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Old 12-21-2010, 04:36 PM
2DualsNE 2DualsNE is offline
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Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 4
My Take on Public Education

There was a very short lived thread on education on AK,and I just wanted to say my peace on the subject.
My wife does accounting for a poor school district here in Phoenix.This district has one person to do each job in the district in their admin office.Several districts here use one person for each school.The head dude was often known as Dr. No because he wouldnt approve funds for anything that didnt directly have to do with the kids.
Its amazing what vendors will try to get away with since they figure its public money,no one will bat an eye:Trying to get money for jobs never done,charging twice for the same job or materials,and claiming its an admin error.My wife found one error tied to a public utility that used an automated system to estimate increased charges for a school based on time,etc.Turned out for one school,for a 2 year period,they owed the district a refund of more than a million dollars.It took several months,but they did get the money back.
One district that a friend of mine teaches for sends several teachers and admin to conferences all over the country several times a year.Normally,I guess it would be cool,but in this economic climate,espescially in this state,thats foolhardy at best.
One of the big expenses for this district is feeding and clothing the homeless kids.They have accounts at WalMart and Target to get shoes and clothes for kids the school bus picks up under overpasses and on busy highways.The school lunch and breakfast program stays open even during the summer months,because there are several children for whom this is their only meal of the day.
One of the most controversial expenses that this district insists on,even if it means cutting elsewhere is all day kindergarten.Many parents in this district are single parent households,or work 2 jobs each.All day K means the kids arent out on the street,and insures that they will be in school everyday.
Our current Govenor decided on day one of office to make the "tough choices".We all knew what that meant immediately.All cuts would be made in the social sectors,espescially education.In some districts,this is definetly justified.But it hurts to see my wifes district do all the right things,and still have to jump through hoops to make things work.
Jimmy
Oh,one other thing.If we are making all these tough choices,why is road construction constant,and even expanding?Who benefits from that,I wonder?

Last edited by 2DualsNE; 12-21-2010 at 04:40 PM.
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