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Take politics out of it. I still have not heard a reasonable explanation why policitcs need to be involved in this. I think that would be a huge step in solving a lot of these problems.
Unfortunately, even for "non-political" offices, large donors tend to recruit and support people of their own political philosophy, since School Board positions can be a jumping-off point to higher offices that ARE "political". You might not have been living here when Art Pope's crowd (a very rich Republican donor who supports Right-wing candidates) basically took over the school board in 2009 because nobody was paying attention to it, by getting some hand-picked people to run, got a majority on the Board, and it happened to fall 5-4 and every vote pretty much divided that way in favor of the Republican Board members. Then Dems flipped one seat in 2011 and the same thing is going on...all for technically "nonpartisan" positions.
The debate I've seen so far is useful, but it seems this all starts with leadership. And the leadership--the Board--is elected by the people. If we are unhappy with the situation, we need to educate ourselves and choose different leaders. Personally, I'm not happy with the current crop of Democrats (wasting money firing a Superintendent without cause) or the most recent crop of Republicans (buffoons; and Tedesco--running for State Superintendent!--is one of them).
How about we start filling up the schools that are sitting HALF EMPTY first?
For example: East Cary Middle school? It's only a few extra miles away from some of the more crowded Cary middle schools, yet it sits at 55% capacity. WHY?
When new families move to areas of high growth and crowded schools, give them a list of the under-enrolled schools in the area to choose from! If they still want a different school closer to home, put them on a waiting list for a spot. I personally have a very hard time supporting building brand new schools in places like Western Wake when there are plenty of seats already available in many Cary schools.
Originally Posted by HS_DUDE
Disband and go to city/town based schools. The whole county thing ain't workin.
Because things were so much better before 1976?
I'll bet money that HS_DUDE has absolutely no idea that there USED to be separate city & county school systems that were merged.
I personally do think the current size is far too large for one system (and only 9 members) but if you think there is fighting NOW, imagine how it would be trying to divide the county into even two districts? Nobody would want the poor, Southeast Raleigh schools. And as for going "New Jersey-style" with every little town having its own completely school system, Administration, central office, etc--yeah, look at the taxes they pay up there, too. Anyone is free to return to the Garden State (or the Bay State, as the case may be) if they prefer that style of schools (with the taxes to go along with it) but don't make the rest of us pay so you can have what you chose to leave behind.
There has to be a tipping point, though. When do taxes become high enough to discourage growth in the area?
One shot deal like a bond referendum is the way to go. Raising taxes every year "till we get it the way we want it" is not. In NY the biggest problem is unfunded mandates like pensions and lifetime health insurance....and then they still float a bond when the roof caves in, the 70 year old boiler breaks and the doors and windows all need to be replaced because kids are losing the tips of their fingers every time they leave the class (which is exactly what some of the things were in the town we moved from that passed a bond in 2009). I see more attention to infrastructure here and more creative ways to get it done. Our school had a ton of work done this summer by a local church that wanted the community service hours for its members. That would never N.E.V.E.R. happen in NY, the ACLU would be all over it - a church working at a school, even in the summer - perish the thought!!! Up there it's gotta come from tax dollars or not at all. And no one wants to pitch in and help because "we're paying $15K a year and you want us to PAINT?!" I would be offended at some of the stuff I volunteer to do down here, had I been asked to do it in NY. The people up there who think they are getting a great educational value have drunk the KoolAid because they believe that since the teachers are doing all the work, it's all good.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
9,781 posts, read 15,802,795 times
Reputation: 10894
Quote:
Originally Posted by Francois
I'll bet money that HS_DUDE has absolutely no idea that there USED to be separate city & county school systems that were merged.
I personally do think the current size is far too large for one system (and only 9 members) but if you think there is fighting NOW, imagine how it would be trying to divide the county into even two districts? Nobody would want the poor, Southeast Raleigh schools. And as for going "New Jersey-style" with every little town having its own completely school system, Administration, central office, etc--yeah, look at the taxes they pay up there, too. Anyone is free to return to the Garden State (or the Bay State, as the case may be) if they prefer that style of schools (with the taxes to go along with it) but don't make the rest of us pay so you can have what you chose to leave behind.
I'm not saying small school districts are the answer, but I just want to point out that not every state that has small school districts has high taxes like New Jersey. For example, Pennsylvania has township school districts, and their taxes are much lower than New Jersey's.
And as much as people want to put down New Jersey taxes, they, along with Massachusetts (another highly-taxed state), almost always come out on top for public education.
I'm not a fan of huge school systems, although they often have more opportunities than small ones. On the other hand, very small school districts can be costly and repetitive of each other. There are pros and cons to each type. Overall, I think the best kind is a happy medium. But I agree that it would be hard to split up a system that is already in place. However, schools systems larger than Wake's manage to run fairly well, so there's no excuse that Wake shouldn't be able to also.
One shot deal like a bond referendum is the way to go. Raising taxes every year "till we get it the way we want it" is not. In NY the biggest problem is unfunded mandates like pensions and lifetime health insurance....and then they still float a bond when the roof caves in, the 70 year old boiler breaks and the doors and windows all need to be replaced because kids are losing the tips of their fingers every time they leave the class (which is exactly what some of the things were in the town we moved from that passed a bond in 2009). I see more attention to infrastructure here and more creative ways to get it done. Our school had a ton of work done this summer by a local church that wanted the community service hours for its members. That would never N.E.V.E.R. happen in NY, the ACLU would be all over it - a church working at a school, even in the summer - perish the thought!!! Up there it's gotta come from tax dollars or not at all. And no one wants to pitch in and help because "we're paying $15K a year and you want us to PAINT?!" I would be offended at some of the stuff I volunteer to do down here, had I been asked to do it in NY. The people up there who think they are getting a great educational value have drunk the KoolAid because they believe that since the teachers are doing all the work, it's all good.
Yeah. That's why I was thinking impact fees going forward, along with a decent bond proposal.
We need people we can trust with the money, though.
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I don't have a dog in the fight, never having spawned. But I met Tony Tata when he came to speak to my writers' group (he's a political thriller novelist, for those who don't know), and I found him very engaging and concerned about the children in his district and what's best for them. He's a Republican, so I don't agree with many of his policies, but as a steward of education for upcoming generations, I thought he was terrific. Sad to see him go, and more than a little suspicious of the board's motives.
Seems like only yesterday that Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) employees were stealing millions from within and nobody noticed, plenty of taxpayer money for all. Turn the clock forward to today and I would be surprised if that could happen. I guess one bright spot of a tight budget is accountability.
One shot deal like a bond referendum is the way to go. Raising taxes every year "till we get it the way we want it" is not.
The "taxes vs. bonds" debate seems to lose sight of the fact that everything the district spends is tax money. Bonds are just a way of borrowing against future tax revenue. It's nothing more than a timing/cash flow issue - not one of whether we raise taxes or not.
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