Sunday, September 16, 2012
Funding
So the federal and state governments give some money to each public school based on how many students attend. If you were in charge of dividing up that money, how would you slice the pie? Consider categories of spending like busing/transportation, teacher salaries and benefits, athletic programs, extra-curricular programs like band or ROV, building maintenance, food service, support staff wages and benefits, supply orders of consumable items like workbooks but also capital outlay items like furniture and technology.
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This is a question that I don't think any one person would like to answer, but someone has to try. I think I would give a good, big chunk to the teachers, because they deserve it. How they come back, day after day, with the energy they do, I will never fathom. For building maintenance, I would turn the heat way down in the winter and make the AC work a little harder. You can add as many layers as you like, but unfortunately, we can't strip them off just as easily. Workbooks are also good for elementary schools, but I like to think that perhaps we can spend more on electronics. Like tablets that children can write with pen-sticks. This way we save trees and, in the long run, money. Then again, the issue always arises that technology constantly outdates itself, so how would we all keep up? I don't know. I feel as if anything I have to say in this comment will be argued against, and isn't it always that way with the school boards? You're not going to please everyone.
ReplyDeleteLiana Maitland, 1st hour
I agree with you about technology and electronics, about both the pros and the cons. What you said about building maintenance is a great idea too. From personal experience, I've always noticed that our school is cold anyway, and it's much easier to just always bring a sweatshirt to class.
DeleteI agree with your comment that the teachers should recieve a large sum of the money. The teachers are the ones that are bringing the students to this success so they too should be awarded.
DeleteThis is tough to answer because there are drawbacks to different solutions. If I were in charge of dividing up this money, I would most likely base it upon the success rate of the students attending a school. It isn't fair to the smaller schools when all the money's going to the larger ones just because of size. As far as transportation goes, bussing is really important for many students. Many parents have work in the morning, making it difficult for students to get to and from school.
ReplyDeleteAlso, benefits toward a school should also be based upon how many "extra" programs are going on outside of the classroom. These programs are almost just as important as a letter grade, because it expresses one's willingness and openness to participate in something other than acedemics, seeing as many jobs consist of things not taught in a classroom setting.
But for the most part, school should be budgeted based upon the student body. Not how large or small it is, not where it is, not even the grade-point necessarily. But by the willingness of the students and by the success rate they may have.
You say that you would give higher succeeding schools more funds, but what determines a "successful" school? It would have to be quantitative data, and the only device that we have to gather quantitative data to date is standardized tests. If we started giving money out to schools based on test scores the trend of teaching to tests would continue, which from the last blog post no one seemed to appreciate. Also, where would this leave low achieving schools? Would teachers have to buy their own paper for their students because they can't score will on their tests? Students that score low on their standardized tests usually attend schools with teachers just as qualified as those of high achieving students, it's just that they come from backgrounds that place no importance on education so they don't see the benefit to scoring well and actually learning. Giving out money based on performance would only be harming the teachers, rather than giving an incentive to students to perform.
DeleteRoxane (2nd)
It is very tough to figure out what schools are "successful" when the main way people veiw it is through testing. I agree with Roxane in that it isn't helpful for schools when that is the only quanative way of figuring schools out.
DeleteI don't believe in testing, necessarily, but more on the well-roundness of the student body. Testing students based upon how well they take tests isn't a very accurate way to determine who a student is (and colleges do express interest to understand WHO a student is and what they've done). If only there was an actual way to determine students with potential, rather than by testing.
DeleteI like maddy's point about the success of the school rather than the size. That is an excellent point.
DeleteI agree with you on the fact that we should base the money we give to the school on the students success rate
DeleteIf I were the one that actually had to do this, believe me, this would take up a whole lot longer to decide. This is a very touchy subject for a lot of people: To the rest of the district, whoever does end up doing it always seems to get it wrong. I would give a good amount to teacher salaries and benefits, because teachers are the reason that people are able to do any other job as well as they can--all knowledge stems from this learning and teaching done in school.
ReplyDeleteI believe that technology is very valuable, and the more paper resources that can be replaced with technological resources, the better. However, there are a few setbacks with this idea. Some students may not have access to the internet or other programs that may be necessary. The fact that technology is always changing is also a major problem.
Transportation is very important as well, because many students (especially those that are younger) have no other means of getting to school besides that which is provided by the district. If this is unavailable, then students and parents are burdened with something that should be provided for them by the schools in the first place.
Grace Peterson
2nd hour
I agree with you on transportation being very important. There are alot of students where busing is their only means of transportation getting to and from school. If we do not give enough funds to this area the buses would not have the money to make as many bus routes therefore the students whos parents do not have the luxery of taking them to school would have no way of getting there.
DeleteI also agree on giving a good amount to the teachers because without them the school would not be able to run. You cant really have a school without teachers.
If I was given the power to divvy up the allotted money I would do things differently. I would start with giving a pay raise to teachers. The job of a teacher doesn't stop once the bell rings at 2:35. There are hours of hard work and preparation that go into running a successful classroom, and teachers that are putting in all the work should be compensated accordingly.
ReplyDeleteThe next big step that I would take would be cutting all the funded sports teams. While this may seem like quite a drastic step to take, in Europe there are virtually no funded sports, but instead club sports that are funded by the players themselves and are not affiliated with the school. While athletics can be very valuable to students, there is no reason that money that should be funneled towards learning (the sole purpose of school) should be allocated to any other purpose. The main focus of school should be classes, period. The probability of a child becoming a high earning athlete is extremely slim compared to their chances of getting a good job (even in the present economy). I think that not funding school sports would change the whole culture of the school and really make academics the sole priority.
The last change that I would make would be to eliminate unnecessary expenditures on items like iPads and SmartBoards. Although the SmartBoard may be a modern convenience to teachers, there really isn't anything that it can do (that would be helpful to a learning experience) that a white board can't do. Both the iPads and SmartBoards are merely distractions from the bottom line of learning. Sure they may be fun to use, but they're completely unnecessary, not to mention the fact that they will be obsolete in 10 years.
I would then propose that with the money that was saved, from both sport cuts and technology cuts, students could be taken on field trips that are related to their classes. For example, a scinence class could visit Johnson Controls and see how the skills they are learning are applicable in a real life career. This could really get kids thinking about their futures as well as get them excited about what they're learning in the classroom.
Roxane (2nd)
Your ides were extremely thought-out and logical, I loved them. They made a lot of sense and if I had the power to elect anyone to handle funds; i would elect you. nice job :)
DeleteI really liked your ideas about cutting sports funding and technology! Club sports would be perfectly acceptable and the money saved would be tremendous. I'm not sure how I feel about all this new technology in class- but I am sure it's a big distraction and I liked the old system better. You made lots of good points.
DeleteI love your take on the ipads and smartboards, though i do believe that smartboards are useful for the math department, but the ipads are not necessary.
DeleteIt looks like you put in alot of thought into these ideas. And I agree with many of them. very well thought out, and I would copy and paste this if I could get away with it.
DeleteAlthough these cuts would save a good chunk of money, they do have some drawbacks. Though sports can easily be replaced with club sports, many good students may go to a school just because of the school's athletic record. This can also apply to cutting SmartBoards (although I do think iPads for every student are a waste). Classes can also be taught just as well on chalkboards. Many people still would look upon classrooms like this as "behind the times" and they would assume that the education is worse here. This would lower the size of the student body and would also take away a chance to learn with and about new technologies.
DeleteCutting sports funds would cause lots more troubles than good. Sports are extremely valuable to keep kids in shape and make them want to make themselves better. Not to mention the amount of money that the athletic games bring in. Sports bring the school together and give us our pride. Kids tend to stay out of trouble when you are in a sport. Otherwise our school will end up with a lot of junkies and left overs.
DeleteIf you cut sports funds a lot of kids would fall off the deep end. I would probably drop out. Sports keep kids grades up and teach them time management. it also brings students as well as alumni together. Cutting sports would destroy the morals our school is built on, in my opinion.
DeleteIf I was giving the opportunity to divide up this money I would first give the teachers a higher pay and more benifits. I think that that alot of people take what teachers do for granite. They put alot of effort into there lesson plans before after and during school and sometimes we act like we dont care. Bottome line we are at school to learn and if our teachers were not there there would be no one to teach the students what they need to know to be sucessful in the future.
ReplyDeleteI would also make sure money was given to the transportation department. They are resonsible for getting the students to and from school. Students whos parents do not have the time or money to bring them to and from school every day rely on school busing. If the transportation department doesnt get the amount of funding that is necessary to run their routes they cannot get all the students to school.
I believe technology is important however, it is not a nasesity for learning in a class room. I would not give a large amount of money into that area because we dont need ipads and smart boards to learn math or science. I think we could better spend that money else where like the buliding maintenance. It is important that our school be clean and the machines working as we need them too. So i would make sure there was money put into that area.
I 100% agree with you on the technology topic. We can learn the same amount of stuff with out the smart boards and iPads.
DeleteI agree with your point about transportation. Without the school busses, many students wouldn't have a way to get to school. It is also needed to bring athletic teams to and from their events. Very well thought out.
DeleteFaith Lee 5th
I agree with you on the teachers, because most people do take what the teachers do for granted, and just blame them for why their child is failing, or whatever, and don't see that sometimes it is the child who is not trying. Well thought out, exactly how I thought on the topic.
DeleteI agree with you on the technology part of your response. I would have to say that the iPads and smart boards are a waste of money. Students do not need those to learn a subject. IPads become distracting in a classroom and end up being a cancer to the learning of a student.
DeleteIf I was in charge of distributing the money for a school the first thing I would do, as a few others stated as well, is raise the salary of the teaching staff. It's a lot of work being a teacher and where would we, as a society, be without them? We need them. I also suggest we hire a few more teachers to open up more opportunities for different classes. Our classrooms are packed these days. Having more classes would make individual classes less packed, more spread out. The less in a class means the more individual help you can get from a teacher too (along with less work for a teacher and more time for lesson planning and such).
ReplyDeleteMost students don't know what career they want in the future either. A way to aid that is giving them more opportunities, classes, to experience knew things and learn what they like and what their good at. To me more classes and higher wages for teachers is where I would start with the funds.
I definitely agree that extra teachers would open up more class options. That would be awesome, Jay!:)
DeleteI couldn't disagree more. Teachers already make a good amount of money and they make great benefits. If anything we should cut teachers pay so that only the teachers that really want to teach will stay. The supply of teachers is higher than the demand. By cutting teacher pay we would get a smaller, more dedicated work force. Being a teacher obviously is not a bad gig, so raising teacher pay is counterproductive.
DeleteConnor Galligan 1st
To actually be the person to divide up all the money, the school received from the government, would be a hard job to complete. I would first give the teachers their share of the money. I feel they deserve much more than what they may be receiving now a days. They have to attend school everyday just like us students. Except they have to prepare all their lessons and make the classing fun and inviting in order for us students to pay attention. Their job is one of the hardest. Next I would divide the money up so we can pay our bus drivers. Many people don't step back and realize how much both students and parents rely on the transportation system. Parents that are unable to drop there children off to school have less to worry about if the bus picks them up. otherwise kids might show up late because they either have to walk/ ride their bike of rely on someone else to bring them to school. As far a technology goes I feel like we don't need to be putting most of our money into the new computers and iPads that we have now. Yes technology is growing rapidly but we can learn with out all the fancy gadgets and such. What ever happened to the simple learning on a chalkboard or researching topics from books in our own library. Not just off google. More money should go towards food or athletics. Give more options for breakfast for kids that may not be able to afford as much food.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the transportation. I really didnt even think about how important transportation was to many students. Thats a really good way to break up the money.
DeleteTo be the one person deciding how do divide all the school's funds would be an enormous task but here's what I would try to do.
ReplyDeleteI believe deciding where to give the most money too should be some kind of average of the number of students attending and the results of standardized tests. A small school with great test scores can not get twice as much as a large school with poor results simply because larger schools need more resources.
I believe the teachers are the most important part of a school system. They should get a large portion in salaries and to fund their own projects.
Transport and maintenance are important and should be given decent money. Lot's of kids have busy family's that don't have time or can't afford to drive them on a daily basis. With maintenance, turning the thermostat up or down a few degrees could save a lot of money too.
I agree with a lot of the previous posts that the use of technology is unnecessary in the classroom. They are a distraction and teachers with white boards can do just as effective a job or better.
I agree, especially with the teachers being the most important part of a school system. Also the suggestion of changing the thermostat is a great point. Being the one person deciding how to divide the school's funds would be an enormous task!
DeleteAs stated previously by many, it would certainly be a very difficult task to be given the power in dividing up money that would be received by public schools. Unfortunately there is not an endless supply of money in the world, making any "budgeting" difficult in my opinion. The word "budget" usually entails making some sort of sacrifice, which is without a doubt difficult to do, especially when referring to the education system. Education is so important in today's standard of being successful, so I would have to say majority of the money would go toward books and other supplies that would help students learn. I believe that technology in the classroom would be beneficial to many students, and also reduce paper use as well.
ReplyDeleteLaurie English
1st hour
I love the way you put this, the sacrifices that everyone has to make when budgeting. I don't think any sane person would think that budgeting is easy, especially for a school district, let alone the entire country.
DeleteLaurie, you got deep with the 'budget means sacrifice' thing! But you're totally right, I mean, I can barely manage my own money, let alone a whole school's. New books in our classes would be nice, I agree, though I don't totally know how technology would replace all the worksheets and stuff we do.
DeleteI agree that nothing should be sacrificed in a school system. Students are the future of our country and of the world. We are capable of acquiring the best supplies, resources, and best teachers and that is what separates our intellectual abilities from that of other countries.
DeleteThat's a super tough question. Okay, money management is not my strong point, so what I'm going to do is make a little list of things I would give the money to, but I'm going to leave a disclaimer: I don't know anything about running a school, and I don't know what decisions have to be made about the budget. This is just what I would try to shoot for, priority-wise.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, teachers need to be paid more. The amount of work that goes into teaching what with curriculum building, homework and test grading, and all the late nights (and unruly students) is unbelievable. Then I would say money should go to necessities, like electricity and whatever, and other wages. Also, rather than all the kids in class having iPads or laptops, let’s update those god awful, slow computers in the library. It may be more expensive, but it has to be done at some point.
Finally, I want to point out the when there are cuts to be made in school, they very often seem to be made in the art department. I’ve never attended a school where art received any real focus. So I’d want to put some money towards that.
And healthy school lunches.
I can’t make a ruling on athletic funding, because I’m not involved with athletics enough to know what to do.
First, I agree with Shannon that I do not know anything about running a school or managing that much money. But I do believe that teachers do not need to be paid anymore then they already are. The amount that they actually teach is not much. Like the last blog post i said that i don't feel like i am learning all that much,and that i am just being tought to memorize things. Does that sound like what a teacher is suppose to do? So why should their pay be raised? On another thought, the transportation system is being a little undermined. With the new system, everyone - including the elementary kids - will have to walk at LEAST one mile to get to a local bus stop. I , for one, would no way allow my little kid walk that far by themselves at possible seven in the morning. That's not right. Again, i agree with Shannon that there have been a lot of cuts in the art department. Art is being so undermined these days that no one really appreciates it anymore. And i thought that buying ipads for Mrs.Marrons astronomy class was a pretty smart thing to do. But why in the world does Mr. Higgs algebra or geometry class or whatever it is that he teaches that needs an ipad...doesn't seem that necessary.
ReplyDeleteAmanda Schneider
2nd Hour
I 100% agree with all of this. I feel as though teachers are forgetting us how to teach and just expecting us to memorize.
DeleteI agree! The iPads seem like a big waste of money to me. And I thought your point on the transportation system made a lot of sense.
DeleteI definitely agree with you Amanda. The transportation isn't good, the fact that we have to walk a mile to a bus top isn't much fun in the morning. Also that they have started to ignore the Art department.
DeleteAs a Spring Lake athlete, I find funding for athletics to be very important. When you're stuck wearing the same smelly uniform that 2001's class used, you start to wish that funding will provide you with new uniforms. But as for an unbiassed opinion, I feel that funding the food program is a good idea. I usually bring a cold lunch, but if we had better lunch options I might actually eat food at the school. Most of the time, the food my friends bring back from the lunch line looks rather unappetizing. In all honesty, I agree with my fellow classmates about not knowing how to manage school funding, but I feel that my options would help a lot of other students as well.
ReplyDeleteMaddie Parker
1st Hour
Yes!!! Athletics is a dbig one although it may not be the biggest one. But, I definitely agree that more money needs to be given to athletic progams considering so many students are involved in them.
DeleteI agree with sport funding but we should not get carried away with it, uniforms every year may be a bit much. Food needs some help however. I remember a Recess episode when I was younger about the school giving kids mystery meat... yeah thats still happens today :p
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI would definitely give the biggest chunk of money to the teachers and their benefits. They are the ones who are teaching us and helping us have better futures. I would then give a lot of money to athletic programs and building maintenance. Athletic programs are very important, because they can really be a great part of student’s high school careers. I know that many of my great memories are in the sports that I love to do. I`m glad that my school had the money to put forth great athletic programs. Maintenance is important to help keep the school a safe, clean, and nice environment for students and faculty. I would then give the fourth largest amount to extracurricular. With many different choices of things for students to do outside of school it is more likely that they will do something instead of stay home and be unproductive. I would also give a large portion too books and learning supplies, but I don’t think that students have to have the most recent technology to get a great education. The least amount of money given would go to food service, because students can always bring their lunch if they choice. I just think that food service would need the least amount of money.
ReplyDeleteAbby Dockery
2nd Hour
Dividing up money for a school would be tough. I would start by offering teachers a salary increase instead of becoming tenured, but they would have to go through intense evaluation. This way the teachers would have more incentive to work harder. Another example of where I would put money would be in the arts programs. Society has lessened the values of the arts recently, and many schools have taken away a lot of those programs. I think that it isn't fair to say that the academic portion of the school is more important than the arts portion; they both can have an equal impact in a student's future.
ReplyDeleteJonah Yoshonis
2nd Hour
If I were dividing up the budget I would take into accounts two basic schools of thought. One, how can this money be used to invest for success in the students. Two, reducing senseless spending such as technological advancements I.E. Ipads. Our math teachers have thought of this crazy awesome idea that makes a lot of sense for them. "Hey, we should just make the kids learn at home and thus reduce anything we have to do. Let's call it 'flipping' the class!" This idea still deludes me as a student, and I am having a pretty gol dang hard time right now. First, the ipads are the dumbest thing ever. I have spent way too much time on Jetpack Joyride. It is constantly yelling at me to play it while I'm in class doing my (homework?). So I hate the ipads. Probably the biggest waste of 32,000 dollars I've ever seen in my life. But wait, the chairs are cool! Not. They make my back hurt and they look ridiculous. I'd rather sit on the floor.
ReplyDeleteLittle bit of rant but don't worry I'm back on track. The school system should focus on how we actually want to learn and doing it efficiently with time. If I had a gumball for every minute I sit in class with nothing to do, I'd throw up. What I'd love to see in school is a teacher that drives kids to want to learn content for the content and not the grade. Cramming has gotten me to where I am today and I have lost just about everything. It's senseless.
Jaylen made a great point about adding classes. Students need to be opened up more than a basic Science, math or English course. How are we supposed to determine schools when we have very little exposed to us to begin with.
I really hope that I get my 10/10 for this assignment because I put thoughts down that go to one purpose in finding a way to solve school budget problems. I've failed to do the that on the last two posts, I guess and gotten the E for it. Whoopdie do. I guess I'll try harder next time.
Erik Lukkari
1st hour
The best way to determine funding is enrollment. There is no perfect way to provide the exact needed amount to each school, but I believe each student should get the same amount. A big school should get more money than a small school, it has more kids to provide for.
ReplyDeleteAs I look through blog posts, i see almost everyone thinks teachers should be payed more. I couldn't disagree more. Teachers already make a good amount of money and they make great benefits. If anything we should cut teachers pay so that only the teachers that really want to teach will stay. The supply of teachers is higher than the demand. By cutting teacher pay we would get a smaller, more dedicated work force. Being a teacher obviously is not a bad gig. You make good money, great benefits, and get summers off. Raising teacher pay is counterproductive.
Connor Galligan 1st
Amen brother. Tell it how it is.
DeleteRyan Galligan
2nd Hour
Connor I completely agree with what you said about teachers. It also benefits the students because then like you said only the teachers who really want to teach productivily for the students best interest will stay around. Cutting pay sounds like a great plan!
DeleteShane Skorupski
2nd
First I would give a fair amount to teachers salaries and benefits. They deserve it for spending their time on the students. Without them there is no school. Next I would give money to the food program. The food needs to meet standard and be healthy and with that comes a pretty penny. Then I would give money to the athletic and exta-curricular activites. They play a major role in student involvment with the school and community. Then would be technology. We use more technology as we advance so getting a feel for the use of it now will only benefit in the future. Then I would give money to the transportation. Kids don't spend much time on buses and all but it still need to be safe.
ReplyDeleteMadison Khem
4th
If I were to somehow be placed in charge of the budget for Spring Lake High School, the highschool would take a drastic turn for the worst. I am a minor, who has never had a true finance class in my life. I have taken ap econ, but that does not focus on the budget of a entire school. Being truthful, I am an impuslive spender I am the prime subject for every thing I enjoy.
ReplyDelete"To the world, I made up my mind I'm doing my things my way, it's this way or the highway"- R Kelly
"Mitt Romey don't pay no tax" -Kanye West
Those quotes would be my motto. The first quote shows how I would not be swayed in my opinions (which I have not decided on yet). And the second quote would just be there to throw people off their train of thought.
And then I would put Roxane incharge of everything. Except the budget.
Budgets... not my niche in society whatsoever. Im just grateful to have a free and good education. AS long as every child had that I will be happy. Hmmm in twenty or so years when I have a career technology will have thankfully progressed enough so if I was stuck with a budget I could give it to a computer to divide justly. Yes I am serious. Technology will rule the one world one way or another... or has it already?
ReplyDeleteWell in any case, I dont like handling money but ehh something else can make the decisions for me so i dont get stuck with the blame if i completely run out the fund and at the end realize i left out a school. haha
Alicia Ryke
I really like the idea of just letting the computer do all of the work. I would definitely have to do that as well.
DeleteThe federal and state governments give some money to each public school based on how many students attend. If I were in charge of dividing up that money I would slice the pie the exact same way.
ReplyDeleteMore students means more money is needed. I feel that a lot of schools should consolidate so that there aren't any small schools because small schools are lame. I would say a high school should have no less than 1000 students(so long Spring Lake). Also, teachers should definitely get paid less, like Connor pointed out, that way teachers who enjoy teaching would continue to teach and the other 80% wouldn't.
Ryan Galligan
2nd Hour
I like the idea of consolidating schools, but its very unlikely to happen.
DeleteThe way a school divides its money, and the way it can divide its money, both depend on the size of a school. A school of a larger size has a smaller portion of its budget that needs to go to costs that don't change much when new students arrive. This will open up more money for either adding new courses or increasing teacher's salaries.
ReplyDeleteIf new classes are added, students will have more of a choice in what they learn, and more students will be interested in attending this school. This increased student population will provide money for even more improvements. Funds will need to be allocated to bussing to help transport these new students to school, and other costs will also have to be accounted for. Also, if teacher salaries were raised, it would create a higher level of competition between teachers and result in a higher quality of teacher in most cases.
Brandon Aho
2nd hour
If I were in charge of dividing the money for the school, I would first set money aside for field trips. I think it really makes a difference if you get to see something you're learning about in person to further your understanding and knowledge. Plus, it would give the students a change of scenery for once rather than sitting in the same classroom for what seems like forever.
ReplyDeleteI think the teachers salary and benefits are fine. I do like Jonah's idea of offering a salary increase to have incentive to work harder. Sometimes I feel like some teachers tend to slack off (without intention, and definitely not all of them) as years pass. As a student it is very frustrating when the teacher is unapproachable and has lost their enthusiasm.
Buying up-to-date textbooks and supplies is important, but I agree with many when they say that the iPads are unnecessary. They seem like a great tool at first, but based on my experience they have only turned out to be much more of a distraction. I do think that the smart boards are helpful to the math department because it has many helpful capabilities. For instance, if you miss a day of class, you can go to the website and see all of the notes that were taken that day.
Extra-curricular activities are very important to the high school experience and should be given a decent amount of money. Without them, school would be a lot harder to go to every day. Also, many students make lifelong friends and accumulate skills through these activities that shape their future.
Faith Lee 5th
I totally agree with Faith! I feel like the new Ipads are just a distraction and an easier way for students to get onto Facebook during class.
DeleteIf I had to divide the money up for the school, I would first put more money towards teachers and their supply needs. Teachers spend up to $1,000 every year toward school supplies out of their own paychecks. I agree with Faith and the idea of spending more money on field trip opportunities. As a student sitting in the classroom everyday gets kind of boring after a while. I think a change of scenery would be awesome for students. I then would put some money towards athletics and extra-curricular activities. Many students meet some of their best friends through athletics and after school activities.
ReplyDeleteEmily Blahnik 5th Hour
This actually makes a lot of sense and is way better than anything I could have come up with. Teachers shouldn't have to spend their paychecks on things that should be provided to the students by the school.
DeleteWait, I totally agree with this. Why are teachers spending so much of their money on us for learning purposes when the purpose of the school is to provide an environment where we can learn best? Also, extracurriculars are a big plus. Keep up the funding on those!
DeleteI agree also. I dont think it should be left up to the teachers to have to spend their own money on us, that should be the schools job. and we definitely need to keep the funding on extracurricular's!
DeleteI love numbers! i love math and working out problems to find an exact solution. But I will be completely honest and say that I just couldn't even think of how to divide the money. I would try to find the "perfect solution in which everyone is happy...but there isn't one. By giving to one program you are taking from another and i just could't do that. If someone made me do this I would probably start upgrading all of the bands Instruments until i ran out of money and made a huge mess. I love numbers, but I hate having to choose one good for another.
ReplyDeleteI agree with upgrading some of the band instruments...I have to spend my own money to rent a piccolo because I was told the school piccolo was not good enough to play in performances.
DeleteIf I were in charge of dividing the money I wouldn't have a clue of where to take money away from. After seeing all of the comments above there are arguments about everything. The ones I would consider would be to lessen the technology in the schools. Brandon had a good point that schools with less technology would attract less students getting the schools less money, but the students there would learn way better. All of the technology serves only as a distraction rather than a tool for learning. I also liked the idea of putting more money into field trips. I think this increases learning 100 percent. Instead of watching how to do things on an iPad or computer students could actually go out and do them. This is way more valuable. I have experienced it first hand in Astronomy. I don't know what to think in regards to increasing or decreasing money going toward the teachers. I think more money should be put towards more class choices too. This gives students more options and opens more doors. I could say that more money should go towards sports, clubs, and other school activities, but I would only say that because I'm in sports and its nice having all of the newest gear. I really don't think they actually need it though. I don't know where money would be taken from. It's all about giving the money. Those were the ideas that stood out for me. Oh ya, for all you Michigan fans out there.... Go Irish!
ReplyDeleteJake Chittenden
1st Hour
I really agree with your comment about the technology. It seems that more and more of the curriculum is being based on technology now, and I don't really know if that's for the best. Yes, it reduces paper use and whatnot, but I think what you're actually taking in and retaining is far less than if you were to open up a book. I also think that there's not enough field trips in high school. Hands-on learning is a lot better for most people, and it's interesting. Let's be honest. Sitting in classrooms all day gets really boring. Fast. It'd be nice to do something out of the norm every once in awhile.
DeleteMary Jo Koster
1st hour
If I were in charge of making these decisions then I would choose to give teachers more money to spend in their classrooms because some teachers don't even have pencil sharpeners. Another thing that I would choose to spend a lot of money on would be having more elective classes. We don't have many choices in elective classes so in a lot of the electives that I am forced to take I am completely unintrested in them. So that's just a waste of my time. Another thing is that sports teams should be getting a lot more money then what they're getting now.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Sabo
2nd hour
I think that the amount of money teachers have to spend in their classrooms is pitiful. But the school still goes along and buys iPad? It does not make a whole lot of sense to me. I agree with the limited class selection. I am very uninterested in the choices avaliabe and it is not practical to go to a community college to take classes unless one is advanced in say English or Math.
DeleteKathrine Marous 2nd Hour
I have no idea where I would start! I don't think I really know enough about how schools are run and how much money everything needs to be able to allocate the money well. I do think that I would pay the teachers more, because without them, there's no school. I would NOT invest in things like the iPads, because I feel like there's no point. They are impossible to learn from and they are a huge distraction. I think Roxane had a good point with the field trip idea- more money should go into field trips for different classes.
ReplyDeleteJennie DeBlanc
2nd Hour
I agree with you when you say that you would not fund iPads. I agree that they would be a huge waste of money for something that we would only use 2 apps on for one class. They would be a distraction when one can access Facebook and YouTube. I don't understand how a student can learn from them either.
DeleteI agree that the IPads are not the best money spent by the Spring Lake School District. I find that they pose as a huge distraction and cannot meet the standards that basic text books do.
DeleteErik Johnson
2nd Hour
I find that here in the United States there are a lot more choices and factors that go into deciding how to divide money for schools. With a plethora of athletics and the American obsession with them, too much of the schools funding goes into them. Considering the amount of students who actually "make it" in the sports world and become professional I find this to be frivolous spending. Money spent on sports teams could be used to broaden class selection. When was the last time you heard that people in the professional world cared one was on a high school sports team?
ReplyDeleteThe school may invest in iPads with the thought that we will have to use this technology in the working world but it is a lost cause because by the time we even get to that point in our lives the iPads we used will be displayed in museums. With all these cuts the money could be used to actually strengthen eduaction. But then again, what do I know about school funding and how it should be used?
Kathrine Marous
2nd hour
I agree with Jennie on the iPad thing. Adults think that they are such useful resources but really we're only using one or two apps in class. It's a waste of money. And, 75% of the time, we're on youTube or Facebook. I don't think our super or principal should be paid so much more than our teachers are. Our teachers are the ones putting in the work and they are the ones that make the school work. I've honestly only seen our superintendent maybe three times. At sporting events. For having seemingly little care in our education and how our classrooms are run, he shouldn't have such a different pay than the teachers. I think more money should be invested in students getting out in the world and learning hands on. Cutting our field trip money is one of the worst cuts we could make. Field trips and what one learns on them are memorable. Classroom teaching is easily forgotten.
ReplyDeleteLeeann Latsch
2nd Hour
I agree with Leeann about not cutting field trip funding. Field trips allow us to escape from the classroom and learn how the real world works. I can't even remember the last time I went on a school field trip. It's kinda sad.
DeleteI too really like what you said about field trip funding. I feel as though that's the opposite direction we should point students. We should show them the real world.
DeleteI agree too. It really helps to reinforce something that we're learning by going out into the real world and learning it hands-on.
DeleteThis question is quite difficult to answer. I agree with Jennie when she says that she doesn't know enough to understand how schools run in these situations, and nor do I.
ReplyDeleteTo start off I think that I would increase the pay to the teacher who provide our education. they spend many long hours grading papers and coming up with lesson plans to provide us with our education. They work before and after school hours that their pay does not necessarily cover. They also supply class rooms with many supplies that a student may need everyday and decorations to jazz their room up a little bit. For decorations I can see them needing to pay for themselves but I don't think that their own money should go towards all the supplies that they buy each year.
Second of all, I think that I too would fund money towards class trips as others have agreed. I think that everyday tends to get too routine in each class it would be nice to throw in a curve ball every once and a while to change things up a bit.
As for the rest of the money that needs to be split up, I am not sure as to how I would do that as I do not know the needs of the other parts of the public schooling systems.
I agree with lizz dog. Teachers deserve to make much more money then they do. For the amount of education a teacher goes through to become a teacher, they get paid next to nothing compared to someone else who has the same amount of time put into there education. Also I like Lizzies idea about spliting money.
DeleteI agree with Lizzie when she says that the teachers deserve most of the budget cut. They do so much for not only the students, but for the school as a whole and I think they should be rewarded for that. Also, I really like the idea of funding money towards class trips. We don't really do a lot of those anymore at school and I think our students would really enjoy them.
DeleteGiving money to the schools by how many students are in each school system makes sense. As for breaking it up within the school system I definitely believe resources for learning (including technology) should come before anything else since what we're in school to do first and foremost is to learn. Teachers' salaries shouldn't be a focus of spending money on because there are so many people with teaching degrees and it is very difficult to find jobs for unemployed teachers and the longer you teach the higher your pay gets anyway. Sports teams and extra curricular activities should find ways to raise their own money for whatever they need. Then that just leaves transportation and food. Money should go to transportation because many students have no other way of getting to school and if the government is going to force us to attend school they should make buses easily accessible to students- no walking long distances to bus stops. As for food, whether you like it or not the schools serve food that students will eat that aren't necessarily healthy. The fact of the matter is we accept this because there are a lot worse things kids could be eating and by having a salad bar and sub line for healthier options we get away with cheeseburgers and fried food also being served every day. Personally, the salad bar doesn't keep me from alfredo fridays either and I'm usually pretty health conscious. The food system needs to be reconstructed with more GOOD fruit and GOOD vegetables and whole grain noodles and wheat bread and fresh things that don't come frozen or from out a an industrial sized can.
ReplyDeleteThe question of school funding is a very difficult one to answer. I think that Spring Lake has done a fairly good job allocating its resources throughout the district. I think that teacher salaries and benefits should be every school's first concern. They're the ones that make learning happen! They don't get enough credit.
ReplyDeleteUsing money to buy new technologies may seem cool now, but in a year or two they will be outdated. A lot of people brought up the Ipads as being a waste of money. It would have been a really neat idea if we actually used them to learn and not socialize on Facebook or Twitter. The money spent could have been used to open another teaching position or broaden course selection.
I have no clue as how to split up the money and feel bad for anyone who has to try. It's a question with no answer.
I totally agree with you that technology will be outdated after a few years of being purchased.
DeleteI agree with everyone, I wouldn't know how to start on this subject. I understand that it takes a lot of people to make this decision, and I have a few thoughts on it. I agree that the Ipads were kind of a waste, I mean, most of the people using them to actually learn is about 20 percent, others are on the internet or doing things that are a waste of resources. The high board members and such of the schools get paid mountains higher than the teachers, who are actually doing the work and teaching, so I feel that it should be switched, and the teachers should be given a larger salary, and a larger classroom spending limit, so they can buy new books and supplies, and help themselves to teach better. Most times I feel that the school systems are just trying to make more money for the higher execs and forget that it is the teachers that are really doing all the work that is making them the money. More and more these days kids are getting bored with just sitting in the classroom, learning in the same environment, so more funding to off campus trips would make the learning environment would give everyone a better experience. I, however, have no idea how I would split up all the money, and make everything function as it does now.
ReplyDeleteIf I were in charge of splitting up the money, I am not positive on what I would do. My first idea would be to put a lot of it into the athletic department. Since I am an athlete, I would consider this to be a good place to put the money. I believe if the money was put into athletic fields, more people would be attracted to the games. This would bring in more money to the school. That money could then be used for other school categories.
ReplyDeleteThat is a good point about attendance. If we had better facilities, we could bring in more money from fans. I think investing in the improvement of fields and buildings, etc, would be a good investment.
DeleteTo the person who has this job in any school district, I definitely feel for you. I would really have no idea how to split up all the money evenly and fairly. If it really came down to it, I think I would give a good share of the funding to the teachers and maintenance staff. The teachers do a lot more work than most of the students realize. They give up their own personal time to make lesson plans or go to meetings so that they can better their students' education. They give a lot so they can see others succeed. They deserve to be rewarded in some way. I also believe the maintenance staff should be properly funded. They do a lot for us, too. They clean up all the wrappers and other garbage we always leave in the hallways or the commons, and they make the building look very presentable. Some students also become close to the maintenance staff. When our school's maintenance was privatized last year, many people were upset because the janitors they had grown fond of throughout their high school career would soon be gone. Also, I would give another large part of the funding to the extracurricular activities and clubs. And this doesn't mean just sports. I feel like sometimes the athletic department is the only thing that receives attention, but there are a lot more activities going on out there as well. Those clubs and activities deserve as much attention as any sport. Whatever would be left of the funding, I would split up among the rest of the categories evenly. It would still be really hard to do. Especially since everyone does not have the same beliefs as me, and would argue that certain categories should get more money than another. Funding seems to be a constant battle each year, and I don't believe that will change any time soon.
ReplyDeleteMary Jo Koster
1st hour
To start, I'd have to agree with what many of the people are saying about using a good chunk of the money to support our teachers. Being the son of someone who has taught for over 20 years has shown me the dedication and hard work that goes into not only being prepared every day for class, but also fulfilling the dutiful requirements that seem to get more strenuous with each passing year.
ReplyDeleteLeeann brought up an interesting point above that I lean towards agreeing with about the pay of different levels of authority in our school system. The teachers really do make the school run in many different ways and some of the money saved from other extensive salaries could free up some bonuses for teachers who deserve them. The technology issue also seems to be a growing problem in our schools. I too believe that not so much money should be wasted in a luxury that firstly, will be outdated in a year or two, and secondly has one or two benefits to a classroom in the short term, but long term doesn't do anything that paper, pencils, and textbooks can't. Also, kids get distracted very easily.
Cutting the funds in sports programs would be one of the dumbest things we could do. Asking a wealthy school district's kids such as ours to pay at a club level for the sports may not be so much to ask, but then you get into arguments about less wealthy schools. If a kid can make a small payment, (as opposed to the full payment of running a team), and excel to a level that can get them into college on scholarship, they should be allowed to do that. Not every school is attended by Spring Lake students who have money they can throw around into sports activities. Education for some kids is sports because that's what gets them into college. It isn't always about playing professionally.
Overall this is a difficult question to answer and everyone's opinion should be valued.
Ben Keller (2nd)
Ben brought up a lot of great points with the teachers salaries and sport activities. I couldn't have said it in a better way. I agree that technology issues are a growing problem. All technology will be outdated in just a few years and everyones going to want to get the new thing. But truthfully paper, pencils, and text books have just the same learning ability as an Ipad does.
DeleteIf I was in charge of dividing up the money in our school system I would spend the same amount on bussing as we do already because that seems to be a pretty good system already. I would give a bit more money to the teacher salaries and benefits because they are doing aa very important job in my opinion. They are teaching the children and youth of our country the skills they will need later on in life to be successful in their future careers. I would like to try to give an equal amount of money to the extracurricular activities based on the amount of people per person in the group. The food service seems good right now so I don’t think the funding needs to change for that either. I would like to update the furniture and the technology because we are in big need of those updates.
ReplyDelete~Tristan Urry 1st hour
I don't know anything about running a school. I agree that teachers should be paid well and should have good materials in their class. I read a statistic that an old teacher posted about how many teachers pay for classroom materials out of their own pocket. It was overwhelming. Spring Lake may or may not have this problem, but teachers do put a lot of hours out of the classroom grading and planning things for us.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that funding should be provided to extracurricular activities and clubs other than athletics, although being on a team and being a student athletic trainer, I understand that funding is needed for athletics too. I agree with Ben about that, because player fees are getting more expensive. But other clubs and extracurriculars can help get kids into college also.
Whoever's job it is to figure all this out has a tough job.
Libby Reeg
5th hr
I agree with you Libby. Lots of teachers spend their own money on schools supplies for their students- this should not be the case.
DeleteI agree with you Libby, whoever is in charge of the job has a tough one. And I also agree with you and Molly, teachers spending their own pocket money on items needed for the classroom should not be happening.
DeleteI agree too with what many people have said previously. More money, I think, should be given to the teachers that are actually teaching us. They put in a lot of over time hours- they take our assigments over the weekend with them to grade, they use their own money for class room tools, and they get to school early and stay after school late to help each of their own students. More money should be given to them. Also, more money should be given to the building maintence. I think having a well put-together school, and keeping up with the maintence, is key to a good learning evironment for students. Spring Lake does not have this problem, however, many other schools do. Next, I think the money should be given to extracurricular activities- not only athletic programs but other programs like Green Group, BPA, Chess Club, etc. Those programs are just as important I believe.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to say how much money should be given to this area and that area, but those are my views.
-Molly Miedema
1st hour
I agree with everyone who has said something about how the teachers should receive a better part of the money so they are paid well and then will have their needed supplies for the class room. If I were the person in charge, I don't know what I would do. There is so much in a school, and I believe every area needs an equal share of the money.
ReplyDeleteFunding for extracurricular activities should definitely be provided. And I don't think that one section of the activities should receive more money than another. Every club or activity is important, and to single one group out is unfair to the others.
I don't think I know enough though to be able to say exactly what I think needs to happen. I would want things to be some what even, or as even as it could get. This is a tough question to answer.
Michaela De Jonge
5th hour
If I was in charge of dividing up money that goes to the different schools, I would base it off the schools ability and success of a school. I believe that all schools should have the same ability as eachother. They should be able to learn in the same way so everyone gets equal amount of learning. I don't believe that more money should go to the schools that are bigger (have more people) because the small schools are in just as much or more need of the money than the bigger schools. I believe that the government should give it to who they truely believe needs it. The government knows how certain schools run, what schools arn't doing well, and the schools that are doing just fine. They need to give it to the schools that they feel personally needs it the most.
ReplyDeleteI also would give a big chunk of it to the teachers. Everyone takes what they do for granite. Those teachers are who make your children successfull. If we give them more money then they can help with new and better teaching ways as they can and will be able to afford more.
This is a question that I believe should not be answered by one person but as the community. Maybe because it is tax money, the people of a school system should vote for what we believe should be done with the money. On the other hand, what I think the money in our school system should go to is transportation. I am a member of the Spring Lake Lacrosse team (we are a varsity sport), and we still don’t get transportation to our away games. In my mind I think that is ridiculous. I also think that our school should spend more money on our science lab rooms. With more lab material, our student body would be introduced to very vital science based things. Honestly, the whole technology aspect of how our school has started to go is well, let’s be frank…. a waste of money. I spend all my time playing on the equipment and trying to learn how to use them that I don’t take anything from it. Then, also I think it takes away from the student teacher relationship. For an example, math classes in our school are taught by the computers and it is truly unfair. Why have teachers if all they do is hand us a computer. Id rather spend money on teachers salaries with the gov. money, then have teachers there only to make sure we are mindlessly looking at a screen to learn. Well I guess I’m just old fashion, but there is so much information to be learned from another human…… well I got off topic but I think I had some point so signing off E.T.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Eric Teays that multiple people should be in charge of this, not just one. I also agree that it is ridiculous that the lacrosse team doesn't get transportation to your away games.
DeleteIf I were in charge of splitting up the money, my first priority would be the teachers and staff because they are the ones that make learning happen in a school. Teachers don't get enough credit. Investing in new technology is a cool idea, but I think that it can be a big waste of money. For example, Spring Lake has just purchased new i pads which are really cool, but in another year or two there will be something better out there. Also I think that giving kids i pads gives them more of a chance to not do the work in class and just goof off. Next i would invest money in extra curricular activities for the students because I think that it is an important part of developing young minds.
ReplyDeleteIf I were in charge of dividing up the money, I would definitely put a lot of it toward the athletic department. Mainly, I would focus on football. I would make sure we had new everything! Our helmets would be a real nice shiny gold, like Notre Dame's (Go Irish), Our team would have all the latest technology available for football teams. Next I would focus on Track. We would put in a new and bigger track, one with eight lanes, so we could host conference. We would buy all new batons and starting blocks, all new pits for the high jump and pole vaults, and new sand for the long jump pit. The rest of the money, I would give it to the teachers, I suppose. With this idea I know I would never be in charge of the money here.
ReplyDeleteAgree with everything you said. Good post.
DeleteGo Irish
DeleteI think that the money in our school district should be divided equally among students and teachers. I think that the teachers in our school district contribute to the success of the students that we have continuously had throughout the years. I also think that the students play a great role with their integrity and hard work. I believe that the athletic department does not get its fair share of the pie. I think that sports are a very important part of a school district and show pride and superiority through success of sports teams. I believe sports bring our school district together as a whole and keep kids out of trouble. Overall, I would not want to be in charge of distribution the money though.
ReplyDeleteErik Johnson
2nd hour
I think that the athletic department needs more money. The do not have enough money. If schools do good then they should get more money than schools who do bad. Attendance should be also be a big deal in how much money the school receives. Not sure about all the rest.
ReplyDeleteLike most people have previously stated, I believe that most of the money should be put towards teachers. Getting an education is the only reason we go to school, so the people who educate should be getting the most money. Next, I think that the money should go to tools that will help students learn. Such as calculators and other supplies. What ever is left should be put into sports programs and facilities. Money can be fund raised to help athletics, so it shouldnt really be too much of a concern for the school district.
ReplyDeleteIf I was in charge of dividing up the money in our school district, I would pump money into whatever we needed to become better. Another change I would have for our school is that we don't accept sponsers. Instead of having money to improve our athletic fields and teams, we are left with not as much money. It is a much easier way to get money than being a non sponser school. We could get money from local businesses and companies that would go to our school. We should think about this a lot at a school!
ReplyDeleteWell in my opinion, I don't think I can answer this question and have the same answer apply to all schools. It really just depends upon the school's financial situation or the general necessities that the schools are lacking. So therefore I don't think the budget should be based on how many students attend, but on how much the school honestly needs the money or the materials. As for the teachers' cut of the budget, I don't think it should be the same for every teacher either. Personally I think that their salary, or cut of the budget, should be based on how well they do their job. I'm aware that some people are going to completely disagree with me, but this is my opinion nonetheless. I think that if their paycheck is based on how well they perform in the classroom, it will give most teachers more motivation to connect with their students and make sure they really understand. As for the remaining money, like I said before, I think it should be based on what the school really needs.
ReplyDeleteIf I was in charge of dividing up money at different schools, I would distribute them equally. It doesn't matter whether there is less or more kids in the school. If I were to set money for something it would definitely be for field trips. Field trips is the number one thing that can help students learn. It can make a big difference on children while learning. Students can receive hands on experience with different environments rather than sitting in the same classroom. I honestly think teachers salaries are fine. I think that teachers tend not to care as years go by. I agree with everyone that the iPads are unnecessary. The Apps, internet, and much more can cause distractions while the teacher is teaching. I personally feel that I can learn more by taking notes and using textbooks. Extra curricular activities deserve a decent amount of money. Many students in our school are devoted to sports and clubs and don't receive up to date gear which they deserve. This will help change the environment in our schools.
ReplyDeleteHarshjot Singh
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI really know nothing about the school system when it comes to dividing up the money, but if i had the choice, teachers would definitely get more. A higher salary and more money to spend on classroom supplies, but that does not include ipads. Athletic programs would get some, but probably not any more than they are already getting. If a team needs more money for something fundraising is a great way to get it. It is also a great way to team bond. I would also splurge a little on more comfortabloe chairs. Sitting on hard desk chairs all day can be pretty uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteIf I were in charge of slicing the pie I would try to give as close to the same amount of money to each school as possible. I would slice the pie a little more towards large schools just because they need more resources because of number, but I would try to keep the amount of money spent for each school relatively equal according to their size. Say, hypothetically, a school has 400 kids representing population or school size. They would receive two buses, representing resources. On the other hand, a school with 1000 kids would receive 5 buses. So each school receives relatively the same amount of money. However if a school is academically succeeding they should receive a very small bonus on funding as an incentive. This goes the same for athletics or extra curricular activities. Not a huge bonus but enough to keep succeeding school successful, and failing schools with a steady amount to get them back on their feet as well as an incentive.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Adam in distributing the resources. I think this would motivate schools some but still keep it in balance for the most part so it would be fair for all schools.
DeleteIf I were in charge of dividing up the federal funding for schools I would focus mostly on student activities and teacher salaries. This is mostly because happy students and happy teachers create a more positive learning environment. Most teachers take money out of their own pocket to buy certain supplies and if their pay was higher they would have more of an oppurtunity to do this. I also believe that athletics and other activities are a strong building block for students.
ReplyDeleteIf I was the state I would divide it by students, enrollment, and attendance. I think that is the most fair way to do it to give everybody the most equal amount. I think athletics need more funding because while this might not be the case in Spring Lake there are many places athletics keep kids out of drugs and crime. The schools might not feel like this is their responsibility but I believe schools should do as much as they can to help keep kids out of trouble. Busing and transportation also need proper funding because kids need to get to school and when their parents work buses are the only way for them to do that sometimes. Also while I do believe teachers are very important and I respect them I think they need a pay cut. Last time I checked their is higher supply of new teachers then there is for new teaching jobs. Since the supply is greater than demand I think cutting pay and benefits would balance this out. Also less technology funding is good because any new technology that we get will be out of date in five years so instead of buying ipads that would be considered outdated in just a little bit I think I would fund something else.
ReplyDeleteTom Kordupel
1st Hour
I feel how the government gives schools money is somewhat backwards. What I believe they should do with spliting up the money is first help the schools that are in the more poverty areas. The government seems to go by test scores and whatever school has the highest scores gets the most money. I would say almost one hundred percent of the time the school in the wealthier area does better because the students parents are more intentive and care about their childrens futures and they have less stress on where they live and less peer pressure so they do better in school. Going myself from a poorer area to Spring Lake I know this is the truth most of the time. Giving more to a school that has less like extra classes, sports, and counselors would help alot of those students focus on their future and work harder. Then those wealthier schools would have more competiton because poorer schools have more money to do more for their students. So everyone wins because the wealthier areas would be working hard for better test scores to get a little bit of extra money and poorer areas would be doing better because of the governments help. Aslo teachers should get paid less. Then the teachers who really want to teach stick around and the students get the best education the educational system can offer them in high school.
ReplyDeleteShane Skorupski
2ND HOUR
That is a very interesting idea. I do agree that poorer school should get a bigger cut maybe for the first two years to catch up, but after that they should compete with the wealthier schools.
DeleteI do agree it is unfair to only split up our money based on size: If your read my comment Grand Haven High School does much worse job. I see many of those kids from Grand Haven. I get angry when I see them flaunt how they have smart boards in every class, but a lot of the students don't seem to benefit from them. Many of the kids I know barely pass. At any rate I know Spring Lake does a great job and I am happy I go here.
I also don't want to go school bashing, but from my experience I think it's true. Not all kids are like that, but I see too many kids that are dim.
Ronald Madrid 5th Hour
That's hard because every program has needs and some need more than others. You also have to look at what is necessary or not. A lot of students rely on the bus system so I'd fund that more. As far as the sciences they need more funding for materials like chemical and such so they'd get a relatively large cut too. The social studies department I would give less because they really only need new books every 5-10 years so they can save money up, so I'd give them less. I don't know exactly what the athletic department needs but I'd give them a smaller cut because I don't know how beat up their equipment gets each year. I'd try to be fair to what each department needs, but I think Spring Lake should get way more than Grand Haven mainly because we do way, WAY better with less monetary resources. I actually get made fun of by some Grand Havenites because we have less AP programs. Ironically they barely pass their regular classes.
ReplyDeleteRonald Madrid 5th hour
Great ideas Ronald, I like where you are going with the AP classes. I think we should have more to offer i think that the curriculum that is offered is to basic. They need to expand and offer more to study.
DeleteWell there is many different ways to look at this. For starters I believe that the way the government gives money to schools, bases on the kids, seems reasonable. But the ways that money is divided up into different department I feel could be utilized better. They could go through and put more money into the departments that need it more or they could add more ap classes. I feel that spring lake doesn't offer enough classes specially ap classes.
ReplyDeleteCole Conway 2nd Hour
Well like many have said this is a tough decision to make. I think that the success rate of the students should have something to do with how the money is used. If students have succeeded in school then they should be given more options for extracurricular activities and some fun activities like more dances. I also think that the teachers should get some part to, I mean they are the educaters here. So if I did get to decide than I believe that the money should go towards more activities in the school along with any repairs needed in school. Also the money should go to the teachers.
ReplyDeleteDanni DiTrapani
1st hour
There would be quite a few things that I would make note of if I had the chance to control funding for schools. I've heard stories about schools getting more money based on standarized test scores, and I'm not completely positive on whether or not that's true. But if it was, that would be the first thing to go. I believe that standarized tests aren't an accurate way to show how well a school is doing, or how hard a teacher is working. When schools have the pressure of doing well on these tests, the focus of the entire education of a student becomes...standardized tests. Plus, when you have poor tests results which then cause lack of funding, a never-ending cycle begins to occur. The less funding a school has for basic things like textbooks and paper, the worse off they become.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that teachers aren't paid nearly as much as they should simply because of all the work outside of the normal school day.
As far as school sports go, they should be a lower priority than the quality of the education being offered at a school. But they are still very important to the success of a student and should still be considered in funding. Not only do they provide opportunites for scholarships, but they drive students to be more successful. If you don't show up to school, you don't play. If you aren't passing your classes, you don't play. This keeps athletes accountable for their education which shows that sports should still remain in the budget.