School superintendent 'out of control'? (mortgages, loans, public school)

[maine4.us]

Amen NMLM!

[Mercator Projection]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

Public-funded education is a new gimmick for our culture.

My family has been in America since 1620, my siblings and I are the first generation in our family to have attended public-funded schooling.

New gimmick for our culture??? I'm sorry, but that's a ridiculous statement. Public education has been around a long time. The first publicly supported secondary school in the United States was the Boston Latin School, founded in 1635. In 1790, the state constitution in Pennsylvania required free public education for children in families that could not afford to pay for an education. In 1845, Texas state law provided that 1/10th of the annual state tax revenue be set aside as a perpetual fund to support free public schools. Your home state- California - began providing free public education as early as 1851. Massachusetts passed the first compulsory school attendance laws in 1852, followed by New York in 1853.

You claim to be the 1st generation in your family to attend public school. Either your forebears had the opportunity and opted out, or you are older than dirt. My family has been in America since 1620 too. I am the 4th or 5th generation that has been to public schools. My G-Grandfather and G-Grandmother were public school teachers (they were paid by the county) in the one-room days of the 1880's and met at a district picnic.

Free public education is hardly a "new gimmick for our culture." It is an American tradition and it is one to be proud of.

[forest beekeeper]

Originally Posted by Mercator Projection

New gimmick for our culture??? I'm sorry, but that's a ridiculous statement. Public education has been around a long time. The first publicly supported secondary school in the United States was the Boston Latin School, founded in 1635. In 1790, the state constitution in Pennsylvania required free public education for children in families that could not afford to pay for an education. In 1845, Texas state law provided that 1/10th of the annual state tax revenue be set aside as a perpetual fund to support free public schools. Your home state- California - began providing free public education as early as 1851. Massachusetts passed the first compulsory school attendance laws in 1852, followed by New York in 1853.

You claim to be the 1st generation in your family to attend public school. Either your forebears had the opportunity and opted out, or you are older than dirt. My family has been in America since 1620 too. I am the 4th or 5th generation that has been to public schools. My G-Grandfather and G-Grandmother were public school teachers (they were paid by the county) in the one-room days of the 1880's and met at a district picnic.

Free public education is hardly a "new gimmick for our culture." It is an American tradition and it is one to be proud of.

My family tree shows the move from the East Coast to Missouri in 1790. Then from Missouri to California in 1930.

My great grandparents and grandparents were taught in a one-room grammar school supported by donations from the local families.

Two of my grandparents taught in that grammar school, until it was closed during the dust bowl, when there was a major immigration leaving Missouri.

Both of my parents were taught in that grammar school and they were young teenagers when they too made the move to California to work picking veggies.

The history that I got from my grandparents included that our family was taught in that manner going back to whenever grammar schools first started in Missouri. Which one must assume was some time after 1790 when the family homestead was first started there.

The central Valley of California was primarily populated by immigrants who moved there during the 'dust bowl' era from Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. Collectively they are called 'Okies' within the culture of California, where I was raised.

My family was very proud of their tradition and having been teachers, going back a number of generations. Though due to the passing of years, I do not recall how many generations teaching has been such a tradition among my ancestors.

My siblings and I, attended the public-funded institution of schools there in California as they began building the schools [and our families shifted from migrating in tents following the crops to home ownership].



The WPA [and other socialist programs] provided a great deal of funding for many such social programs. That expenditure of tax money gave many people employment, higher educations and hope for their future.

[Connecticut Pam]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

At the 'Bonny Eagle High School' graduation ceremony, the Superintendent [Suzanne Lukas], launched a 'crackdown' on inappropriate behavior and had a sheriff's deputy escort one student out for launching a beach ball inside the Cumberland County Civic Center. And then a second student was apprehended for blowing a kiss and bowing to the audience.I guess by having arrests made during the ceremony, and screams of horror from the attending audience, the superintendent certainly made the ceremony a 'refined event'.At least that is what she says she was trying to do.



Parents to vent after graduation crackdown - Boston.com

This made the news down here in Connecticut and I have to say everyone was pretty shocked at the Superintendent's so called "crackdown". Does anyone know if this student ever got his diploma? I have yet to fail to see a graduation event where the kids don't toss a beachball around, blow kisses and wave to their parents and family and of course at the end they toss their graduation caps in the air. One I went to the kids all had silly string. Who cares...they are happy and excited..no more school.

[maine4.us]

According to Missouri records, public schools were instituted in 1818. The first high school in Missouri was publicly funded somewhere between 1902 and 1907. In California, provisions for tax payer supported schools were in the original California constitution in 1849.. California did, however lag behind in the funding of high schools. It wasn't until 1902 that high schools received public funding. California had public schools long before the dust bowl years (1930's) of America. Granted, right now, California isn't a great example to use when talking about public finances.

[Mercator Projection]

That's nice, Forest. But maybe you should have said, "Public-funded education is a new gimmick for our family."

[forest beekeeper]

One school in a state does not provide the entire state with an education [not without roads and high speed transportation].



The mindset back then was one which did not burden the government with providing services to the individual. [It was not a socialist mindset]

Churches cared for the sick, the homeless and the ill.

To get a loan you needed a 'good' reputation, which was gained from charity giving AND openly living a 'christian life' [not a credit score].

There were alms houses and cemeteries for the poor.

No body thought of going to the government for money.

Of course there were schools. To my understanding every community tended to have a grammar school. They taught the Bible, and 'readers' up to the eight grade.

My family tree is filled with teachers [or so I was told].

Back them it was all about respectability, taking money from taxes was the worst kind of despicable act, almost as bad as divorce.

Now later [coming out of the depression] when the government lowered the income tax brackets so that average citizens could begin paying income taxes, my grandparents were very proud to begin paying them. That was a huge thing to them, to pay income taxes to help support the government [before it was only the uber-wealthy that paid to support the government].

They thought it was great and wonderful that roads were being paved, and schools were being built, while they paid their income taxes, and that was when I was born.

[Siguna]

I shall have to read the rest of these posts, but a couple things jump out:

One is: A friendly frisk, WTH? I know what a frisk is, but how does it become friendly? Ask me about the (admittedly not Maine but Washington State) K-9 search of my children's school a little back, where they had to present their backpacks and stand away from their lockers while the dogs sniffed the objects and the children both.

And Two: do teachers in Maine really only make $10 per hour?

[maine4.us]

Where I work, we routinely call in the K-9 corps to check for drugs. Unfortunately, we usually find drugs on our campus. Most of the time, it isn't in the students lockers, but in the cars they drive to school. Usually what is found is pot, but occasionally other drugs such as ectasy and ruphyinol are found. Friendly frisks are usually more of a show than a real frisk. Since the seniors know they are going to be frisked, it deters them from bringing something that is forbidden, or inappropriate clothes under the gowns. Just the thought that they are going to be frisked, makes it friendly. It is not a pat down. It is a raise your gown so we see you have pants on, or a dress if a girl. Of course there are places who go overboard. Most of the overt administrative behavior tends to exist in elementary and junior high schools. I would estimate by salaries that Maine teachers make between 18 and 30 an hour, depending on the district and the years of experience. Some districts may be below these figures, and some may be above.

I agree with Forest that people used to be more indepenedent. With the move from agricultural to manufacturing economies, people moved from farms teo the cities. Even during the great depression, farmers tended to be better off because they were more independent and produced most of their own food. In the cities that was not possible. There are stories of farmers who had to guard their crops at night to keep city people from stealing their crops. Think about today, if the economy were to collapse, what would all the city people do? They would overun the farms looking for food and other necessities that are just not available in the city.

[peachie_in_maine]

That is unbelievable.