Posted on 03/08/2007 12:23:40 PM PST by Responsibility2nd
Tired of parents pulling their kids out of school for a ski trip or a visit to Disneyland, the local school system is billing them for the missed class time at $36.13 per day.
That is how much the Scotts Valley district calculates it loses under a state formula that doles out school funding according to daily attendance.
In truth, the bills are merely a request; no one is actually required to pay.
But some parents in the well-to-do community 30 miles south of Silicon Valley are paying up to ease their guilty consciences. Others are refusing, saying the request is offensive in a state where nearly half the annual budget _ $66 billion _ already is devoted to education.
"I tossed it. It's a public school. I'm not going to be told to pay when I have my kids out," said Helene Handy, who received the explanatory letter three times, once for each of her children. "We've got to have a better way to pay for our schools."
School officials said the purpose is twofold _ to discourage parents from aiding and abetting hooky, and to recoup money lost to absences.
The 2,800-student district _ which is populated with a large number of high-tech specialists and managers and had a median household income in 2000 of more than $72,000 _ sent a letter of explanation in January to parents. It was titled "If You Play, Please Pay."
"Are the ski slopes calling? Is the beach beckoning? Are you taking the kids to Disneyland midweek to avoid the crowds?" the letter asked. "If so, we would encourage you to reconsider. When your child misses school, there are consequences for the student and the district."
In California, under a formula that dates to the 1930s, how much a school receives in tax dollars is based on how many students are in class on any given day.
"Elective absences," or days missed for reasons other than illness, cost the Scotts Valley district $223,000 during the 2005-06 school year, according to the school system. On average, it says, a Scotts Valley child misses 2.3 days because of elective absences.
Within two weeks after the letter went home, the district collected more than $2,000, said Brenda Spalding, assistant to Superintendent Susan Silver.
Stan Wilson took his two children to Hawaii for a week earlier this school year. Connor, 6, and Courtney, 8, missed five days of school. When the family returned, the Wilsons received a note from the school system asking for compensation. The letter did not specify how much, but it would have totaled more than $360.
Wilson happily gave even more, writing a check for $500. The tax-deductible "donation" was a bargain compared to the private school tuition he and his wife were prepared to pay before they decided to keep their children in public school, Wilson said.
"We saved so much money, we decided it was fair," he said.
The 10,000-student San Mateo-Foster City elementary school system started doing the same thing a few years ago, when Silver was an administrator there. Representatives of the associations representing state and national school boards said they had not heard of any other districts trying to recover costs when students miss class.
Charlotte Multer, a member of the PTA at two Scotts Valley schools, said the request for reimbursement is fair.
"Our schools are duct-taped together and they're in portables. It's a shame. We need every penny we can keep," she said. "If you can afford to go to Disneyland or go on a ski trip, maybe you can afford a donation."
Because the state funding sent to the school is partly based on attendance. But the whole thing is goofy- the taxpayers in the district have already paid, the money essentially goes to the state, and the state makes out when kids skip classes. So the state should send the parents a refund. We take our kids out of school for trips, because they belong to us, not the district OR the state.
That works too!
Because time missed in school is easily made up, and can easily be supplemented with assignments that tie into the vacation. Quality time with family is something that is priceless and cannot be replaced. Have you ever compared the quality of the experience at Disney during peak summer times and non-peak school in times? There is a HUGE difference in the enjoyment level and the entire experience in general.
We took our daughter out for a week last year to go to Orlando. We talked to her teacher and created some assignments that she could do while gone that would keep her school work up to date. She wrote reports, got into the history of the area, etc. And we didn't have to wait in any lines.
I am divored, and really can't give my kids that opportunity, but do what i can when I have them with me. e have memberships to Mystic Seaport and Old Sturbridge village, both like Williamburg, as well as the Six Flags membership. I live in a shoreline town, so we can do the beach stuff, too. Sometimes my kids are happy to go back to school, so they can have a mental break. Then again, I don't make them do a million of the same problems once they understand a concept.
You are lucky to have had such an opportunity.
My response would be, "Why not?"
As long as they do the work.
This is tantamount to saying to the parents, "Your child is ours. We must give you permission to spend time with your child."
This is downright frightening.
Perhaps because school means absolutely nothing until 9th grade or so.
Sounds like sour grapes to me. My parents pulled me out of 6th grade to drive from WA to CA for a week at Disneyland. It's one of my fondest childhood memories. And wonder of all wonders, I ended up with a bachelor's degree and I own a successful business.
I plan to do the same thing when my kids are the right age, as long as they maintain a high enough GPA. Certain things are just more important than practicing long division and working on a global warming project.
If I was not able to walk to the beach I probably would not have had so much access. I was blessed to live in such a historical area. Then again I also enjoyed just being able to walk in the woods and enjoy the fall breeze after lunch and think about all those who came before me. Some times the best things in life are free I suppose.
And so are the property owners with no children in the school system.
-PJ
Disneyland (where we go) is indeed like the running of the bulls, which is why I allow my children to miss one day of school a year for it (fewer people running!).
They are rarely sick, and usually that one day off is the only day they miss the whole year. They are both at the top of their classes and I don't worry about it a bit. I really hate crowds.
Anyway, they go to a small private Lutheran school, and so the school doesn't lose any funding for that day.
Yep. Kids who sit in front of a video game or computer are losing out on a lot, not that they don't make good part time babysitters.
LOL!
-ccm
This is ridiculous....they get paid the same whether 1 kid is ther or 30 kids.
My son is in kindergarten and reads on a 4th grade level. All they do in class is cut and color. So we have to send him to a magnet school to get a better education (can't afford private school)
That '4th grade level' is as much a testiment to dumbed down standards as it is to your kid's brains. Homeschool, it is cheaper than private school.
My kids are in private school and I take them out every couple of years to go on a vacation. I travel alot and sometimes a business trip meets up with a vacation opportunity. Free country, my choice.
I picked up my Precious from school for a dental appointment, and the school gave me a piece of paper that had to be signed by the dentist to "prove" I was taking her out of school for a good reason. I told them to shove it. What are they - my freakin' mother?? Not that my school district is that bad (religion is NOT banned, for example, but they also have global warming indoctrination and such), but school staff simply do not live in any kind of real world. They're so removed from real life they can't fuction without being stupid.
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