65% Education Rule...

[Lyion]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ar ... 5Apr8.html

PHOENIX -- Patrick Byrne, a 42-year-old bear of a man who bristles with ideas that have made him rich and restless, has an idea that can provide a new desktop computer for every student in America without costing taxpayers a new nickel. Or it could provide 300,000 new $40,000-a-year teachers without any increase in taxes. His idea -- call it the 65 Percent Solution -- is politically delicious because it unites parents, taxpayers and teachers while, he hopes, sowing dissension in the ranks of the teachers unions, which he considers the principal institutional impediment to improving primary and secondary education.

The idea, which will face its first referendum in Arizona, is to require that 65 percent of every school district's education operational budget be spent on classroom instruction. On, that is, teachers and pupils, not bureaucracy.

Nationally, 61.5 percent of education operational budgets reach the classrooms. Why make a fuss about 3.5 percent? Because it amounts to $13 billion. Only four states (Utah, Tennessee, New York, Maine) spend at least 65 percent of their budgets in classrooms. Fifteen states spend less than 60 percent. The worst jurisdiction -- Washington, D.C., of course -- spends less than 50 percent.

Under the 65 percent rule, Arizona, which spends 56.8 percent in classrooms, could use its $451 million transfer to classrooms to buy 1.5 million computers or to hire 11,275 teachers. California (61.7 percent) could use its $1.5 billion transfer to buy 5 million computers or to hire 37,500 teachers. Illinois (59.5 percent) would transfer $906 million to classrooms (3 million computers or 22,650 new teachers). To see how much money would flow into your state's classrooms under Byrne's approach, go to http://www.firstclasseducation.org.

Byrne, who lives in Utah and has made a bundle in various business ventures, was once advised by Warren Buffett to pretend he is a batter at the plate with no one calling balls and strikes, so he can wait for a perfect pitch -- a perfect idea. The 65 Percent Solution is perfect because it wins 80-plus percent support in polls and torments people who Byrne thinks should be tormented.

Buffett also advised him to ask himself this: If you had a silver bullet, what competitor would you shoot, and why? Byrne says he would shoot the National Education Association -- the largest teachers union. Byrne is pugnacious -- after graduating from Dartmouth, studying moral philosophy at Cambridge and earning a doctorate at Stanford, he tried a boxing career -- and relishes the prospect of the 65 percent requirement pitting teachers against other union members who are in the education bureaucracy. "Educrats," he says, "have become what city hall was 50 or 60 years ago" -- dens of patronage and corruption.

The 65 Percent Solution solves the misallocation of resources, but there is scant evidence that increasing financial inputs will by itself increase a school's cognitive outputs. Or that a small reduction in class size accomplishes much. Or that adding thousands of new teachers would do as much good as firing thousands of tenured incompetents.

However, firing a bad teacher is, according to a California official, less a choice than a career -- figure two years of struggle and $200,000 in legal costs. That is why in a recent five-year period only 62 of California's 220,000 tenured teachers were dismissed.

Much of the reallocated money under the 65 percent requirement would go for better pay for teachers, which is wiser than just adding more teachers. Chester Finn, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, notes that, while the number of pupils grew 50 percent in the past half-century, the number of teachers grew almost 300 percent. That pleased dues-collecting teachers unions and tuition-charging education schools. But if the number of teachers had grown apace with enrollments, and school budgets had risen as they have, teachers' salaries today would average nearly $100,000 instead of less than half that.

America, says Finn, has invested in more rather than better teachers -- at a time when career opportunities were expanding for the able women who once were the backbone of public education. The fact that teachers' salaries have just kept pace with inflation, in spite of enormous expansions of school budgets, explains why too often teachers are drawn "from the lower ranks of our lesser universities."

Arizona's House speaker and Senate president have endorsed the 65 percent requirement, which should encounter scant opposition here or in the other 49 states to which Byrne's organization, First Class Education, is coming.

[labbats]

agree 100%

[The Kizzy]

But what suffers?

Lunches? They are already subpar in most schools, IMO

Sports Programs? While I do feel a majority of the cost for these programs should be paid by fundraisers and activity fees, I do believe a sports program should be in every school. It teaches responsibility, discipline, and hard work. It also gives kids a shot at scholorships to go to college, and even though the percentage is minute, into professional sports.

Bussing? If it weren't for bussing alot of kids would have problems getting to and from school/daycare. I know my ex pays $400 a month for bussing for our son to get to and from his school.

[labbats]

Did you read the post?

[Mop]

I can't even post in this thread with out loosing focus and going off on a rant, I hate american school system and I hate american parents. I think both have drastically lost what is important, kids and their learning.

[The Kizzy]

I read it twice. Did you read my post?

[Adivina]

Mop pretty much just summed up everything that I was thinking....

[labbats]

without costing taxpayers a new nickel

Kizzy, sweetheart....

How is anything suffering if you're simply removing $ from being sent to the overpowered teacher's unions and funneling it back into the schools themselves? If anything the worries you posted will be improved.

[Diekan]

Sports Programs? While I do feel a majority of the cost for these programs should be paid by fundraisers and activity fees, I do believe a sports program should be in every school. It teaches responsibility, discipline, and hard work. It also gives kids a shot at scholorships to go to college, and even though the percentage is minute, into professional sports.

Well, I disagree with this. While I do agree that every school should have some type of an athletics department (so long as it's costs do not infringe on the costs of the academic areas), I disagree that sports are completely healthy for schools.

[Captain Insano]

I don't care how much money you throw at education as long as it is run by the government. These idiots manage to waste almost half of the money going into education to begin with and hire completely incompetent teachers. While the 65% rule will funnel more money from overhead directly to the classroom I personally don't think it will help much. The key to fixing education is disbanding the unions and then privatizing the whole system.

[Lyion]

Anything socialized and without competition sucks ass. Teachers union falls into both of those arenas, so it's no surprise it's complete ass.

[kaharthemad]

But what suffers?

Lunches? They are already subpar in most schools, IMO

Sports Programs? While I do feel a majority of the cost for these programs should be paid by fundraisers and activity fees, I do believe a sports program should be in every school. It teaches responsibility, discipline, and hard work. It also gives kids a shot at scholorships to go to college, and even though the percentage is minute, into professional sports.

Bussing? If it weren't for bussing alot of kids would have problems getting to and from school/daycare. I know my ex pays $400 a month for bussing for our son to get to and from his school.

Ok I love you Kizzy but let me point out a few things....


Lunches....either brown bag the fucker or have the kid pay money for food. What a concept there...money in exchange for a item..see then we can teach the kids something as cool as economy and commerce. Something they can use later on.

Sports Programs....Here is a five...go wash my car....YES THATS RIGHT!!!! FUNDRAISERS WOOOT!!! The great old american standby. When I went thru school all of our sports teams money was raised thru fundraisers. 3 car wash saturdays gave us enough cash to provide the bus to get to away games, jersey replacements(for those dmg'd), and a few extra pigskins to throw around.
When most of the jocks on the football teams in major cities cant even pass a high school equivalency test i think it is time to drag these retards back to the big square rooms they should be spending their time in....classrooms. Sports are great to a point but we have neglected out educational system for this. If they want to play then they have to work for it.



Bussing...I know that some people have to pump out the cost for bussing their children.. I do believe this needs to be looked at.

Now about the 65 percent project. GREAT IDEA!!!! Most of the money is being sucked into the unions and fucked up school activities like bake sales anyways. I have to agree that we cant cut important functions that actually take away from the kids.

[The Kizzy]

without costing taxpayers a new nickel

Kizzy, sweetheart....

How is anything suffering if you're simply removing $ from being sent to the overpowered teacher's unions and funneling it back into the schools themselves? If anything the worries you posted will be improved.

I guess you didn't understand. Lets say 50% of the budget goes to the classroom, 10% to lunches, 30% to sports, and 10% for extra curricular. To make the 65% go to the classrooms, you have to take 15% from somewhere. Where is it going to be?

[DangerPaul]

Union official's pockets

[Martrae]

It's more like 50% classroom, 1% extra curricular, 6% lunches, 13% sports and 30% bureaucratic nonsense.

[kaharthemad]

It's more like 50% classroom, 1% extra curricular, 6% lunches, 13% sports and 30% bureaucratic bullshit.

fixt

[The Kizzy]

Union official's pockets

Ive only had three unionized jobs, but in all three, I paid union dues every month, and I'm certain that is how the officials were paid.

[DangerPaul]

Yeah, keep telling yourself that. First off, they get paid from the company in question, second they get paid by union dues. They also have their sluch funds and kickbakcs (not all, but most)

[Martrae]

Plus the company has to hire lawyers and union reps to deal with the union as well.

[Deaus]

Love the 65% rule and I'd love to see better pay for better teachers. At this point and in this country, being a teacher gives very little respect and even less money.

[Captain Insano]

I'd love to fire the entire system of teachers right now en masse and rehire new ones at better pay.... well, except for my old history teacher... man she's so fuckable.

[Deaus]

I think we've all had a teacher like that at one point or another. For me it was Geometry.

[The Kizzy]

American History, he was so drooly.

[Tossica]

All my teachers were trolls.

One of my good friends is a high school history teacher though and she is SMOKIN' hot. I give her "hot for teacher" shit all the time. I bet her male students come to class early and want to stay late.

[Gypsiyee]

I never had a good lookin teacher once