Tuesday Open Thread
The speaker list is up for the Board meeting tomorrow; not as packed as I thought with just four people on the waitlist. The majority of the speakers are speaking on high school boundaries (with several wanting to talk about Ballard High). There are only three of us speaking about the Green Dot resolution asking the City to not grant the zoning departures that Green Dot has requested. It's me, long-time watchdog, Chris Jackins, and the head of the Washington State Charter Schools Association, Patrick D'Amelio. (I knew Mr. D'Amelio when he headed the Alliance for Education and Big Brothers and Big Sisters; he's a stand-up guy.)
Comments
Things to clean the classroom, Kleenex etc, should be part of the building budget/ furnished by district so student coverage is equitable.
Does the school expect custodians to furnish their own cleaning supplies?
As Michael Rice made clear, teachers buy cleaning supplies and basic material for the classroom. I guess if you work at a school that has a PTA that raises a lot of money, this can be migitated. But in the scheme of things in the USA, that would be a small percentage of schools.
Also, I am hopeful Michael Rice didn't mean this the way it seemed to be implied:
"Ingraham has a great parent group and I'm sure if I asked, they would fund my request"
I want to make this clear: Every school I have worked in has had a great parent/family group. They don't all have the opportunity to volunteer at school (they may be working three jobs), have the money to participate in school auctions, or be able to give money and supplies to the classroom on demand, but almost every parent/family cares deeply about their child's education and contributes as much as they are capable.
I think it is very important to be careful about linking "great parent group" with their ability to give money, even when such a link may not have been intended.
FWIW
Is it meeting the needs of teachers and students? Think again!
FWIW
The baseline you are using for measurement is interesting but not necessarily helpful.
During the recession, there were substantial cuts to education. We are nearly 10 years post 09 and in many ways the McCleary money is just restoring budgets to their pre-recession levels. It would be really helpful to look at overall funding adjusted this way.
IIRC, 2012 was the first year money was not being cut, so you are measuring the steep part of the add-back.
Seattle-lifer