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LeAnne
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(Carpal \'Tunnel)
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06/24/08 11:44 AM
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Watching the news
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last night, we watch alot of it. They are saying that the schools are going to be in trouble, this coming year, with the fuel prices. That their budget has already been set(taxes), that they don't know how they are going to afford to heat the schools, plus the school is going to have to pay, way more for the food for luches, with the shipping cost.
The schools are talking about raising the lunch cost, by a dollar a day? So that would be 3.00 here per day. So if you had 3 kids eating at school, that's 45.00 a week just for for lunch. Cutting some of the bus service for kids who live close enough to ride their bikes is also being talked about. I don't really know what is going to happen?
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matilda
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(Pooh-Bah)
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06/24/08 12:00 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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I know that this is happening in California as well. School districts are setting up committees on how to cut/reduce costs. Lunch costs will be going up here too. There is even talk about having a 4 day week instead of 5. They are changing start/ending times so they can better consolidate bus routes. I think we can expect a lot of changes in our lives.
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Tweeby
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(Carpal \'Tunnel)
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06/24/08 12:07 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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[quote]The schools are talking about raising the lunch cost, by a dollar a day? So that would be 3.00 here per day. So if you had 3 kids eating at school, that's 45.00 a week just for for lunch. Cutting some of the bus service for kids who live close enough to ride their bikes is also being talked about. I don't really know what is going to happen? [/quote]
Here elementary school lunches are $2.20 and the Middle and High school are $2.90 a day. I have 3 kids in the school.
We qualify for reduced lunches. So the kids get $1.00 a day and that covers breakfast and lunch.
Our school district is the largest in area in our State. The district keeps threatening to cut buses for HS students BUT they won't allow any additional parking passes. The HS and Middle school are in the middle of the district. I am near one end and it can take me 15 minutes to get there. The roads are rural and there is a highway on one side of the school. The road roads leading to the schools are at 45 or 50 mph. NO WAY anyone can walk unless they live right by the school (which are not many).
We have property taxes, pay income tax, have school fees, and still have supply materials. If they cut bussing than I will be schooling at home my children because there is NO way they can walk over 8 miles on country roads to get to school.
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Re: Watching the news
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Well, my kids walk to school already. I'm not sure what's going to happen with school lunches this year. When they started public two years ago, they got free lunches, but last year I got a raise, so they only got reduced lunches. I'm now making a lot more, so I doubt we'll qualify for reduced lunches again. I just looked up those prices, and our school charges $1.20 for breakfast and $2.05 for lunch. They will likely be eating breakfast at home this year, and lunches...I'm thinking maybe packing a lunch at least most of the month. Maybe purchase like 10 lunches each month for them, and they can choose which days they want to buy and which days they want to pack a lunch. I don't know.
As far as school costs...I'm sure it sucks, but I'm sure they can also find the money. I have no sympathy for the idiots running school districts in this country.
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1004SRS
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(Carpal \'Tunnel)
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06/24/08 12:13 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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I made the decision for my kids to go to parochial school. The costs of attending our local parochial school are the same as attending public school here.
No bussing unless you live a certain number of miles from school. (Too far for a kindergartener to walk, IMO).
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cincsu
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(Carpal \'Tunnel)
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06/24/08 12:51 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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make their lunches! surely you could make 15 sandwhiches a bag of chips and a piece of fruit for less than $45 per week.
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Re: Watching the news
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Well...I for one hope they change the bussing here. It is out of ocntrol. I have 5 buses come down my road every morning and evening. One area reported 25 buses. That's too much. We are on choice plan and I think if you choose for your kid to go to a different school then you also choose to drive them too it. Not use my tax dollars sending out another bus to get them.
We currently pay $40 a week for school lunches. 3 HS and 1 elem. Lunch is $2 a day for each of them and everyone eats breakfast at home.
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Re: Watching the news
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Wow, those are expensive lunch prices!! We pay around $1 something per lunch. Not too bad, and the district does not have bussing, they only have activity busses for sports, field trips, etc. Otherwise, there is a city bus that runs a route to pick up jr high and high schoolers that live at the other end of the district, it pretty much makes stops at the elementary schools to drop kids off.
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Tweeby
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(Carpal \'Tunnel)
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06/24/08 12:59 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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[quote]make their lunches! surely you could make 15 sandwhiches a bag of chips and a piece of fruit for less than $45 per week. [/quote]
Not many HS or Middle school students pack their lunch. The school lockers are SMALL. The kids can even put a winter coat in the locker it is that small. Their books and folders are piled neatly on top of each other, the only way to actually FIT everything in. If it is messy than there is no room.
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Miranda
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(Carpal \'Tunnel)
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06/24/08 01:14 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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Our school lunches went up 35% for next year and then the school district goes out and buys brand spanking new Suburbans for everyone to drive around in. If money was that tight I would have thought they would buy for money efficient cars, like minivans or something.
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MTmom
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(Carpal \'Tunnel)
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06/24/08 01:16 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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miranda - why does your school need suburbans?
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Miranda
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(Carpal \'Tunnel)
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06/24/08 01:19 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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[quote]miranda - why does your school need suburbans? [/quote]
That is a good effing question. I can't wait until the first PTO or school board meeting.
I have seen custodians driving them and also special needs teachers driving kids places.
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MTmom
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(Carpal \'Tunnel)
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06/24/08 01:21 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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hmm.. cant they reuse the busses to move kids around? Doesnt your school already pay for busses?? And custodians!! I'd be livid if the janitors were driving new suburbans.. totally unnecessary!!
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Miranda
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(Carpal \'Tunnel)
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06/24/08 01:24 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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[quote]hmm.. cant they reuse the busses to move kids around? Doesnt your school already pay for busses?? And custodians!! I'd be livid if the janitors were driving new suburbans.. totally unnecessary!! [/quote]
I was reading the letter while at the school and I saw the 22 year old custodian driving a 40K suburban. I was LIVID, and the shiesters had the brains to send the letter home the LAST day of school so hoping it would slide under the radar.
I want to know why school lunches went up 10X the amount of inflation.
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MTmom
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(Carpal \'Tunnel)
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06/24/08 01:32 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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I am a HUGE fan of letters to the editor of the local paper. I would be sending one NOW and the next time the district requests a mill levy for the general fund!!
I am all for supporting our kids.. but I am SICK to death of irresponsible fiscal policy in schools!! And even further, I am so tired of watching school district officials who can't even read a financial statement making off the wall budgeting decisions!!
I think every school district in America should be required to have an onery comptroller and a CFO in charge of the finances!
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PrincessJ
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(Carpal \'Tunnel)
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06/24/08 01:32 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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Frightening times.....
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Miranda
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(Carpal \'Tunnel)
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06/24/08 01:36 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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Well I live in San Antonio which, I think, is the 7th largest city in the US so I don't think a letter to the editor would even be published.
I complained and a moronic woman at the district told me "well different money comes from different pots and they cannot be interchanged". Well moron, when you do the yearly budget you can take from here and put in there. The school also just spent 10K on curtains for theater arts. And thousands on flowers for the district office.
Like I said, I cannot wait until "the breakfast with the super" so I can ask him all of these things to his face.
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matilda
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(Pooh-Bah)
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06/24/08 01:57 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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I think what she is trying to tell you about is categorical funding. The government in its wisdom can decide to put restricted monies in categories such as building, supplies, deferred maintenance etc. It is illegal for the school districts to simply move this money from one category to another. Some of these monies can be carried over from one year to the next. Other times it is a use it or lose it basis. So ultimately, the school may not technically NEED something in that category, but has to spend it on what the state/federal governments specifies of lose it. Much of the school district budget isn't decided on by the school district, but rather by the state and federal governments. Not to say that there isn't waste, but the real entity to blame is the government putting silly rules on how to spend money that isn't always what the kids need.
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Re: Watching the news
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thats what I was going to add....funds cannot be moved. Most SD have to spend ALL of the money in each funded account or they loose that money the next year. I see so much waste. The best was when building fund had too much money for one site so they for no reason replastered 3 walls at the highest bidder so they wouldn't be in the positive at the end of the budget year.
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LeAnne
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(Carpal \'Tunnel)
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06/24/08 02:05 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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Maybe the super needs to take a paycut? Here the upper people, I think make way too much money. The elementary school principal, makes 106,000 a year. Last I read in the paper, the super made close to 200,000. Knock 20,000 off his salary, that's alot of food or gas.
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LeAnne
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(Carpal \'Tunnel)
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06/24/08 02:11 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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Here they talked all the tax payors into a new gym, and a theater, 22 million dollars worth. They pulled it off as we won't have to raise taxes, we can use bond money. Now they are crying, because we need classrooms, but we spent all our money, so a few kids could do plays and bubba can dribble a basketball. Totally back asswords, classrooms should have been first.
So next year they will want a tax increase to pay for the new classrooms, and to pay for new teachers.
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matilda
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(Pooh-Bah)
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06/24/08 02:14 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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Given the economy right now, I think that the school district would have a hard time getting something passed to increase taxes.
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matilda
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(Pooh-Bah)
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06/24/08 02:17 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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My school district in California has much lower priced lunches than those posted on this board. Our full pay lunch is $1.60 and reduced is 40 cents. My school is in the high socio economic section of town and about 50% of the students received free lunch. There are other schools in the area where 80-90% of the kids receive free lunch.
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ssmom79
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(Carpal \'Tunnel)
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06/24/08 02:17 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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BM pays lunch money. I smile at the thought of an increase.
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LeAnne
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(Carpal \'Tunnel)
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06/24/08 02:35 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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They are already starting the game. We have way to many kids in the classrooms, we need a new science lab, your kids can't learn anything because they are so cramped, blah, blah. Well I say you better get some plywood and section off that new gym, to make classrooms. Did I mention the whole NEW highschool is only 9 years old. So we didn't need a new gym already.
Funny thing is, you are only required 1 credit of gym and theater is an extra, not even required to graduate.
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LeAnne
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(Carpal \'Tunnel)
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06/24/08 02:38 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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Is that why California is going broke? Just heard old Arnie talking about how broke the state of California is last week.
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matilda
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(Pooh-Bah)
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06/24/08 02:53 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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Actually I believe it is the federal government that pays for free lunches. I think one big waste in CA is the amount spent on prisoners. The state is charged about $40k a year PER prisoner that don't require maximum security. I've read that death row inmates can cost the state $100K a year. The prison guard union is very strong, so when Arnold tried to send prisoners out of state to alleviate overcrowding they had a hissy fit. We can send prisoners out of state for about half the cost of keeping them here due to the unions. When Gray Davis was governor, he asked for large campaigns sum from the prison and teacher union. The prison union paid him, and the teacher union refused. Ironically it was the prison union that received large increases shortly thereafter.
I think another problem is that we have a lot of poor immigrants who use public services and pay little or no income taxes. Think about it; If you have 4 kids that cost about $8K each to educate plus free meals that is about $34K annually, add to that food stamps, reduced housing, reduced medical because you don't have insurance and the cost of services could easily reach $50K. Now if the adults work under the table they are paying $0 in taxes, but receiving $50K in benefits.
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Redlegg
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(Carpal \'Tunnel)
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06/24/08 03:04 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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Most SD have to spend ALL of the money in each funded account or they loose that money the next year.
Why do they lose it the next year? Here in NY, they vote on the budget every year. What they don't use this year is still there. I do know in a lot of organizations, especially the government, the mentality is that if its not used, it must not be needed, so we won't include it in the forecast and hence the use it or lose it. God forbid there should be some incentive to sanme money.
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Re: Watching the news
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[quote]Given the economy right now, I think that the school district would have a hard time getting something passed to increase taxes. [/quote]
----------->> I think the school district I own property in passed their budget. Tax increase of $500 per homeowner, roughly.
It's been passed, and raised, every year I've owned the house. Sucks.... and I don't even HAVE a kid in the school system, nor will I EVER have a kid in the school system (b/c the school system sucks.. like 5th worst on Long Island). But I'm paying a buttload of school tax. Love it.
I know people I work with have kids in private school. They are granted an abatement of school tax for having their kids NOT in the school system (and they're in a GOOD school system.. one of the highest rated).
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Re: Watching the news
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The school district we live in has the huge, multi-million dollar homes and many upscale businesses, a 5 star hotel (where the President recently stayed, LOl)etc. We live at the other end of the district, in a standard sized house, but we lucked out. We couldn't afford to buy this house for what we pay in rent, because the owners have owned since built. If you took our house out of this neighborhood and put it in any other neighborhood with the same type of house, the value would drop over $100,000. So, our schools have a TON of money, and are excellent schools. One reason, we want to stay in this district. Not to mention...it is a small district. Small classes and not lacking, though some of the schools are more than 50 years old, they keep them in good repair.
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googledad
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(Carpal \'Tunnel)
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06/24/08 11:10 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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It's time for schools to make realistic and affordable budgets based on current realities . Tommorrow is the last day of school here for all the elementary and middle school students in the district ( the largest in this area ) . Transportation costs must be astronomical to bus them to school for an hour ( yes 60 minutes ) on top of the half day they had today . My district generally has 5-10 half days/year , time to do away with that nonsense . Realize some savings by consolidation , make the half-days full days or no school . My district is also one of the last to offer full day kindergarten , the kids are split into morning and afternoon classes . With rising feul costs it seems cheaper to just hire more teachers .
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Miranda
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(Carpal \'Tunnel)
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06/24/08 11:11 PM
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Re: Watching the news
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We don't have half days here. Smarter move I guess for them... why are you still in school on June 25?
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