Getting School-ed Again

This week, the local Community Section of the Des Moines Register reported that my school district, the Johnston School District, ended its most recent fiscal year with a $2.1 million budget deficit.  A huge screw up by administration, right?  Heads are going to roll, right?  I mean.....um.....hold on.....I'm being told in my earpiece that apparently the school board thinks it's.....OK?

Said the school board president, "I think my takeaway would be these (numbers) look OK.  But we wouldn't want them to go any lower.  We'd really like to turn the direction around."

Now you might be thinking, give them a break, there are understandable one-offs now and then.  After all, the article said the shortfall is partly the result of having to pay over $800,000 to implement and purchase textbooks for a new math program.  If you're wondering, there was no word on whether giving everyone an iPad made a difference.

The thing of it is, besides the unanswered question of why that math stuff wasn't already budgeted for in the prior year, this is no one-off.  This is the second time in the last 4 years the school district has exceeded its budget.  And this is the group that's going to be in charge of building a brand new, multi-million dollar high school.

I guarantee that if something like this happened in the for-profit world, there would be VERY serious consequences.  Budgets would be immediately slashed, as would jobs. Who knows, there might even be a going-out-of-business outcome.

But in the not-for-profit, governmental world, backed by the unlimited deep pockets of taxpayers, there is no panic.  According to the article, the soon-to-be retired school superintendent offered no specific action.  The district finance director said that, other than deferring the purchase of new social study textbooks, perhaps next year they'd have to maintain current staffing levels without increases.

Gosh, don't sacrifice too much.

As a taxpayer, I'm on the hook for this spending and mismanagement, but unfortunately, I have no choice nor power to invest my money elsewhere.  Sure, I can vote for new school board members, but the problem is the governmental model, not the people running it.

Unless school districts, or other government entities, face consequences for overspending, it's just going to continue.

Taxpayer Funded iPads For Everyone - Update

The good news is, my Des Moines Register letter to the editor on this topic was published today.  The bad news is, they published it in the local 'Community' section of the paper rather than the statewide edition.  So instead of thousands reading it, only hundreds will.

Oh well, as long as it exposes the Johnston Community School District as out of touch with the taxpayer, like most governmental / nonprofit entities, it isn't all bad.

Taxpayer-Funded iPads For Everyone!

The following is both the truth, and a letter to the editor I sent to the Des Moines Register this weekend:

In a recent 5-1 vote, the Johnston School Board agreed to spend $1.4 million to purchase 1,600 iPads, enough for each high school student and teacher.

As a Johnston school district taxpayer, I say why stop there?  If the board thinks iPads are that important to learning, let’s increase property taxes so we can equip every middle and elementary school student and teacher with an iPad.

And if they’re really serious about this learning thing, let’s increase taxes even more so we can get an iPad in the hands every parent of every Johnston Community School District student.  After all, parents need help with their lifelong learning, too!

It sure is good to know our school board isn’t concerned about there not being one shred of evidence that student achievement is correlated to using an iPad, a technology that’s only two years old.  Only silly people without iPads probably think that way.

School's In...For...Summer!

This week the Iowa legislature got its shorts in a bunch over the earliest date schools should be able to begin their school year.  It's been fun to watch.

For many years, Iowa law has mandated that elementary and high schools are not to begin classes prior to September 1st.  However, schools can (and do) apply to have that mandate waived, which it always is.  Consequently, many schools in Iowa have begun to start within the first half of August, and all before September 1st.

No problem - local control, everybody's happy, right?

Enter the special interest groups, namely the tourism lobby.  Schools are now starting so early that they conflict with family vacations, and more specifically, with the Iowa State Fair.  The Fair and the tourism industry want the starting date mandate enforced.

The debate between local control and tourism quickly deteriorated into dumb versus dumber arguments.  If you support tourism, you're accused of being against education.  If you support local control, you're accused of being against common sense.

Of course, the goofy teachers' lobby had to get involved, letting everyone know their precious Spring Break may have to be eliminated if schools have to start later.  Do they not realize that outside of central Iowa, most school districts don't even have a Spring Break?  And how is a Spring Break good for education?

In the end, a compromise bill has been crafted to mandate that schools not begin classes prior to the last Monday in August.  So the debate ends with all parties missing the obvious answer - we should be looking at year-around school.

This is the 21st century, with air conditioning and technology.  It's time to accept that kids don't need all summer off.

Good for education?  Yes.  Good for tourism?  Sure.  Good for teachers?  Talk to the hand.