I agree with the last posting. That's the problem were always getting the shaft. New schools have been built in master planned communities in our district they have the best of it. While our inner city schools are suffering. I think that it should be straight across the board and upgrade your older schools at the same time. I think that we have to go to our politicians and let them know how we feel. Yes, we may just be one voice but it could take that for them to look into what's happening. I bypass the school board because they are the ones making the decisions. And when there are school board elections look at your reps reputation. Let me get off this subject because I could go on and on.
Our district has been informed that we can no longer use Title 1 funds to sponser our HOST reading program and that much of our Title 1 funds are being taken away. We are a middle of the way school district who has 86 students in our school of 350 that tested low on their reading and need the extra help and now they have taken that too. In the district next to us they have a program in their "at risk" areas that no 1,2, or 3rd grade class has more than 18 students and they have a teacher aide. We live right across the street from this district and our first grade class rooms alone have 27 students with no teacher aide. We had to vote for a tax increase to pay for our technology while another district I repeat DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET got new stuff from the state. Maybe I have become very disinchanted with the politics of our educational system...but I am getting very tired of the middle class schools getting the short end of the stick because of the lower income school districts. We have many families that have single mom's, kids living with grandparents, parents who don't have jobs but because we are considered to be "middle class" our district gets shafted. I'm all for the intercity schools getting just as much as the rest of the schools get...not getting extra because they are low income. No school deserves to have more technology than another there is no way to justify who should have it and who shouldn't...I hate to say it but we are becoming a society of bleeding hearts and are discriminating aganist our middleclass children.
Our charter school doesn't see near as much money as other publis schools in the district. You wouldn't believe what we had to do to obtain a loan (YES WE HAD TO GET A LOAN) to purchase a building as the district wouldn't lift a finger. For a while there, a small group of parents joked about getting second mortages on our homes to get the new building!
The part about funding that worries me, here in Colorado unless your school has crappy standardize state tests scores, you see the little funding from the state. But then there is Iowa (my home state) that decided to use money from the Lottery to fund their schools.....they do have great schools.
Right now I'm more tired of being asked about who or what company we need to call to get something donated. I will admit I have became good at recieving donations (I think having three little ones in tow has had something to do with it) but I tell ya, my pride can only take so much! The school has been fortunate enough to hook-up with local colleges and universities to recieve lab equipment, desks, and office furniture (items our school couldn't really purchase new) but still to have the district build a new school down the road from my home and see all the brand new things they are getting is hard when I have just made five calls to arrange picking up 75 desks the school purcahsed at a auction!
On the other hand, I chose to drive five miles to have my daughter go to a school that will and has offered her a better learning atmosphere and education... just wish we could see more from the district and state....even if it was money from the lottery! Heck property taxes from Aspen would be awsome!!!!!!
I just read the latest article " Can Parent Groups Do Too Much". I also just received the school districts agenda. In the agenda it showed a gragh of what various funds and grants the various schools is our district recieve. The "title 1" schools are receiving ALOT more than our school. We are concidered a middle income school and therefore do not receive nearly the amount or services that some of the other schools in the district receive. I first want to say I am glad these schools are getting extra assistance. They need it. However it shows me that if the " middle income schools" want anything extra they had better get creative and find a way to get it themselves. It seems we are always last on the list for funding updates. Another note two of our lowest income schools just received a HUGE grant from the Gates Foundation. Trust me their computer labs will put all of ours to shame. Again I know the low income schools do need more help than us.
