The Los Angeles Unified School District ( LAUSD ) is in a bind. The Tuesday after Labor Day is usually when school starts for schoolchildren in Los Angeles. But not this year. Due to budget cuts, LAUSD could not open most of its school’s doors. This latest development is in direct contrast to the bailout bill that had $10 billion earmarked to bail out schools who were facing budget cuts and layoffs. Wasn’t this the point of this bill that HAD to be passed in an emergency House session? Who is getting bailed out? What was the point?
Spending is not the problem. In 2008, LAUSD budgeted nearly $30,000 per student. That is a staggering amount, especially when you consider that less than half the kids graduate. Nationally, we spend about $600 Billion on education. That’s 27 cents of every dollar, compared to 8 cents of every dollar for Medicaid. Part of the problem is that 80% of the school district’s operating budget is consumed by teacher salaries and benefits that last a lifetime. According to the LAUSD web page, a 1% cut can save $40 million.
This is a trend that will continue until our broken education system is repaired. Heritage has written extensively on education and what can be done to fix it. The National Education Association (the teachers union) wrote an article blaming a funding crisis for the layoffs, but failed to mention their unwillingness to work with the county to help solve the crisis. For parents practicing school choice and attending charter schools in Los Angeles, the LA Times had this to say:
And students in nearly 200 independently run charter schools are starting whenever school administrators want them to.
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California will not learn to be responsible for themselves until the rest of America is willing to let them fall and, allow them to get back up on their own feet. We can not continue to be enablers of stupidity.
Since when have public schools been concerned with educating the spawn of the pathetic rabble who pay them ??
We are just throwing good money at a bad situtation with the teachers union. They demand more and more, but produce less and less. This is especilly true in Calif., the unions have the tax payer in a strangle hold and only tighten their grip. The dems and obama are in debt to the unions, and will keep throwing good money after bad money. The tax payer must stand up and stop this mess.
$30,000 per kid annually? If 80% of school expenditures goes for teacher's salaries and benefits that means that $24,000 of that $30,000 is going into the teachers' pockets and $6,000 per year is being spent on the kids. What's wrong with this picture? And every time they go on strike, it's always "for the children". I want to puke every time I hear someone say we need to spend more on education.
Add to this spending over a half-billion dollars on a K-12 school complex in Los Angeles. No wonder they call it La-la land. And when California is finally flat broke and can't find anyone stupid enough to loan them more, you know what's going to happen. They will come whining to Obama with their hands out and of course he will give them billions in additional bailout and it will be "FOR THE CHILDREN". While I don't buy this "FOR THE CHILDREN" baloney any more, I am certain that IT WILL BE THE CHILDREN AND THEIR CHILDREN THAT HAVE TO PAY FOR ALL OF THIS.
another admittance of mishandling of funds only within administrations control, No responsibility, no accountability, no competence, no intelligence. continued thievery of tax payers hard earned income. what the heck is the youth learning today?