures.
Re: Long rant... school budget cuts.
But Raul, if we don't keep our kids ignorant, who will the children of those administrators and union leaders and most especially politicians fleece to finance THEIR retirements and homes and boats and health insurance?
I mean seriously, if the children of today were to actually learn how they've been screwed by those in power today, do you think they'd let the system as it is continue?
We know because we found out once we were out of school. It's also gone from mostly pretty good to pretty friggin bad in just the last 20 years or so. Is it mere coincidence that also in the last 20 years we've got teachers that can't be fired, drivers for board members that get six figure salaries, retirement plans that make more than the average working man will ever see?
The foxes got in the henhouse and convinced the farmers that they knew a better way to raise chickens. And their way is better too.
For the foxes.
Re: Long rant... school budget cuts.
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Originally Posted by
West Coast Jungle
A big problem is accountability. This is due to the unions. They push for more and more and get more powerful which in theory may sounds great to help the teachers but one of the realities is they become less and less accountable and get away with not doing their jobs(which is teaching children). Try firing a teacher. It has become almost impossible in many states even if they are on drugs,dont do their jobs or cheat and steal.
True. There are many mediocre teachers that should get the boot. And some of the unions' power needs to go. But on the flip side I still think the biggest issue of accountability isn't the teachers but the students/parents. But far too often the parents and the students immediately blame the teacher for the student's failings when it's really the kid isn't doing their homework, isn't studying, etc.
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Thats why Skiploaders point of how efficient private schools are hold true. Its because they are a business and they can only stay afloat if they are productive and efficient.
But at the same time, I imagine the majority of kids who are going to private school probably have parents who are concerned about their kids' education and are taking an active role in it. That being said, I'm not against the idea of charter schools and giving parents more choice in where their kid goes to school. Maybe a little competition would do our system good!
In the end, I still think the biggest priority in fixing our education system has to be to get parents involved again. All the money in the world, all the best teachers in the world, all the accountability won't matter if parents don't take a proactive role in their kids' education and let them get away with mediocrity.
Re: Long rant... school budget cuts.
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Originally Posted by
BPelizabeth
I suppose the military should tell all of the companies that make this over inflated priced stuff that assists in trying to keep our soldiers safe to give them a discount???? Really ....so now the government should step in and mandate prices of other companies. Listen...raytheon and the other companies are not in it for the good of the US. They are in this to make money....and yes..they have competitors. You have NO IDEA what goes into making some of the equipment that the military buys and the endless testing that it has to go through. And just how much that testing costs. Why does the tests cost so much....because it takes so many analysts...and test engineers and etc. to make sure that the millions that the government is going to put into this piece of equipment will actually be worth it.
Are you suggesting they cut corners on testing and spending money that can diffuse an IED that will potentially save a soldiers life. Or better yet...maybe they should just scrap a system that will funnel all of the intel into one place so that it is shared by all agencies instead of having to go to 18 different places to get it. Better yet lets not come up with anything that will stop a nuclear warhead from hitting us when the crazies like Korea shoot them off.
I don't think anyone is suggesting sacrificing the safety of our soldiers or not doing research and testing. But the Military Industrial Complex lobby is huge and powerful. I think there's a real problem when they're pushing projects and spending that even the military doesn't want! Not to mention we spend more on our military than the rest of the world combined. If you want to be honest about it, there is a lot of money wasted on the military that could be better spent.
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Does the military spend allot...yes they do...but unless you want someone on our shores...we better remain cutting edge.
Sorry, but this is just plain silly hyperbole! Who is threatening to invade America? Do you think if we cut our military budget 15% that all of a sudden we'd be invaded? Nonsense! The military is no different than the rest of our government, there's a lot of pork being spent on silly projects.
