Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The first thing that should be done, especially in Texas, is to stop paying for the education of illegals. Until that is done, I will vote against any and all increases in spending for education.
Yes, I think that spending should be cut, but not at the expense of academics.
I think the school day should stay the same, but 'specials' - including sports- need to go away. If parents want to pay for art, computer, drama, FOOTBALL, music and so on, they should do it. We should be focusing on English, Social Studies (government and the Constitution!), Science, Math and a foreign language. That's it. Watch the test scores go up.
Dumb down; now that's funny. There is more waste in the public schools than is necessary. It's ridiculous how much money is spent and the kids don't benefit AT ALL.
I say cut funding and go back to basics. That's when kids learned the most.
If there is a 'declining intellectual base amongst our citizenry', and more is spent per student than ever before, I would say all that spending has had an adverse affect on our 'citizenry'.
We pay for too many administrators, curriculum chairs, directors of diversity/communication etc. Don't get me started on bilingual education, either!
We just past a referendum to raise taxes for teachers' pay by a landslide. . . I don't think America's ready to decrease the quality of education any further. I think schools just need to allocate money more wisely.
Paying teachers more does not make the quality of government education better. Whether the teachers themselves are poor, or whether the curriculum is poor, or whether the problem is that parents are uninvolved in their children's educations, or something else, throwing more money at the problem is not going to solve anything. In desperately poor inner city schools, yes, maybe. But in the vast majority of schools, how would teachers (or administrators) being paid more help anything?
Yes, I think that spending should be cut, but not at the expense of academics.
I think the school day should stay the same, but 'specials' - including sports- need to go away. If parents want to pay for art, computer, drama, FOOTBALL, music and so on, they should do it. We should be focusing on English, Social Studies (government and the Constitution!), Science, Math and a foreign language. That's it. Watch the test scores go up.
Many studies have shown cutting art, drama, computers, music, and physical education will decrease test scores. Art, music, computers, and drama in particular incorporate math, social studies, and literacy into the children's learning.
I would never send my child to a school that provided nothing but the "basics". They would probably be bored out of their mind.
I agree with the person who said administrators and other non teaching positions should be cut. We have at least 5 people in my school who hold "other" non-classroom positions who don't really do too much. Cutting those jobs would save more than $300,000 in my school alone.
Yes, I think that spending should be cut, but not at the expense of academics.
I think the school day should stay the same, but 'specials' - including sports- need to go away. If parents want to pay for art, computer, drama, FOOTBALL, music and so on, they should do it. We should be focusing on English, Social Studies (government and the Constitution!), Science, Math and a foreign language. That's it. Watch the test scores go up.
Someone already responded to this in a similar manner as I would, so I will just add to that. In addition to the research-based evidence that these activities keep kids in school, they make for a well-rounded person. Computer education is essential for students today. The arts help make life worth living. Even the "Back to Basics" leaders support the arts. I have no problem with sports as long as they are not a farm system for the colleges. That is an issue in football and basketball, especially in large schools. In the smaller athletic leagues, it is not an issue even in these sports. My kids did both orchestra and sports (gymnastics). They were both team captains their senior year, giving them some leadership opportunities. I watched my younger daughter bring the kids back on task at a team meeting and was very proud of her. They would not have had this opportunity in student government, as they were not part of the "in" crowd.
Quote:
Originally Posted by beanandpumpkin
Paying teachers more does not make the quality of government education better. Whether the teachers themselves are poor, or whether the curriculum is poor, or whether the problem is that parents are uninvolved in their children's educations, or something else, throwing more money at the problem is not going to solve anything. In desperately poor inner city schools, yes, maybe. But in the vast majority of schools, how would teachers (or administrators) being paid more help anything?
Paying teachers more can atract good people to the profession.
I agree. If police or fire were cut, the impact would be disastrous.
Our taxes increase every year. Know why? Because the teachers want more and more. To satisfy the teachers, they already cut foreign language, transportation, lots of things. Every year they take from other programs AND raise the taxes, to give more to the teachers. They ALWAYS hold out until they get what they want.
Turn me loose with the budget and I'd do some cutting. With the exception of the poorer inner city schools and those in very poor areas, schools spend WAY more than they need to.
There are special aides for a HUGE number of students and for each teacher. I'd start there. I'd cut the waste of what sits around not used that the school just HAD to have. I'd cut staff so the teachers are responsible for the kids for the majority of the day. I'd cut some of the options in the cafeteria. The list goes on, and on, and on..
They raise taxes for schools under the guise of giving the kids a better education, but it really doesn't. My daughter had less of an education in grade school than the generation before her, and that generation received less of an education than the generation before it.
And schools demand more, and more, and more. FOR WHAT??? So more and more kids can receive less and less of an education???
My mom is a special aide and she is earnng 12 000 a year. She does more work with the students then most administrators. Why don't we cut administration costs. Why do there need to be so many administrators when there is NO COMPETITION. Also cut pension benefits that would work and reduce the amount a teacher can make. A hundred grand for working just 9 months of the year is ridiculous. This isnt punishing the teachers by restricting the amount they can earn. They can do real well earning 60 000 a year for working just 9 months. And this salary should be maxed out after working just 6 years in the school district.
Offer real solutions not just rantings ok?
The bigger problem schools are going to face in this economic meltdown is that they are going to be faced with bond payments that may be 2-3 times larger than budgeted through no fault of the school.
Schools finance debt with bonds and schools/cities are the most reliable payers of bond debt, BUT those bonds have to be insured and guess what... The insurers are all in trouble. People who hold the bonds are saying I don't want to hold this bond because the insurer is no longer safe and sell the bond. The insurer must buy back the bond (even though the school is a perfectly safe investment...). When the insurer can't re-sell the bond, all the fine print kicks in.... The school must now pay back a 30-yr bond in 10yrs or maybe at a much higher interest rate or maybe both.
Schools (and cities) are going to be in huge financial trouble. And in reality it is not their fault. I think people need to realize how interwoven this whole financial mess is and that it is going to hit anyone who issues bonds to survive.
Do I think schools could better manage finances? Sure - all you have to do is see the amount of money poured into our schools and then look at countries that spend much less, but have a higher education standard. But for now, schools are going to have a hard time just functioning in this mess. And for the most part they are the victims of this financial melt-down.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
????
