Interesting news on my school district,,, Not a rant

[Teach97]

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in Ok we had about a billion dollar short fall...education makes up over 50% of the budget...so where do they make up the difference...cuts to law enforcement isn't it...can't cut roads...can't cut...now you are at 75-85% of the budget...they do what they can. Education looses some just like everything else...

we are a super small school...around 93 kids preK-12. We are starting to talk with other small schools about interactive TV classes. One school might supply say a rather handsome science goob. In return they might fill the history governemnt slot of a possible retiring guy. Class size is not an issue but having enough kids to pay for stuff is. We have a hige graduating class for us...13. We don't have another class that size in the school. Next year we have 3...all boys.

The worst part about the finances is that the best way to save money for a school system is to loose salaries. Unfortunatley that usually means non-core classes...music, art, drama, etc...

We will have a school for two years unless things improve...if they don't...well...glad I am certified in several subjects and can still raise hogs...

 

[Cindiloohoo]

I think the local schools cut what they spend on feeding the kids first. My oldest used to come home starving every day because they fed the 7th graders the same ammount they fed the 1st graders. One thing I read I have to disagree on...shorter school days doesn't mean the kids won't learn. My 7th grader goes to school from 8 to 12 as required by our state law for homeschoolers. She asks a question every other day about her work and makes A's on almost everything, and has a straight A average right now. She has 90th percentile scoring on all but the Math category for all of her state aptitude tests taken so far since we started homeschooling. That's better scores than when she was in public school and had a 7 hour day! No homework, no extra studying, and getting better grades......I think that speaks volumes! Public school systems need structural overhaul. Shorter days would mean better teachers due to less stress, and focused kids due to not being overwhelmed with 7 hours of work. Well, at least that's my opinion after seeing how well it has worked for my 2 kiddos.

 

[WriterofWords]

I know and that doesn't make sense on the servings either! My 6th graders get the same portion a Kinder does, and if I buy lunch in the cafeteria I get the same portion as the Kinder does too! To me it's not the length of the day, it's the quality of the teaching in the time you are there. If I could structure my class the way I structured my son's homeschooling we would be done at lunch time with everything covered.

 

[Cindiloohoo]

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Exactly!! On both points

I think they should just listen to us and they might accidentally stumble into something that makes sense

Oh and did I mention the child has ADD..if she were in public school I KNOW she'd be making bad grades with 7 hours of work. She had started making F's when we pulled her for other reasons. Homeschool is a GODSEND!!!

 

[Teach97]

serving size is dictated by politicians...don't holler at the schools. Our cook resently got read the riot act by a state inspector because she was cutting back on the little kids. Half their food went in the trash. Our cook hung her head and said she would do better and the next day she cut everything using a ruler and gave everyone the same amount and the politicain was happy to see a full trash bag. She left...we went back to what worked and made sense...unless that lady is reading this and then we are still using the ruler method.

 

[WriterofWords]

Don't forget we aren't supposed to take any food at all out of the cafeteria. We get a lot of packs of graham crackers at breakfast and lunch and we are supposed to throw away perfectly good crackers in the package untouched. I take a plastic bag in and tell the kids to fill it up and we take them out to the portable for mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks. The kids get hungry, and I'm not going to waste that food.

 

[BarkerChickens]

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WOW now that really sucks!!! I know our district is going to charge $160 for low income families, per child, to ride the bus. If they can't afford peanut butter and jelly, how are they gonna come up with that money?!?! And most people around here live MILES from any bus stop. Walking to school is not an option. $350 per kid for non-low income families.

And did you hear what our unemployment is in our area? More than 17%!! How are people suppose to pay for the bus for EACH kid when 1 in 5 in the area are unemployed!!!

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
WOW now that really sucks!!! I know our district is going to charge $160 for low income families, per child, to ride the bus. If they can't afford peanut butter and jelly, how are they gonna come up with that money?!?! And most people around here live MILES from any bus stop. Walking to school is not an option. $350 per kid for non-low income families.

And did you hear what our unemployment is in our area? More than 17%!! How are people suppose to pay for the bus for EACH kid when 1 in 5 in the area are unemployed!!!

I did hear that and that is what lead me on my rant about bus fares. Who the heck in Phelan is within walking distance??? I mean really!!!! What's gonna happen is - 1 person will pay the $350 and one kid will ride and it will cost the district $1000 for that trip. I see alot of home schooling out here in the future.

 

[BarkerChickens]

Quote:
And did you hear what our unemployment is in our area? More than 17%!! How are people suppose to pay for the bus for EACH kid when 1 in 5 in the area are unemployed!!!

I did hear that and that is what lead me on my rant about bus fares. Who the heck in Phelan is within walking distance??? I mean really!!!! What's gonna happen is - 1 person will pay the $350 and one kid will ride and it will cost the district $1000 for that trip. I see alot of home schooling out here in the future.

Having grown up there, when I was little, we had a half mile walk to the bus stop (if we cut through the desert); however, my sister could walk to the HS (we lived near the Mormon church).

I think there will be more empty buses and traffic will stink more with lots of parents carpooling kids together (one parent bring several parent's kids!). I know that the school districts are hurting, but it seems the teachers and kids are taking the brunt of it oppose to the higher administration. From kindergarten to the university level. It is craziness!

The schools are getting cut so much by the hurting state budgets. The state says "We don't have the money, sorry school districts", then the schools say "We don't have the money, sorry parents and students" and the parents say "We don't have the money, now what?!?!" It is just the trickling effect and the kids pay the price.

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

There have been cut backs around here too. I'm so glad we got my GD enrolled in a Christian School this year. She has been doing great!

Jean