'A "Crisis" That Never Ends' - Will schools ever have enough money?

Michigan Capitol Confidential ^ | 5/31/2011 | Jarrett Skorup

[MichCapCon]

The Michigan Association of School Boards has sent out several “action alerts” to their members in order to warn about possible cuts to the state’s school aid fund in order to balance the state budget.

Below are some select excerpts, sent out as emails to members of the groups:

“In the coming week the Senate will take action on the Community College Budget. MASA oposes (sic) this budget as it raids $43.9 million from the School Aid Fund to subsidize Community Colleges … Please send a letter to your senator and ask them to oppose this bill!”

One email alert refers to the discussed funding cut as “unconscionable” and says the group “will not stand for this lack of support for public education."

“The K-16 Coalition for Michigan’s Future wants a reasonable legislative solution to fully fund Michigan’s K-16 public schools, but we are ready to put our proposal for adequate K-16 school funding on the November ballot if for whatever reason the legislature fails to resolve the issue.”

“[The MASB] cannot just sit idly by while public education is being dismantled across the State."

But these alerts are not referencing the current school funding discussion in Lansing; these warnings are from the budget fight for the 2006-2007 school year. For that school aid budget, the Legislature increased per-pupil funding by $233. It later took back $34 per-pupil mid-year.

Mike Reno is a former school board member from Rochester Community Schools. He says this shows how these types of groups operate.

“These organizations bombard school administrators and school boards with these sorts of emails,” said Reno. “Boards and administrators hear time and time again from their professional organizations that schools are not responsible for any of the financial problem, that it’s all Lansing’s fault.”

[Doogle]

not as long as the democrats need money

[Skepolitic]

No.

Who ever has enough money?

[rvoitier]

Title shpile read: Will teachers’ unions ever have enough money?

[rvoitier]

Title shpile read: Will teachers’ unions ever have enough money?

[ctdonath2]

Do tell: how much WOULD be enough? Funny how they never mention...

[PGR88]

In Buffalo NY - they spend $23,000 per student. About half don’t graduate high school, and 75% of black students don’t graduate high school.

[jettester]

Not as long as monopolistic, union-backing thugs run the chicken coop. Time for some simple, capitalistic, supply and demand opportunities to breath some relief into this mess.

[I cannot think of a name]

“Will schools ever have enough money”

Sure will - as soon as they are turned over to for profit corporations with the corporations’ compensation based on the average of the graduation test scores.

Of course that will never happen until the last liberal is at the bottom of the ocean.

[Brookhaven]

Crisis is SOP for the left, because in a crisis (1) everyone pulls together (and individuality is subsumed to the common good/will and (2) you can implement emergency measures that would never go over in non-crisis times.

We've had an education crisis for 50 years. We've had an energy crisis since the mid-70s (35 years). Hillary pushed children in crisis as an excuse to do everything (it's for the children). We now have a health crisis; a childhood obesity crisis; crisis, crisis, crisis.

We on the right need to start calling out the left on this strategy; not everything is a crisis. And if it has been going on for a quarter century, is it really a crisis that requires emergency measures, or just something we have to deal with?

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[CrazyIvan]

I ran the bus program for a school for two years.
Cut expenses 8.7% while catching up on tardy maintenance.
Cut the electrical consumption of my building so much the
power company inspected to make sure their metering was OK.
Gave the school system the most dependable clean vehicles
they had ever had.
Got fired for not letting the superintendents friends tank
up their personal vehicles from the school tank.
Does this help answer the question?

[griswold3]

happens everyday. But, CrazyIvan, I, for one, appreciate your consideration for the hard working taxpayers in that school district. There should be rewards for efficiency in the public sector.

[Oldpuppymax]

Obviously a MISPRINT. Should read: “Will UNIONS ever have enough money?” Easy answer too, ain’t it!!!!

[bunkerhill7]

In 1960 we had 30 teachers, 2 janitors, 4 cooks, one school nurse, 2 volunteer bus drivers,one guidance counselor. one principal, one secretary, one librarian and one superintendent for a town of 5,000 people.

Each teacher had 40 kids in a classroom.

95% of each class graduated from a 4-year college.

In 1960 there were a total of 4 school buildings

Today the population has dropped to 3,000. Class size is 15-20 students.

In 2010 there were 104 teachers, plus the adminstrative staff of 50.

Seven new school buildings built in 2008-2010.

The top salary of teachers in 2010 was $134,000. The low salary was $92,000

In 1960 there were a total of 4 school buildings . Today there are 17 more.

The town doubled the taxes on my house in 2010 for supporting the school taxes.

The 2011 school budget was voted down by the voters. The solution of the school was to cut out all the sports programs and the language classes.

No teachers were laid off. The school superintendent asked the parents of the students to donate money so the sports programs could be saved.

38% of each class now graduates from a 4 year college.

This school monster devours everything in its path and wants its victims to feed it some more before it eats them alive...

[Minus_The_Bear]

[Noumenon]

Starve the monkeys!

[Marty62]

Ofcourse not.

The NEA and affiliated Unions have to good of a gig going.

They are like the kid at the candy counter. Screaming and throwing a tantrum. All the while the Parent is saying, Candy will rot your teeth. It will make you to hyper. I don’t have the money.
They just scream louder while others look on saying what an awful parent. a little candy won’t hurt the kid.

[A CA Guy]

Gone through this in California for over 35 years. It’s a con.

[RWB Patriot]

It’s not the amount of money that’s the problem; it’s where it’s being invested (and wasted).

[newzjunkey]

I'm shocked! /s

We know how it is in CA. Half the budget goes to education. In a mid-2000s windfall their education budget hit $54 billion. Wasn't enough. Down turn came and they didn't want to give up a single penny. Even in the economic mess we're in, the education budget is double what it was in the mid-90s.