Muttering over money.Kevin Welner's Punchback column, "Money Mutterers" (June 2007), is right on target. In addition to working as a business administrator, I also teach school finance in the graduate program as an adjunct professor at Montclair State University History Montclair State was established in 1908 as "Montclair Normal School" in response to a growing need for teachers. It was renamed "Montclair State Teachers College" in 1927, when it developed a program of educating secondary school teachers through a Bachelor of Arts . I have spent time researching the topic and presented at the Oxford Roundtable at Oxford University in England. I've also debated the position of equity versus equality from the point of suburban schools that receive little to no state aid for dealing with never-ending mandates imposed by the federal and state government. In an era of dwindling dwin·dle v. dwin·dled, dwin·dling, dwin·dles v.intr. To become gradually less until little remains. v.tr. To cause to dwindle. See Synonyms at decrease. resources and increasing demands, where public schools across America are expected to consistently produce at higher levels of academic achievement, money does matter. Given the number of unfunded mandates, reduced state and federal aid, large property tax hikes and high expectations, public schools face insurmountable obstacles in the delivery of fiscally responsible budgets aimed at providing high quality education at an affordable cost per student. In most cases the cost per student is translated into the economics of supply and demand as the supply function (revenues) are driven by the demand function (expenditures), largely mandated by state and federal laws inclusive of inclusive of prep. Taking into consideration or account; including. special education and "thorough and efficient" education. The obvious disconnect between these two functions is the shortfall of revenues as a result of the ever-increasing expenditures that outpace out·pace tr.v. out·paced, out·pac·ing, out·pac·es To surpass or outdo (another), as in speed, growth, or performance. outpace Verb [-pacing, state and federal aid in most funding formulas, thus shifting the burden to local taxpayers. LOUIS J. PEPE Business Administrator/Board Secretary, Oakland Public Schools The Oakland Public Schools are a comprehensive community public school district serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade from the borough of Oakland in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. , Oakland, N.J. I hope Kevin Welner will keep focusing on the target of his June column. For instance, I would be interested in knowing how the American Legislative Exchange Council The American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, is a nonpartisan, ideologically conservative [1], non-profit 501(c)(3) membership association of state legislators and private sector policy advocates. , which produced the "Report Card on American Education," purports to benefit its stockholders. Also, how is the council funded? In fact, I'd be interested in knowing what other organizations Welner's Think Tank Review Project has examined and how they skew (1) The misalignment of a document or punch card in the feed tray or hopper that prohibits it from being scanned or read properly. (2) In facsimile, the difference in rectangularity between the received and transmitted page. their reports to benefit their agenda. Maybe The School Administrator will give Welner additional opportunities to address these questions in future pages. RICK STUBER Superintendent, Creswell School District 40, Creswell, Ore. |
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