Quote:
Originally posted by sugar and spice
Well, beyond teachers, there are school board members, coaches, lunchladies and janitors to hire (to start with!). There's the physical body of the school to maintain and repair -- do have any idea how much it costs to heat a school building, for example? There's the textbooks (often much more expensive than you would expect), lab equipment, computers and software, gym equipment, art class supplies, and library books, to name only a few things.
Honestly, we all know our schools are underfunded, right? Why does this come as a surprise to so many of you?
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I know that they can't buy and provide everything, but, it's an elementary school.. lunch ladies are parent volunteers, there are two janitors, one on days, one on afternoons, no coaches, no labs. The PTA bought the computers. They do have to pay for software and text books and of course heat, water, electricity. And the secretary. It still seems a little out of whack. Personally, I think that soap and dictionaries should be a higher priority than software, gym equipment and art supplies. I'm thinking there is some fluff in the budget somewhere. I honestly and truly don't think teachers should have to provide all that out of pocket either.
AXiD670: I took that figure from a local newspaper article that I posted in the Careers forum. Michigan does pay teachers much more than most states. I have friends in Tennesee and Kentucky who teach with their Masters and make half that. I also added 19% to the base salary to cover benefits, so they aren't taking home that amount, but it's what it costs the school.