Our kids are not junk food
I am not a super-shopper, but have you been grocery shopping lately? I'm not going to bore you with the details, but what happened to a 1/2 gallon of ice cream? What happened to a full bag of potato chips? Is it me, or have the prices gone up while the quantity has decreased on my favorite junk foods? We are clearly paying the same (or more) to get less product in order to save costs for the businesses.
As a consumer, I understand why the company made the decision. Consumers notice their wallets more than what is in their grocery bags. Therefore, it's a good business decision to put a little less product in a bag and then charge the same amount. Maybe the consumers won't notice? As an ice cream lover, I will still pay to purchase even 1.75 quarts of chocolate ice cream. I suppose it's a small price to pay for a guilty pleasure because there are days when I really "want" ice cream.
Education, however, is a different product. Education is not junk food. Our students are not potato chips. A quality education is not a "want." Public education in our country is a "need." Why, then, is our state government putting less money into the district where I work but expecting more product?
Our superintendent, Dr. Steve Matthews, is more eloquent and informed than I am when it comes to our district's finances, and I encourage you to read the following articles/blogs he has recently written.
As a consumer, I understand why the company made the decision. Consumers notice their wallets more than what is in their grocery bags. Therefore, it's a good business decision to put a little less product in a bag and then charge the same amount. Maybe the consumers won't notice? As an ice cream lover, I will still pay to purchase even 1.75 quarts of chocolate ice cream. I suppose it's a small price to pay for a guilty pleasure because there are days when I really "want" ice cream.
Education, however, is a different product. Education is not junk food. Our students are not potato chips. A quality education is not a "want." Public education in our country is a "need." Why, then, is our state government putting less money into the district where I work but expecting more product?
Our superintendent, Dr. Steve Matthews, is more eloquent and informed than I am when it comes to our district's finances, and I encourage you to read the following articles/blogs he has recently written.
What is happening with our state school aid fund is akin to putting less potato chips in a bag and raising the price of the bag. I do not mean to make light of this situation, and I'm not advocating for a personal raise.
Rather, I am concerned that repeated under-funding by the state for our district will mean we will not attract nor keep the best-possible educators for our students. I worry that what efforts we have put in place to build the strongest system for all students will not be able to be maintained because of continued cost-cutting measures.
What do I not worry about? I don't worry about our school or district giving less than 100% for each and every student. I don't worry about teachers or other valuable staff members being anything less than professional. I don't worry about our students' achievement--yet.
Please contact your legislator. Our students deserve better from them.
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