A story in yesterday's Rocky Mountain News detailed the budget cuts Colorado school districts are facing as a cooling economy has lead to a decline in tax revenues. Hardest hit will be the Denver school district, which will trim $30 million dollars from its budget, leaving $517 million for the upcoming year. Denver counts 72,000 students enrolled.
How many people realize that works out to $7,180 per student? I realize that the budget cuts will cost some people their jobs, and they have my sympathy.
But for those who would raise taxes to increase school funding, I have a few of questions:
How much money is enough? Do you think the children would be better educated if $7,500, or $8,000, or $15,000 were spent per pupil?
If you were starting a new school from scratch, with no burdensome regulations from the state or federal governments, could you run a school for $7,180 per head? Could you run it for far less?
Whatever problems our school district has, underfunding is not one of them.
Posted by Walter at June 29, 2003 09:27 AMThe parochial schools here in the Denver area do a superior job for under $3500.
Posted by: Maripat at June 29, 2003 10:42 PMIt's odd--I wouldn't really be opposed to the high figure if that included two things: good results and school choice.
If I were to have a child, it drives me crazy that the child would be pretty well locked into these schools without me having the option to move him to a system that works better. Through our taxes, we are forced to pay for a system that doesn't work without the option of moving that money to systems that do work.
Posted by: zombyboy at June 30, 2003 11:49 AMHEY WALTER--- I CAN'T HELP BUT WONDER IF THIS ENTRY ON YOUR WONDERFUL WEBSITE WASN'T PROMPTED BY OUR (YOU, ZARA, AND I) CONVERSATION AT THE BREWERY THE OTHER NIGHT. I MUST ADMIT, EVEN WITH MY LEFTIST POLITICS, THAT WHAT YOU SUGGEST IS VERY INTERESTING. I WOULD BE DEFINATELY INTERESTED TO KNOW HOW MUCH OF THAT $7,180 GOES TO ADMINISTRATION AND UPKEEP OR IS THAT A STATISTIC THAT ALREADY HAS THESE AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS TAKEN OUT.
I WENT TO BOTH PAROCHIAL AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS AS A CHILD AND I CAN DEFINATELY SAY THAT THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION AT A PRIVATE SCHOOL IS MUCH BETTER THAN AT PUBLIC SCHOOLS WITHOUT A DOUBT. SAYING THAT, MY ONLY PROBLEM WITH STATE INSTITUTIONS GIVEN OVER TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR IS THAT I DO NOT BELIEVE YOU CAN RUN A FOR PROFIT ENTERPRISE WHEN THE MAIN FOCUS SHOULD BE ON THE SERVICE PROVIDED AND NOT ON MONEY. MAYBE NOT IMMEDIATELY, BUT SOON ENOUGH, GREED WILL TAKE OVER THE SYSTEM AND PRIORITIES WILL BE LOST.
I DO NOT HAVE A SOLUTION TO ANY KIND OF EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS WE FACE IN THIS COUNTRY BUT I THINK WE AGREE THAT EDUCATION AND LIVELY DEBATE IS THE ONLY WAY TO A BETTER FUTURE.
Jesse! Good to hear from you. Certainly education is key to the future, democracy doesn't do so well when the voters are ignorant.
I doubt that the educational system will ever go to an entirely for-profit scheme, because charities and other non-profit groups will always be involved. However, I'm confident that I'm correct when I say the current socialist-style government schools will always louse things up.
Oh, and to answer your question, the lion's share of the school budget goes for salaries. Much of that goes to administrators, (or you could say bureaucrats) the people who don't actually teach much but keep up with the regulatory requirements of running a public school.
Posted by: Walter in Denver at July 6, 2003 09:52 PMOkay, Okay...I'll take the bait. But first let me pull over my '03 Lexus GX 470, and link up my district funded laptop to my wireless network so that I don't jeopardize the safety of any of my tax paying (salary paying) brothers and sisters.
Now, my goal here should be clearly stated. My focus is on education, not the politics of education. I'll be upfront to the reader. I am an educator...an administrator. I am married to an educator..an administrator. (Hold on....my maid just called and said that my Gateway 42" plasma was just delivered; she wanted to know which suite to have it installed in...I swear! Good help is hard to find...wonder what her SAT's were?) Anyway, as I was saying, I'll be upfront to the reader. I am deeply involved in education...deeply involved in process, not the politics. So, I'll come clean from the get-go. I don't have the political background or knowledge to meaningfully discuss what the current government should or shouldn't do; what should or shouldn't be mandated; and what should or shouldn't be federally funded. I do, though, have a vast amount of knowledge on per pupil funding, state/local allocations, and other financial matters of the sort.
So, I'd like to point out a few things that my average tax paying brother and sister may not know. However, I can only speak 'specifics' in regards to Oregon and Taxes....oops, I mean "Texas".
A per pupil allocation of whatever dollar amount has to encumber every single cent associated with educating any and every student. So, begging the question, what are costs associated with educating students?
Well, as Shaggy would say, lets break it down.
Starting with the adults: By far and large, personnel costs encompass over 80% of the general fund. Personnel costs are salaries for teachers, classified assistants, custodians, maintainance, food service, mechanics (who else can make the wheels on the bus go round and round? Last time I tried, I had to have my Armani dry cleaned), security (that's our local men and women in blue) and oh yes, administrators. And can you believe this part? All those people actually want things like insurance...and not just the life insurance kind...they want medical, dental, and vision. So, yes, insurance premiums must getted lumped into personnel costs too. Now speaking specifically, I work for a district where approximately 85% of the general fund is taken up by personnel expenditures. Out of that 85%, 82% (or the lion's share) is encompassed by teachers, classified, custodial...etc, etc. That leaves 3% for the bureau's. Of that 3%, 2% is for the building level and 1% for 'central support'. 3 % too much? Well, somebody has to suspend the kids that can't play nice! Somebody has to 'administer' the transportation routes. Somebody has to hire teachers, AND make sure that they don't have a rap sheet like Hoffa. Somebody has to represent the district in arbitration, mediation, and eventually court. The last time I asked one of my teachers to please show up for court testimony after math bingo, I got nothing but an incredulous look!
Anyway, now to the kids. If every kid was an average Joe, we would be in funding heaven. But every kid is not. Let's take our more challenged youth. The cost of special education alone is easily 4 to 5 times the amount of general education. So can't we just put them to work in a tortilla packing factory and all save some blow? (I have had my eye on a new set of Calloway X-16's) Unfortunately, there's this pesky regulation called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. So, like it or not... the doors are wide open baby! Bring us your weak and your weary...because we are mandated by law to take'em.
Okay, okay..let's get off of Corky.
Let's move on to our medically fragile youth. They too are gauranteed a 'free and appropriate' public education. I won't, and can't, even begin to calculate the cost of providing medical care to students who need 'medical remediation' while they learn the finer points of the ABC's. But I can assure you, that the district must provide appropriate care during the hours of 8 to 4. The cost of one kid alone could easily cover the monthly lease on my gas guzzling SUV.
So we've covered the special children and the lepers. Let's go ahead and take care of our misguided youth. Even the kids that get suspended or expelled are entitled to at least (and I quote)..."two educational alternatives, at no cost to you" ('you' being the parent of the misguided youth). So, let's say I just expelled 50 Cent (the rapper who excelled in parochial schools), Now I've got to fund his enrollment in an alternative program that will easily, again, be 4 to 5 times the cost of a 'general eduction'. Is 50 Cent being a really bad boy? Ok, we better consider a 'residential placement'. Now we're looking at one kid taking up a good 60 Large a year. But dont'cha worry...because now our public schools are that much safer!
So, after we've paid for the cost of educating students with special needs, students who are medically fragile, students who are second langauge learners and students who are misguided (plus the costs associated with all the adults who work with all these boys and girls), we can start to see what costs are associated with facilities and equipment. Equipment? How much can a box of Crayola's possibly cost? And say what, Johnny? You need a desk too? Damn you, kid...You won't get anywhere in life being egocentric and selfish. Oh, one more thing...was that asbestos that was used when they built this facility back in 1960? Oh well, just slap another coat of paint on the walls and let's worry about abatement next year, ok?
But hey, I have a kid in a public school. Where's the 8 grand that she's entitled to?
Ok. Admittedly, I don't make the rules. One could, and should, have a field day debating the ins and outs of what should be funded, what should be law, and what should and shouldn't be paid for by taxes. I have no problem with that. I just wanted to clear up a few things about what has to be paid for out of a per pupil allocation.
With Love,
Your sister.....alright, alright...she had nothing to do with this.
With Love,
Your sister's husband.
PS: Any errors in spelling or grammar can be solely blamed on Ms.Blackingston, my high school Language Arts teacher. She was an under qualified, overpaid, good for nothing teacher. Luckily, she is no longer teaching...she was eventually kicked up into administration.
Posted by: Living Large in Oregon at July 9, 2003 01:18 AM Bro-in-Law:
Perfect. That's about what I would expect, personnel-wise. So how do we fix it? As you've shown, the schools are trapped by regulation, they are obligated to do things that aren't really a part of what one would think of as 'educating.'
Is the system just too sick to be fixed?