I am neither a professional nor an educator. But I keep up with what's
happening in education. The inequities in resources, even within a
single school district are appalling to me. In California, we blame it
on Proposition 13, which sent the money to Sacramento to be doled out to
local school districts. When the recession hit, local districts lost
out. And they are still reeling. Classroom teachers routinely spend
hundred of dollars from their own funds for needed supplies. =
Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any effort afoot to repeal Propos
ition 13. Instead, bonds to build/repair needed schools go down =
to defeat. I simply do not understand the mindset of those who vote w
ith their current pocketbooks instead of voting for the future of
their grandchildren. =
When I was active in PTA many years ago, it was a No-No for parents to
raise funds for individual schools. If the equipment/books/supplies were
needed, the request was to be made to the School Board, whose
responsibilty was to spend the tax money equitably throughout the
District. Today we have parents' groups not only putting on fund-raisers
for equipment for their children's schools, but also soliciting
individuals for contributions with a stated monetary goal for an
individual school. In the wealthy part of our District this is accepted
without question. Unfortunately, we also have schools in less afluent
neighborhoods.
Equity in education comes in several flavors...
Again, thanks for this discussion. It has been most interesting and
informative.
Dorothy Young
<71234.3270@compuserve.com>