Why the 'Texas Economic Miracle' is a Bunch of BS

[pgardn]

There are too many kids in public school classrooms.

If a district hires MORE teachers that can actually get to all the students that would help.
But they cannot for lack of funding. No Child Left Behind again rears it's ugly head as some spec ed teachers have 5 students some of whom are dangerous, and the regular class is overloaded. This makes the avg. look ok.

Those Rep. that think funding is adequate for teaching manpower are sadly mistaken. In the Public schools in NISD in San Antonio, teachers AND administrators are severely over worked. This one of the fastest growing districts in the country and the largest in San Antonio.

[Nbadan]

the critics who don't know about education or about kids for that matter....you really gonna take kid raising advice from TSA and Darrin?.....Keeping the student to teacher ratio at less than 20 to 1 is optimal for learning....and there is a lot of money wasted in most school districts because of stupid laws and policies that politicians make, not school districts or teachers....for teacher haters it's easy to blame the low man on the tote-um pole....good, experienced teachers are retiring at record numbers because of stupid regulations and policies made up by politicians...

[spurraider21]

I do think that funding in some states needs a bump, but throwing money at a problem rarely fixes it. Funding has to be administered responsibly and efficiently, which many states have shown an inability to do. That doesn't mean we should reward their irresponsible spending with more funding.

[Nbadan]

I do think that funding in some states needs a bump, but throwing money at a problem rarely fixes it. Funding has to be administered responsibly and efficiently, which many states have shown an inability to do. That doesn't mean we should reward their irresponsible spending with more funding.

School districts have to spend money, right or wrong, to follow education policies put out by the TEA, otherwise they get sued....

[spurraider21]

School districts have to spend money, right or wrong, to follow education policies put out by the TEA, otherwise they get sued....

then perhaps a system overhaul is needed rather than throwing money at it

[Nbadan]

then perhaps a system overhaul is needed rather than throwing money at it

Good Luck with that....the politicians love the money train that comes with the power to setpolicy...

[pgardn]

Throwing money at reducing class's size... ?

Thats money that needs to be thrown.
, let's just put 200 in a class and fill the auditorium.

[Nbadan]

Throwing money at reducing class's size... ?

Thats money that needs to be thrown.
, let's just put 200 in a class and fill the auditorium.

Some classes in the North and Northeast districts have teacher to student ratios of 35 to 1....yeah, thats optimal for learning...

[spurraider21]

Throwing money at reducing class's size... ?

Thats money that needs to be thrown.
, let's just put 200 in a class and fill the auditorium.

Perhaps they can divert money from their funding. Perhaps the outdated model of state pension needs to be revisited, and some of that money could be used to hire more active teachers. Again, its about efficiency with the money, not necessarily the final sum.

You can score more points while taking less shots in the NBA if you improve your efficiency.

[baseline bum]

spend more money to fix things!

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/oct...ipads-20131002

a chicken in every pot, and an ipad in every student's hands

LOL, students get ing 10" 64GB ipads in LA? Holy , that's the most re ed thing I have ever heard in education. Could have saved them a lot of money by just giving the students PS4s and one game instead.

[Nbadan]

Perhaps they can divert money from their funding. Perhaps the outdated model of state pension needs to be revisited, and some of that money could be used to hire more active teachers.

Pay retired teachers less than you promised them? You seriously think that is gonna attract good teachers...

[spurraider21]

Pay retired teachers less than you promised them? You seriously think that is gonna attract good teachers...

thats response is part of the problem. its an outdated system that is a financial strain on most states

[Nbadan]

LOL, students get ing 10" ipads in LA? Holy , that's the most re ed thing I have ever heard in education. Could have saved them a lot of money by just giving the students PS4s and one game instead.

It's not the having the Ipad that is the problem....its that the state has no policies and limited resources for teachers to learn to use the IPads successfully in the classroom...so studies show that simply putting Ipads in classroom does not increase students scores on standardized tests...

[spurraider21]

LOL, students get ing 10" 64GB ipads in LA? Holy , that's the most re ed thing I have ever heard in education. Could have saved them a lot of money by just giving the students PS4s and one game instead.

and they could have spent that money to lower the teacher:student ratio that everybody here is ing about

[spurraider21]

justifying the ipads

[Nbadan]

thats response is part of the problem. its an outdated system that is a financial strain on most states

No, raiding teacher pension funds and then not having the money or the will to pay it back puts a financial strain on most states...

[baseline bum]

and they could have spent that money to lower the teacher:student ratio that everybody here is ing about

With that $678 per student they could have ordered each one a Papa Johns pizza for breakfast and for lunch every Monday, even in summer.

[pgardn]

Perhaps they can divert money from their funding. Perhaps the outdated model of state pension needs to be revisited, and some of that money could be used to hire more active teachers. Again, its about efficiency with the money, not necessarily the final sum.

You can score more points while taking less shots in the NBA if you improve your efficiency.

Teachers are not State employees in Texas. They have a fairly pitiful fund compared to State employees. And no SS since they do have a pitiful fund. It's getting down to squeezing blood from a rock in fast growing districts.

[spurraider21]

No, raiding teacher pension funds and then not having the money or the will to pay it back puts a financial strain on most states...

not having to pay pensions and using that money for schools will help your precious teacher:student ratio

[spurraider21]

Teachers are not State employees. They have a fairly pitiful fund compared to State employees. It's getting down to squeezing blood from a rock in fast growing districts.

interesting. i know a local public school administrator that is actually going to get paid more once she retires, combining her pension (100% of her current pay) with social security. i guess it varies depending on your locale. here in LA where we blow money on student ipads, i guess its not as big an issue

[Nbadan]

not having to pay pensions and using that money for schools will help your precious teacher:student ratio

So your gonna take money from retired teachers to fund under-funded schools? Your a moron.

[spurraider21]

So your gonna take money from retired teachers to fund under-funded schools? Your a moron.

taking money from them? i'm not putting a bank levy on them . reforming the pension system and diverting that money to fund schools is one way to go.

plenty of retirees do just fine with social security. but you pick the right employer and you get ridiculous pension figures which basically incentivize retirement.

[Wild Cobra]

taking money from them? i'm not putting a bank levy on them . reforming the pension system and diverting that money to fund schools is one way to go.

plenty of retirees do just fine with social security. but you pick the right employer and you get ridiculous pension figures which basically incentivize retirement.

It is wrong to take away money given in a contract. The right move is to stop agreeing to such lucrative contracts.

[Nbadan]

taking money from them? i'm not putting a bank levy on them . reforming the pension system and diverting that money to fund schools is one way to go.

plenty of retirees do just fine with social security. but you pick the right employer and you get ridiculous pension figures which basically incentivize retirement.

Teacher don't collect Social security in Texas, that's why they put money into the state pension fund....learn your policies before making irrational points on a public board...

[pgardn]

interesting. i know a local public school administrator that is actually going to get paid more once she retires, combining her pension (100% of her current pay) with social security. i guess it varies depending on your locale. here in LA where we blow money on student ipads, i guess its not as big an issue

Well it helps to understand the true nature of education in different States.

San Antonio teachers are more akin to clergy.

More money when she retires...? No Fkn way in this State. You better have a 403(b) in this State, if you have the money to put into it...

And yeah, no SS...