I’ve had a slap in the face this week. I had to face a huge dose of reality and go back to my “real work” (if you want to call it that). I tell stories to adorable little urchins in public schools. It’s not a hard job, mainly because I love seeing their faces when I share a story with them. At least, telling the stories isn’t difficult. Finding jobs has become harder in the last few years as schools face budget cuts left and right. When schools cut their budgets, I’m the first thing that goes. Not me personally, but “enrichment programs.”
Now, I don’t claim to have a knowledge of politics, and I’m certainly not a financial genius. But, I’ve pondered a couple of things about school finance the last few days. I can’t understand why the schools don’t have funding. My taxes sure haven’t gone down. And, it was just a few years ago that The Texas Lottery was established. Texas legislators sold the idea of legalizing that wicked form of gambling to the conservative residents of my home state by telling us that part of the proceeds would go to the schools.
I know that I wholeheartedly support the Texas Lottery. Boy, do I ever! In fact, if my numbers ever get chosen, and I become a millionaire, I’m embarrassed to tell you that I hope I break even! Surely The Lottery is making money. Are the schools getting it? I ponder that question, but I don’t know how to find out the answer. Why, if the schools aren’t benefiting from the Lottery, I would probably stop buying Lottery tickets!
That’s a lie. I’m not that altruistic. And, I’m a sucker.
After the last three days, I’m wondering if some of the school’s problems with finance might be waste at the local level. All three of the schools I visited this week were in the same district. In each school, the air conditioning was set at full blast. It was cold in the schools, and y’all if a menopausal woman thinks it’s cold you can bet they can hang meat in there! We were freezing our assets off! The children were wearing sweaters in their classrooms and had snot icicles dripping from their noses.
I asked the librarians if they could turn the air conditioner off, but they said, “No, it’s controlled over at the Central Office. We can’t change the temperature.” That seems just plain silly to me. Especially when I noticed the signs in the bathrooms. There is always “reading material” on the walls in teacher’s bathrooms. Often it’s something inspirational or funny. This year, the reading material admonishes people to “go green” by recycling cans, bottles, and paper to help the environment.
Recycling is all well and good, but it seems to me that the schools could save huge amounts of energy by turning the dadgum air conditioning to a reasonable setting. That would help the environment, wouldn’t it? With 48 elementary schools in the district, turning up the thermostats could save some cold hard cash, too. Money that the districts could spend to hire storytellers.
I’m just saying.
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This is something I think about a lot — and it drives me crazy. There is a lot of waste in schools, and a lot of things going on in there that do not make sense.
It’s “bureaucracy,” Susie. No one is supposed to understand it! It exists to feed itself.~skt
Could not have said it better myself!
You probably could have
It was just a mini-rant.~skt
Those are some good points. I’ve noticed that there is indeed a lot of waste all around considering how much people rant and rave about being conscious of conserving energy. In businesses, it is nice to be cool and comfortable, but it’s not absolutely necessary. Especially when it’s COLDER than is comfortable! The same seems to apply to the schools that you visited.
Yeah, Derek, and they will have the air conditioner on when it finally freezes outside, too. I don’t get it. My husband’s company does the same thing. Not only is it wasteful, I’m not sure it’s “healthy.”~skt
Shelly, so sorry to hear about how the cutbacks are affecting your livelihood. One suggestion: When deaing with the schools, market your services with the caveat that you integrate teaching of the grade level academic standards with your stories. They’ll probably see you as “extra” curricular anyway, but it wouldn’t hurt to try!
Actually, Damien, that’s how I get most of my work. My regulars know that I’m going to tie the program to what they teach for the standardized tests…and that I will emphasize vocabulary and writing. My clients are all for it…it’s the top level of the district (who never hears exactly what I do) that creates the resistance. Thanks for the suggestion though.~skt
That’s a tough post to read, but I envy the fact you have a job that makes some sort of a difference.
Thanks for stopping by! I’m glad to have a job that makes a difference, too. Just wish I had more work! But, in my age I’m getting less inclined to do the marketing so I probably should quit complaining
~skt
And to think some schools in the US do not even have air conditioning. I believe I read that many school districts cut their budget because the lottery is filling part of it… makes sense, doesn’t it….
Nothing about politics or finance makes much sense to me. Librarians tell me that they don’t have money for books. That’s the part that bothers me most!~skt
That does sound really wasteful!
PS Extra points for using the word “dadgum” – you are too cool.
It IS wasteful, and I figure that it probably makes the kids sick, too (going from cold to hot and back again). I don’t get points for “dadgum” because it’s part of my vernacular. But, now if YOU can use the word, YOU get points
~skt
I’m not entirely sure where all the money for schools goes either. As you know (because I’ve ranted about it enough) we have to buy everything in our public schools…every book, all the school supplies, gym uniforms and even toilet paper. While we do have our extracurricular activities back now (they were completely gone 2 years ago), there are fees to participate in any activity within the school.
You know, all of our “enrichment people and programs” here are not funded by the school..(surprising, right?)…anytime someone like you is hired, we pay say $5.00-$10.00 per child to cover the cost. Sometimes, the PTA hires them for an evening if they have the money. Usually there’s a per person fee and then they sell popcorn or whatever at the event, too.
That might be an idea for you….work with the PTAs instead of the school systems…..just an idea!
Jessica
That’s just plain insane! None of our schools have AC, but we don’t they don’t go to school here when it’s hot.
It’s just like some ’shirt’ to have the control over the schools temperature. I’d be calling the school district head honcho and asking for an explanation. It’s not only wasteful but not good for the kids exposed to the frigid temperatures…..brrrr I’m cold just thinking about it.
I so wish you would have posted this a week ago. I had to address the cutting of enrichment programs based on budget cuts on my CBEST last weekend. Though I am adamantly against teaching mere English and Math and feel these programs are very essential, I drew a blank on the exam.
It’s happening in schools here too. They are teachers, not good business adminstrators for the most part. I’d also love to see how the lottery is helping our schools too. Same old story pitched in California too. Have a great day.
I think what happens to most lottery money for schools is what happened here in Florida. They get the lottery started with the promise that the money will go to education. Say education is 10% of the state’s budget. When the lottery money comes in, they put pay 3% of the 10% education money with the lotter. Then they spend that other 3% that they always had before the lotter on other things
The result is that education does get lottery money, but they’ve moved the money around so that there IS NO EXTRA MONEY BEING SPENT ON EDUCATION.
That’s the trick. The net amount of money going to schools and education isn’t any more than before, and often less than before, depending on how much or little the lottery is bringing in.
So, the politicians can legally and truthfully say that lottery money is going toward education, but they don’t talk about the fact that they are not giving the schools more money than before, as they let us believe.
Ditto SusieJ’s comment. I find this all the time at school here too. Common sense has fled the coop.
Lotteries going toward school funding here in Va. also years ago,and they didn’t see a dime for years,because somehow it was going into the general fund.
My daughter works as a teacher asst.with the YMCA/Virginia beach schools for at risk four year olds,alot of times needed supplies are bought by the teacher or my daughter.
Linda
I don’t understand taxes at all. I was looking over some information on local and state taxes and it has a large portion of what they bleed me for going to ‘reconstruction.’ What are they reconstructing? I don’t see any sort of construction, repeat performance or otherwise.
Each time I come in contact with a nigh-on-illiterate child I consider writing a letter to their school board demanding they refund my tax dollars in a certified check because clearly I have not been funding an education at all.