new year, different gravy
wow - a little over a year has gone by, let’s check the news. Furlough Fridays are the hot topic, with the big bad state vs Joe Aloha and his kids. forced to balance a bleeding budget, Gov Lingle cuts budgets across the board, forcing the schools to essentially shut down for 17 additional days a year. it’s not enough to cover the gap, but it’s a horrible first step.I think it’s pretty obvious no one wants this. lots of bullshit being thrown about the furlough days being used as a bluff the Gov didn’t flinch at, etc. bottom line is, the state only has so much to spend, and right now, all the dept budgets combined exceed that total.think of the keeeeeds! - you say. prioritize the schools and kids first. save their budget, and cut other ‘non-essential’ programs. well folks, if you think it’s that easy (or transparent), it would have been done.first of all, what’s non-essential? I’m sure there are tons of weird looking line items, and of course a lot of pork in there too (what’s the Gov’s redecorating budget for the year?). the problem is, most of what goes on is important to SOMEONE, and that someone may have kids too (if they aren’t kids anyway).attack the pork then! the simple fact is, when you have to find 10’s of millions to balance, you have to start with the sword before you move to the scalpel. payroll and related expenses are at the top of that list, right next to facility operational costs.why not furlough on days schools are already off, like holidays or instructional prep days. this would be better for the kids since it saves instructional days, but it hurts the teachers twice over, since now they have to work the same amount AND give up pay, and also does not allow you to shut a facility down saving those operational costs.2 things to recognize there - NO ONE is blaming the teachers individually (although as a union, there are definitely fingers a plenty), so asking them to take it up the ass FOR THE SAKE OF THE KEEEEDS is just wrong. the other thing is that facility operation is more than custodians and electricity. think of all the things you need if you own a house - insurance, consumables, maintenance, etc. it doesn’t end with your mortgage and electric bill.so much anger! let’s protest! well, what the fuck are you protesting exactly? it’s not like the Gov is just choosing not to print the money we need to operate the schools. you know how you get more? raise taxes - who’s in favor of that? I’m no elephant, but at some point, taxing the populace becomes counterproductive. cutting non-essential services? if you aren’t actually in school, which service would you like to give up? road repair? trash collection? (I recognize some of these examples are city and county issues, but the point is, no one is really willing to give up ANYTHING).so what do we do? I know what I would do - start applying to private school! only half joking there, but seriously, this is not a problem that solves itself overnight. even with all the funding they need, the state has done a shitty job of educating the kids. again, a complicated picture here since it relies on parental support, and classrooms full of non-disruptive kids, but if you could choose between optimal learning conditions, and a fucking crapshoot every day, I think the choice is clear.for those of you who think rims on your car is more important than education, and it’s all the state’s fault for failing you here, this is what I suggest - come up with a solution first, THEN complain. if you look around the nation, no one else runs their schools like we do. if we were top 10 in education, then maybe it would be something to hang on to, but we’re like 47th out of 50 - hardly something we need to be investing in. for all those that think only the poorer districts would get left behind if we went to a more traditional operational model, fuck you too - all studies show that while the ‘poor’ schools suck, it’s not simply because they are poor. it’s because the support system around the learning is lacking. look at what a rural school can do with something the community supports, like football.as it is, most if not all public schools have to fundraise to operate. along with a more localized operational and fiscal model, formalize this effort also. the ‘best’ fundraising efforts I have seen are the most structured. these aren’t kids selling candy bars for $2. they set school goals, and have family quotas. these efforts can be rolled up into a district level. if it were easier to support the ‘learning’ part of the educational budget, I would, and the rhetoric says most people would to. no one likes new taxes because of the stigma, and the inefficiency, but money is the only thing that solves this problem. still afraid of inequality creeping into the picture - don’t punish those willing to ante up I say. setup some kind of luxury tax if you like - ask for a percentage of fundraising over a certain amount help fund schools less successful in their efforts.my mom (public school teacher for like 80 years) have this argument all the time - I shouldn’t thing private schools are ‘better’, and ‘look, you came out ok’. well, times are different, and maybe ok isn’t enough for me. fact is, the public school system in hawaii is fucked - I choose to not risk my kids in it.bottom line, public schools on the rock are covered in gravy - I’d do whatever I could to avoid them!