When I said athletic needs, I was gearing it towards scoreboards, stands, basketball floors, etc, etc, etc. Not things that ALL students benefit from.

We can bicker all we want. The point is, EVERYONE who has anything vested in any public school should be outraged at how money is spent and not spent.

End of story.

I am all for PE classes - do not get me wrong.

I just came across this thread for the first time, as it was bumped up from a couple of years ago. First of all, for all of you that only needed to bring just a box of Kleenex to school and no other school supplies, I would like to say that you were lucky!! What school was that, and why didn’t I go there! ;) I went to a private school, but ALL the schools in my area, even public, had to buy their supplies for school. There were even stands inside the local Wal-Mart’s and Targets that had extra school supply lists for each local school and each grade in case you forgot them.

Secondly, I am a Kindergarten teacher at a private school, so you can imagine what my pay check is. I have very supportive parents that have never really complained about my class list.

One thing I would like to add about where funds are going is this. When all of you went to school did they have special classes for those students that ADD, ADHD, LD, etc.? Now a days it is not uncommon for a child to be pulled, in the middle of class, to go to reading resource class or math enrichment. Not to mention there are completely separate classes for students with special needs like down syndrome, autism, etc. In turn that means you have to higher more teachers and buy more books for your curriculum, plus furnish those classrooms too. Plus, now a days, a lot of schools (including El Ed Schools) have school psychologists, social workers, and speech pathologists. In turn you have to pay their salaries too. I don’t know exactly when all these things came into play, but this would totally effect the way that funds are spent now as opposed to before.

I had all of these things in my public elementary school when I was there in the 80s and never "had" to bring in supplies. My mother get me what I needed - surprisingly I could do my studies just fine with any color/brand folder I wanted - and if something special was needed, we were told and went from there.

I also never had to bring my own markers to art class which seems to be a trend, so when I'm on the PTA, you better believe I'll be finding out exactly what my 10K in taxes is funding (yes, you read that right).

Question - you don't have to coach a team, right? Nor do you have to take classes at night. I know plenty of 8am-6pm workers who do both of those things on top of their "normal" jobs as well. It's a choice you make. Doesn't make your life easy, but it certainly doesn't make you out of the ordinary. My husband fields calls night and day from his office. Everytime we go on vacation he calls in everyday and checks his blackberry all the time. He's not some high rolling investment banker - he's an HR guy. There are lots of professions that require an "on call" situation.

I'm not saying you don't work hard, I'm just saying a lot of other people do too and they don't get 2 months in the summer to do what they want (be it take classes, work another job, or sit on the beach). I have plenty of friends & family who are teachers and I've seen summers spent in various way. Mine have all been behind my desk in the office. ;)