Mom Jailed For Sending Kids to Better School- ABC News 3:42

[Flyer_PE]

IMO there is no one single cause for the state of these schools. It's definitely not all finances. On a $/student basis, some of the most expensive schools have some of the worst records. My take on the funding problem is that you are stuck paying for the local school system whether you actually like and or use it. It makes moving your kid to a different school difficult. I know I've said it before but at the risk of being a broken record:
I just love paying for two educations for my kid, the one I get charged for through my property taxes and the one I'm actually providing for him since I think the first one sucks.[/sarcasm]

We're actually moving to an area where the schools are top-notch, and we're paying for it with the price of the house. We can have the exact same house by the exact same builder for up to 15% cheaper in another neighborhood, but the schools that service that neighborhood are not so good.

Ironically, the property taxes are lower for the house with the better school, and both neighborhoods are in the same school district.

We took a slightly different approach. Our move cut the property taxes roughly in half. The school system may be a little worse than where we were but since we had already decided public school was a non-starter, the tax savings gets converted into tuition.

 

[Dexman PE]

Flyer, thats a great approach too. Either way, we've demonstrated different ways to improve our childrens education while still mitigating costs to do so.

My point, while i find it sad that this lady will end up with a criminal record trying to do what she thought was best for her kids, there are legal alternatives.

 

[Freon]

Before people start throwing darts at me, I'll admit it. I grew up in a "Leave it to Beaver" enviroment; nuclear family, dad was a professional engineer, Mom stayed at home, etc. And my kids have grown up in a similar enviroment. The school distict I live in has relativly low taxes, the schools are well maintained, teachers from other districts are fighting for positions here*, test scores and graduation rates are in the top 10% for Texas. The area is upper-middle class to super-rich, with a good slice of middle-class farm families.

Funding is a minor part of the issue. The demographics of the families attending the school are the forcing function. (Traditional family units, parents who place value on education & make time to support the schools) Look at the cost per pupil in Washington D.C. and compare it to Katy, Texas. (Not my district, but a similar one nearby.) Then look at graduation rates and test score. I rest my case....

Freon, P.E. (but you can call me Wally)

* A coach at our school is married to a high school math teacher in another district. She has been on a "Wait List" to be hired at our high school for over a year. Most districts can't find enough math & science teachers.

 

[jeb6294]

What the lady did is definitely wrong. However, a case some 15 years ago in Ohio declared the way the schools are funded is unconstitutional. We pay property taxes to the local school district which funds our own local schools. If you want good schools you pay out the nose in property taxes to the tune of hundreds of dollars a month. This provides wonderful schools in affluent neighborhoods. Now you go to a place like Southeast Ohio and there is no money, the schools are falling apart, they can't afford to hire good teachers, etc. I believe the lady is wrong, but the state government has sat on this problem for years without addressing it because of how highly charged it is to address. That is wrong.

We live in one of the most desirable school districts in our area and we paid quite a bit more for our house as a result, but our property taxes are actually a bit lower than some of the surrounding school districts.

In Louisville they are trying to fix this by bussing kids and it is failing miserably. The horrible school system is the main reason I lived in Louisville during the week and then drove home on the weekends.

 

[Master slacker]

Parents are the #1 reason kids are the way they are. Why is it the public expects the school system (government) to raise the kids?

 

[Flyer_PE]

Funding is a minor part of the issue. The demographics of the families attending the school are the forcing function. (Traditional family units, parents who place value on education & make time to support the schools) Look at the cost per pupil in Washing D.C. and compare it to Katy, Texas. (Not my district, but a similar one nearby.) Then look at graduation rates and test score. I rest my case....

From personal observation, I agree with this 100%. The value that kids place on education is transferred from the parents. No amount of money being pumped into a school district will ever change that.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

The southern 'education' system: Run by those who don't care about education for those who don't care about education.

 

[ALBin517]

Parents are the #1 reason kids are the way they are. Why is it the public expects the school system (government) to raise the kids?

Half of parents are below average.

 

[wilheldp_PE]

Half of parents are below average.

Yeah, but even the "average" parents hardly give a **** about their child's education.

 

[Slugger926]

Half of parents are below average.

Yeah, but even the "average" parents hardly give a **** about their children.

I fixed it for you. I see a lot of parents at work that don't want to go out of their way to take kids to sports, dance or anything else. They don't want to set goals or expectations for their kids future, and help them achieve those goals. Then they wonder why their teenage daughters are dropping out of school, and having babies with losers, or why their sons are getting busted on major drug busts. These same people are happy when their kids become mechanics.... UGHHHHHH

 

[Capt Worley PE]

Half of parents are below average.

Yeah, but even the "average" parents hardly give a **** about their children.

I fixed it for you. I see a lot of parents at work that don't want to go out of their way to take kids to sports, dance or anything else. They don't want to set goals or expectations for their kids future, and help them achieve those goals. Then they wonder why their teenage daughters are dropping out of school, and having babies with losers, or why their sons are getting busted on major drug busts. These same people are happy when their kids become mechanics.... UGHHHHHH

My wife said when she did social work, many homes wouldn't even have books for the kids to read. When she was teaching, it wasn't uncommon to have kids entering first grade who didn't know their numbers or ABCs. Sadly, my feeling is such children are destined to become criminals, unless removed from the environment. If you are illiterate in this society, you have zero job prospects.

 

[Master slacker]

And, as such, the schools and society are blamed instead of the parents. They get off scot-free.

Sometimes, it seems logical that one should be required to obtain a license to breed.