[Speed Gibson,
Friday July 20, 2007 at 9:58pm]
Back for more
I see that three of the four public school districts will have referendums on the ballot this fall. My bias may be showing, but one of them seems more than justified, given how the Legislature favors large, metro districts over smaller and/or rural districts.
But consider one of the others, yes, a large metro district, is asking for an operating levy that works out to about $1,500 per student. Let's do some math.
At about 30 students per classroom, that's $45,000 a year, about 3/4 of a teacher. But they already have the teachers, for they say that priority one for the new money is to lower class sizes. With a couple of very specific exceptions, there is little correlation to actual learning here. Besides, no matter the budget, they always take bows for their academic performance.
No, this money isn't really going into the classroom in any real sense. I happen to live in this district, and will have no trouble voting no until they explain why what they have isn't enough.
But consider one of the others, yes, a large metro district, is asking for an operating levy that works out to about $1,500 per student. Let's do some math.
At about 30 students per classroom, that's $45,000 a year, about 3/4 of a teacher. But they already have the teachers, for they say that priority one for the new money is to lower class sizes. With a couple of very specific exceptions, there is little correlation to actual learning here. Besides, no matter the budget, they always take bows for their academic performance.
No, this money isn't really going into the classroom in any real sense. I happen to live in this district, and will have no trouble voting no until they explain why what they have isn't enough.