Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/09/15

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Re: Subsidies to private schools
From: Adam Bridge <abridge@mac.com>
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2003 10:38:26 -0700

On 9/15/03 klw.51@comcast.net (Ken Wilcox) thoughtfully wrote: 

>In my state (Michigan) schools are paid per student enrolled, and 
>most of the money comes from the state. Therefore students lost to 
>vouchers or private schools by any means takes money directly from 
>the public school. As you said the private schools do cheery pick and 
>often they are only K-6 or K-8 schools, leaving the the more 
>expensive 9-12 students to the public schools.

One only had to live in Charleston, S.C. in the 70s to see this effect where the
white population removed its children en masse from the public schools and then
never again voted to improve school funding since they were privately funding
their own schools anyway.

California's schools are funded in the same way: by ADA (Average daily
attendance). We have the additional complication of Prop 13 which removed a
substantial amount of funding AND local control because the only entity with
money became the state. There are many complications beyond that, of course, a
vast number.

And, of course, the public schools are required by law to handle ALL students
whose parents want them to be main-streamed - which places extraordinary demands
on districts who already cannot afford them. Having a full-time aide/attendent
is quite expensive and private institutions are not REQUIRED to provide these
services for students who they can decide not to accept.

Many teachers work hard, are dedicated to their craft and care about their
students. Unfortunately there are also some who, after some point, rest on their
tenure.

If there was one thing I could do to improve schools it would be remove the
concept of tenure. In California existing work-place laws already provide the
protects that tenure offers. In what other job can you work three years and be
hired for life? It is EXTREMELY difficult and EXTREMELY expensive to remove a
teacher who has tenure since the district not only pays for their own legal
staff they also pay for at least a substantial part of the teacher's legal costs
as well.

Adam Bridge
 
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