[Speed Gibson,
Monday October 8, 2007 at 11:26pm]
Define: Overhead
The proponents of socialized medicine point to an alleged 30 percent or so of wasteful administration. Were that they were as curious regarding socialized education, i.e., our public K-12 schools.
Reading the "Citizens' Report on Accountability and Financial Information" (follow links at Truth vs Machine)from the Anoka-Hennepin school district, it's clear that the definition of "administration" needs clarification.
In this report, Anoka-Hennepin claims to spend 75 percent of their money "directly in the classroom." Do the math and you quickly realize there is more than just a teacher's salary and non-payroll expenses in that number. I haven't had much luck finding District 11 figures, but using District 279's (Osseo) figures, this 75% would be at least $150,000. Subtract $30,000 non-payroll leaves at least $120,000, about two teachers, not one. Don't forget: your child can listen to one teacher at a time.
I'm not saying my numbers are right, but the surprising lack of comprehensible data gives me full license to speculate. We just can't get the real figures, presented for general consumption, and clearly identifying the head count on the front lines vs support staff.
Reading the "Citizens' Report on Accountability and Financial Information" (follow links at Truth vs Machine)from the Anoka-Hennepin school district, it's clear that the definition of "administration" needs clarification.
In this report, Anoka-Hennepin claims to spend 75 percent of their money "directly in the classroom." Do the math and you quickly realize there is more than just a teacher's salary and non-payroll expenses in that number. I haven't had much luck finding District 11 figures, but using District 279's (Osseo) figures, this 75% would be at least $150,000. Subtract $30,000 non-payroll leaves at least $120,000, about two teachers, not one. Don't forget: your child can listen to one teacher at a time.
I'm not saying my numbers are right, but the surprising lack of comprehensible data gives me full license to speculate. We just can't get the real figures, presented for general consumption, and clearly identifying the head count on the front lines vs support staff.