Economic Crisis and WWIII

[Moontanman]

I have to admit that while I was guiding my two boys through school the quality of the tools of education got worse as they went up in grade. by middle school the problem was sever. I'm not sure where the money for the school system was going but buildings and books didn't seem to be where it was being spent. to be fair there was a couple of brand new schools built during that time but my boys didn't get to go to them. The old schools seemed to be in the process of being allowed to fall down. It took a lot of lobbying to change the situation even a small amount. I saw old schools torn down at a tremendous cost and new schools built at an even higher cost. I was of the opinion that a perfectly good school would be cheaper to keep up than it would be to build a new one. I'm not sure the people in charge were really qualified to make the correct decisions in these instances. In some cases teachers would use their own money to buy new books and to repair class rooms.

[jackson33]

dave; For the most part (98%) expenses for public schooling is paid by local tax payers (property owners) or taxes collected by the State with on average 2% coming from the FED, generally to cover cost of mandated programs (testing/special education/etc). As I told Buffy, even the most conservative of conservatives will not oppose what any State does with their money, so long as the programs are supported in their State.

 

Governments (all of them) have no means for income, other than taxes. Actually most folks paying property/School taxes have no children in school, send their kids to private schools or home teach, many paying twice for the that one service. Roads are built in cooperation with States, then to the Interstate or US Highway system only. State, County, or town/city roads receive no assistance from the Federal. The Taxes collected through Gasoline/Diesel sales, special permits and Truck User Taxes by both Federal and State Collections, pay the majority of these cost. However its at the discretion of the State, whether a project goes forward or held off and in all cases just when infrastructures (bridges/bike paths, etc) are entered into the system or refurbished. Much is added to bills (pork spending), not in any Highway Bill and rarely used for the intended project...by the State.

 

The distribution of Electricity, Phone Service and some other services was subsidized by the Federal, but again a State issue, given only a time line to complete. My point in all this, is that often accepted Federal Issues are not actually Federal responsibilities or are they even involved in most activity (Federal responsibilities or not) other than some funding. I don't know NJ Law and certainly not what your School District can/cannot allocate funding for. Most allocations from the State are based on attendance..X times attendance on a daily basis or an average of. BUT, I would bet all these expenses are public record and available to you...I would also bet, school book are very low on that list and in some order Administration, Teacher Salary, Utilities and building(s) maintenance, busing, head the list.

 

Medical Doctors, probably where advanced procedures are the most vital to a profession and Legal Professionals rely on themselves for learning the new procedures or precedents in law. I don't see why any teacher can't do the same, especially with two very strong Unions to inform them and they are already paying dearly for their service.

 

 

Moon; There must be a couple thousand school districts in this country and each probably has a different system for book distribution. My kids were literally rented books at the start of a school year and charged for damages at the end of that year (out of a deposit). Most systems are now buying from Internet book sale sites and the cost has been decreased substantially.

I would bet, these books in some manner are available today over the Internet.

 

I agree with you on New Buildings vs. Maintaining old schools. There have been two major problems in Lead or asbestos contamination, since about 1960, in both cases making refurbishing to expensive and just rebuilding the cheapest way to go. The Grade School I went to was built in the 1800's, brick, asbestos all over the place and lead paint was the only thing available, probably 10 layers or more. Maybe you can understand why I question government so much, or the idea what good for a few should be required for the total....

[Moontanman]

I have Conservative bumps all over me when it comes to local spending and or government. Even the Dems are more Conservative when it's local at least around here, then again the Repubs seem more Liberal too. Maybe local politics are more orientated toward what works rather than following a simplistic philosophy.