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Non-Tech : Who Really Pays Taxes? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: c.horn who wrote (20)	8/14/2000 2:33:29 PM
From: y2kate	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 666

Let's examine that figure more closely. Say $270,000. for a class of thirty children for a year's education. Subtract $30,000.00 for the modest teacher's salary. That leaves 240,000.00. Divide that by 9 months of school per child and we get about $866.00. So that's $866.00 per child per month, or about $40.00 per child per day assuming 20 days of school per month. You can't get decent child care for $40.00 a day, but we're not through. Subtract overhead- administrative and grounds/building maintenance costs, modest suport staff salaries, and you're probably looking at $20.00 per day. Now provide lunch and transportation. Even going cheap, that's got to run at least $5.00 per day per child. So we're looking at $15.00 per day per child. Books, computers, all learning materials, need to come out of that sum. These are rough figures, but I don't see a lot of room for the kind of 'frivolous spending' you refer to. We do the MINIMUM for the nation's children. Music and art were axed long ago, and we will suffer for that. More importantly, top quality people have no interest in becoming teachers. I'm not sure $30,000.00 a year even qualifies one for the middle class- certainly you would have a very hard time raising a family on that kind of salary. You can make more money waiting tables in an average restaurant in L.A. I'm amazed that this discussion is so easily dismissed by intelligent people. The public schools are in a state of crisis. If there aren't enough resources to provide these children with high quality educational materials and instruction, then the answer is to get more resources. The answer is simple and obvious. More money. I'm not talking about going begging for a few more dollars per child, which is what public school officials end up doing. I think we need a radical new committment to public education. Devise salary schedules that will attract top notch, talented people- make teaching no less than a viable alternative to a career in the private sector. Devise curriculums that include art, music, computer science, athletics. Provide nutritious, high quality meals. Design beautiful, functional campuses. Figure out what it costs, and pay for it. We can afford it.