A LOT of states face the same problems when it comes to education. Too many people think that solution to fix the education issues is to just throw money at it.(mainly the teachers and other staff) So they keep throwing money at it and it still does not get fixed and th ekids still do not have the materials they need. I have several relatives of my aunt that are retired teachers. They all retired at 55 YO making 85%-90% of their working salary plus the majority of their healthcare paid for.(yes thansgiving with them is boring to say the least) Those kind of benefits have to be paid for somehow. The teachers have to be paid fairly for their work however they have to be on a closer tier to the private sector and the working stiffs that are paying the taxes.
I agree with everything you said. I will add a couple things.
With the way the system works here it is very hard to fire a teacher even if they have done something seriously wrong, like inappropriately touching a student. Of course something like low performance vs. other teachers in the school is even harder if you cant get rid of a grabby teacher. In any private sector job in CA the employer has the right to terminate any employee for any reason, unless you can prove that you were terminated because you are being discriminated against you are basically SOL and they can list any reason to let you go. Good luck proving anything.
All the schools in my area have been constantly remodeling since I was a kid (of course right after I left each school they would be upgraded). New gyms, new football fields, new tracks, new this, new that, and no money to teach kids...Huh? I must have missed something.
If they would just focus on teaching the kids we would not have a problem at all and our youth would get a much better education. First things first, after school activities are second to actual learning. Next, teachers and other faculty need to be held accountable just like any employee should. If their performance is not up to par they need to shape up or ship out, with the amount of qualified people that are out of work all over the country it should be easy to find a suitable replacement. Next, stop trying to dumb down the curriculum so kids can pass. Now instead of regular and advanced placement we have like 6 levels of everything, keep it simple stupid if kids arent serious about learning the material they can try again next year. Dumbing down the content of the classes is not the answer to provide a proper education, it is a good way to keep the graduation rate high though. By eliminating redundant classes you can get rid of a lot of additional work that is truly unnecessary.
Of course, if you only have $5 for dinner you dont go to the most expensive restaurant in the area...You go to McDonalds or hit up the grocery store and pick up some stuff to make at home. I dont see why working with a budget on a larger scale for a state is any different, coming up short every year is not doing a good freaking job. Adding additional services that are really only "feel good" services that help a very small minority is not in the best interest of the state or city as a whole. How many transgender people can there truly be vs. the rest of the city of San Francisco? What 0.01%? Even that seems high! I have not seen one personally but I dont go hang out in the Castro district at all either.
