Think steel buildings... The local school district here in Katy, TX spends approx $90 million on JR & SR High School buildings...which includes mosaics, murals, marble, imported tiles, etc...
Did I mention that they also build 3-story parking garages for all the kids that drive to school?
I remember when Dallas was going to have to 'let go' nearly 300 teachers due to budget concerns - then it was discovered that DISD had more or as many admins as Houston, while 1/3 the size. Needless to say, some admins lost their jobs.
I remember another survey on how much teachers pay out of their own pockets for classroom supplies - about $2000 a year.
We had a brief time of 'merit pay' here in TX - called the career ladder - based on classroom observations. I was working with some admin people on training for observations. Each of them had a spouse working in the district - and asked - since it will benefit 'my pocket', who do you think is going to get the best evaluation?
Any suggestion for merit pay has a possible backlash. If a teacher has A students, the evaluation would be good for that teacher.
Re your post #20 - There are school districts in FL that have bought huge district office buildings, only to rent them out later, not kinowing what to do with all the space. In the district where I reside, there is marble flooring and countertops in the admin center, while teachers are still teaching in portables. And that's not the state's fault -- that's the fault of stupid adminiistrators whose priorities do not include teachers and kids as being the most imporant elements in a school system. But don't worry, those adminiistrators are already making their 6-figure salaries, so they need all the extra comfort they can get in their office space. And what do these people do? No one knows. The teachers only know they never see these people in the schools.