$578 million for a school, and layoffs for teachers
The hubris of the American education establishment is on full display at the new Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles, price tag: $578 million.
It’s not just the pensions that are gold-plated in today’s schools. Read this description of the new school from an article by the Associated Press:
At RFK, the features include fine art murals and a marble memorial depicting the complex’s namesake, a manicured public park, a state-of-the-art swimming pool and preservation of pieces of the original hotel [at the site where the school was built].
Partly by circumstance and partly by design, the Los Angeles Unified School District has emerged as the mogul of Taj Mahals.
The RFK complex follows on the heels of two other LA schools among the nation’s costliest — the $377 million Edward R. Roybal Learning Center, which opened in 2008, and the $232 million Visual and Performing Arts High School that debuted in 2009.
(snip)
Los Angeles is not alone, however, in building big. Some of the most expensive schools are found in low-performing districts — New York City has a $235 million campus; New Brunswick, N.J., opened a $185 million high school in January.
Nationwide, dozens of schools have surpassed $100 million with amenities including atriums, orchestra-pit auditoriums, food courts, even bamboo nooks. The extravagance has led some to wonder where the line should be drawn and whether more money should be spent on teachers.
The Roybal school, mentioned above, “grew to encompass a dance studio with cushioned maple floors, a modern kitchen with a restaurant-quality pizza oven, a 10-acre park and teacher planning rooms between classrooms.” But the real kicker for the Los Angeles school district comes in the paragraph I snipped above, which I now present:
The pricey schools have come during a sensitive period for the nation’s second-largest school system: Nearly 3,000 teachers have been laid off over the past two years, the academic year and programs have been slashed. The district also faces a $640 million shortfall and some schools persistently rank among the nation’s lowest performing.
Meanwhile, schools’ complaints about their funding shortfalls led Congress this month to pass a $10 billion “EduJobs” bailout. Twelve percent of the money, or $1.2 billion, went to none other than the state of California, Frederick Hess notes at National Review Online.
Spending has been rising on more than construction, Hess reports:
[The] National Center for Education Statistics, for instance, reports that, nationally, current K–12 per-pupil expenditures increased from 2003–04 to 2006–2007 (the most recent school year for which the NCES reports spending) by 17 percent — from $8,310 to $9,683. Indeed NCES data make clear that the last two years have been the first time in more than a half-century that per-pupil spending has declined from the year before. And even in the past two years, job losses in K–12 education have been much more modest than in the private sector. It’s befuddling that [Education Secretary Arne] Duncan is making excuses for officials bemoaning their twice-a-century belt tightening, rather than encouraging them to take a hard look at benefits, staffing, operations, and management.
Duncan, who singled out for praise the $1.2 billion that EduJobs is funneling to California, also might want to consider the recent Pepperdine study of 52 California school districts. This study reported that spending rose 21.9 percent from 2003–04 to 2008–09, outpacing both state income growth and inflation. On a per-pupil basis, spending actually jumped 25.8 percent over that period, while classroom spending as a share of total outlays declined from 59 percent to 57.8 percent. Where did the money go? Pay rose by 28 percent for certificated supervisors and administrators and by 44 percent for classified supervisors and administrators.
I’ve written before that inflation-adjusted, per-pupil spending has been climbing in Georgia as well, with little to show for it in the way of performance improvements. The sad thing is that too few teachers seem to have realized that their bosses are their biggest enemies.
Majestic new campuses, bloated administrative payrolls — when school systems have cut out this sort of waste, we’ll talk about whether more money would truly serve our students well.
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103 comments Add your comment
Linda
August 23rd, 2010
5:18 pm
This is how liberals, progressives, Democrats & radicals poison public education.
Since before Obama was elected, he has been recruiting both high school & college kids to join his
Saul Alinsky-inspired private army to (his adm.’s words) “build on the movement that elected Pres. O by empowering students across the country to help us bring about our agenda”…national socialism.
If you think this is a hoax, go to
http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/fellowsapp
You can tell from this video of Obama that he made it prior to his being elected in ‘08. Then check out the Atlas Shrugs 1/30/10 article by Pamela Geller:
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2010/01/atlas-exclusive-obama-organizing-for-communism-and-youth-corps-in-the-public-shcool-1.html
The first page of the application states that it was for the winter of 2010. He has been poisoning our public school system for at least 2 years by replacing academic learning & achievement with radical leftist activism. This is indoctrination & manipulation. If you think this is only for college students, note that the 1st page of the application asks if the student is in high school or college.
Check out his recommended reading list which includes:
Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals,”
Rinku Sen’s “Stir It Up: Lessons for Community Organizing & Advocacy,” etc.
The application required a 12-hr./wk, 10 wk. commitment but the web-site required 30 hrs. per wk. The application was geared toward the ‘10 elections.
This is way past propaganda, brainwashing & corruption!
Wisconsin Builder » Builder Now Daily Blog » New school is dream come true for some in construction industry
August 23rd, 2010
5:26 pm
[...] To be fair, there are definitely lots of questions to be raised about a nearly $600 million school built in a district that has laid off thousands in recent years. [...]
Gnarly
August 23rd, 2010
5:28 pm
Is this L.A.’s version of lipstick on a pig?
jess
August 23rd, 2010
5:29 pm
Don’t just sit here anonymously posting on a blog. Call the school directly at (213) 241-0100 to voice your outrage.
Linda
August 23rd, 2010
5:35 pm
resubmission of website above:
http//atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2010/01/atlas-exclusive-obama-organizing-for-communism-and-youth-corps-in-the-public-school-1.html
Sorry.
Gnarly
August 23rd, 2010
5:38 pm
Obama’s DoJ is guilty of stereotyping blacks.
AUGUST 23–The Department of Justice is seeking to hire linguists fluent in Ebonics to help monitor, translate, and transcribe the secretly recorded conversations of subjects of narcotics investigations, according to federal records.
A maximum of nine Ebonics experts will work with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Atlanta field division, where the linguists, after obtaining a “DEA Sensitive” security clearance, will help investigators decipher the results of “telephonic monitoring of court ordered nonconsensual intercepts, consensual listening devices, and other media”
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/bizarre/justice-department-seeks-ebonics-experts
Linda
August 23rd, 2010
5:38 pm
one more time:
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2010/01/atlas-exclusive-obama-organizing-for-communism-and-youth-corps-in-the-public-school-01.html
Linda
August 23rd, 2010
5:44 pm
One last time:
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2010/01/atlas=exclusive=obama=organizing-for-communism-and-youth-corps-in-the-public-school-1.html
I hate long websites! Please open it!
left wing
August 23rd, 2010
5:51 pm
Gee, I think someone needs to explain why Ronald Reagan hated America?
http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.com/2010/08/somebody-needs-to-ask-sean-hannity.html
bob
August 23rd, 2010
6:14 pm
Richard, I could agree on making high school athletes pay for themselves. The problem with that is boys football and maybe basketball could raise the funds through fees, fundraisers and ticket sales to cover the costs. On the other hand, girl’s sports would suffer from the funding cut and run off in seek of a liberal judge .
@@
August 23rd, 2010
6:18 pm
left wing:
Why do you think the Obama administration is coming down so hard on Wikileaks? It’s because they need Pakistan for their upcoming negotiations with the Taliban.
Lawd a mercy! Did you see the prevalence of PDS (Palin Derangement Syndrome) at your “immoral minority” site? Take a look:
A Tale of Two Babies by Sarah Palin.
I wouldn’t spend too much time there if I were you.
Weirdos abound.
_____________________________________________________________
The RFK Community School?
“Some people see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not?”–RFK
The Taxman Cometh
August 23rd, 2010
6:22 pm
But, but, but, but, but…….IT’S FOR THE CHILDREN!!……see more of you come Jan. 1st
left wing
August 23rd, 2010
6:33 pm
@@ @ 6:18 – So you hate the messanger (immoral majority) but you really can’t argue with the picture, can you? Your hero, President Reagan, inviting the Taliban into the White House.
OMFG! What would your side say if this had been President Clinton (or worse, President Obama)?
Ayn Rant
August 23rd, 2010
6:49 pm
Grand palaces of education are definitely a mistake; community schools within walking distance of homes are far better. The American primary and secondary schools are nothing more or less than day care centers for ages 6-17. The curriculum is missing. The standardized tests are farcical. The measurements against international standards are third-world.
Surely, physical education should be an integral part of a curriculum. It is an opportunity to teach children how to behave in a civilized society, how to play fair when winning or losing, how to take pride in achievements rather than possessions, and how to take care of the body and the appearance.
Linda, you just get confused by reading those old books like “Atlas Shrugged”. The author was a reactionary against Soviet communist practices. Communism is dead, and so is the author. After much trial and error, modern people have found the way: it’s called social democracy. You can see it on display in the prosperous northwestern European countries and Japan. It’s a combination of free enterprise and social responsibility. It works through good times and bad, even in times like now!
@@
August 23rd, 2010
6:49 pm
left wing:
Pick your poison.
Obama IS in favor of negotiations with the Taliban.
As far as hating “immoral majority”….
I was simply pointing out their PDS (Palin Derangement Syndrome). You’d think they’d found the holy grail in a baby’s ears. The responses were hilarious. Pretty indicative of the lower mentality that’s drawn to the site. If you wanna claim allegiance with….I say go for it, but I wouldn’t put out a public broadcast.
md
August 23rd, 2010
6:56 pm
CA isn’t 24 billion in the hole for no reason………just par for the course. What sucks is the rest of the country paying for their excess without enjoying the benefits.
saywhat?
August 23rd, 2010
7:14 pm
md- Californians pay more to the federal goverment in taxes than their state receives. It is the traditional Republican-voting states that usually take in more than they contribute, subsidized by traditional Democrat-voting states. But go ahead, never let facts get in the way of good argument.
saywhat?
August 23rd, 2010
7:14 pm
government
md
August 23rd, 2010
7:17 pm
Saywhat,
You are correct – “is” should read “will be” – which is in reference to CA asking for a federal bailout, which is quite documented………
Bill
August 23rd, 2010
7:23 pm
To all of you railing against trying to educate these inner city kids….The over whelming majority of them are good kids w/ lots to contribute; if given the chance. I have no problem whatsoever with the cost of this school. Why is it so many folks don’t see the advantage of giving these underprivileged ones a chance? Don’t you see? If too many of them don’t get the chance, that’s a very bad thing. Iron gates will fall if too many folks grab hold of them. Only so many bullets can be put into a gun at a time. In the long run it is wayyyy cheaper to build the school.
saywhat?
August 23rd, 2010
7:32 pm
Black inner city children learn better in schools with small overcrowded classrooms with peeling paint and collapsing ceilings, garbage strewn hallways, non-functioning plumbing, heat and airconditioning, etc. Environments like that let them know education is to be taken seriously.
If you put them in big spacious classrooms, and on a campus that looks like it exudes quality and success, how are the kids ever going to learn without being distracted by the pleasantness of a professional grade environment?
C
August 23rd, 2010
7:51 pm
Richard, that’s a great idea; then we can have more fat kids…..not a health issue there ;-]. Id rather have healthy kids that are productive, at least that cost US less.
josef nix
August 23rd, 2010
7:52 pm
A school housing 4000? Get real. Why not 10 schools housing 400? This is the problem in a nutshell…why is our school so successful? Because our principal recognizes by name all of our kids…the personal touch is eveything….
Hillbilly Deluxe
August 23rd, 2010
7:53 pm
I’d be curious to know how many students this school will serve but I really can’t comprehend a $578 million dollar school that isn’t a college or university.
JADEN
August 23rd, 2010
7:55 pm
josef——can we talk?
.
August 23rd, 2010
7:59 pm
josef needs to go back to JAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
UNMENTIONABLE.......?
August 23rd, 2010
8:00 pm
.
Larry!! Larry!! Larry!! Larry!!
August 23rd, 2010
8:00 pm
Enter your comments here
@@
August 23rd, 2010
8:15 pm
Hillbilly:
The link says it will house 4,200 students. K thru 12.
Hillbilly Deluxe
August 23rd, 2010
8:31 pm
@@
Thanks for the info. I’d agree with Josef’s comment about building more schools with the money. Reckon a school that big could be to stroke some upper level administrators ego? They’d get to brag about the school being in their district.
Tall
August 23rd, 2010
8:32 pm
We live in Sandy Springs and my son attends Spalding Drive Elementary. Fortunately, my son started the fourth grade with the teacher he had hoped to get. Some of the third graders weren’t so lucky – Spalding forgot to hire a teacher for them.
Legend of Len Barker
August 23rd, 2010
9:28 pm
Josef, at its peak, Collins Hill had 4,100 students. That’s the highest documented number from the GHSA. In 2008, 20 schools had 2,500 or more.
The Georgia Department of Education began waging a battle in the 1980s to close community schools. Some of it is understood. One of our local elementaries closed in 1988 after having spent the last 14 years exclusively in mobile units after an arsonist burned down the school.
Some of it’s had a detrimental affect on the local economies. Some small businesses pretty much had an entire livelihood based on teacher traffic. I shudder to think what will happen to the town of Manor. Ware County closed down its (poorly-funded) magnet school this year, which was housed in a rural community out in the middle of nowhere. The only reason to go to Manor was the school.
md
August 23rd, 2010
10:21 pm
“The link says it will house 4,200 students. K thru 12.”
Should help with gang enrollment – what a great idea putting the wee ones in with the rest of the misfits. High school is bad enough with just teens…………..
left wing
August 23rd, 2010
10:36 pm
@@ @ 6:49 – You wanna talk about “Dan Quayle with the pony tail”? I’m fine with that. That ditz would struggle to name 5 US coins, let alone discuss things like farm subsidies or should we have a weaker US dollar (answer; right now we desperately need that).
I know; Katie Couric “ambushed” her with really tough questions, like “what newspapers do you read?”. Keep drinkin’ that Kool-Aid. Yum!
barking frog
August 24th, 2010
7:07 am
Students are transient, buildings and staff are forever. Guess
where the money will continue to go.
Horrible Horace
August 24th, 2010
7:36 am
Imam Obama goes down in 2012.
Eric
August 24th, 2010
7:49 am
I agree this spending in L.A. is extravagant. Consider another place to cut across many school systems: technology! All these new computers, software, printers, and supplies are updated year-after-year, and for what? Math is still math, whether it’s learned on an overhead projector, dry-erase board, etc.
As for not improving performance, consider too that the educational leaders keep raising the bar: A 1000 SAT score in 1980 was very good, but is considered poor by today’s standards (1200 is now the bar). If kids are achieving 1200, and college enrollment higher than ever, we’re doing very well as a society it would seem.
Why Johnny can't write.....
August 24th, 2010
8:41 am
It’s a shame that the school system that reared our dear Kyle didn’t receive more funding, eh?
But life is nothing more than a series of underfunded and thus missed opportunities.
Bosch
August 24th, 2010
8:44 am
Yes, at face value this seems extreme, but if it’s a place where kids WANT to come to learn, then isn’t that worth it? I agree that with teachers being laid off and the economic crisis in CA, this is a little on the nuts side, but again, our kids today are used to aesthetics as much as anything, and that is everyone’s fault.
Also, you have to look at the individual school system, because money put into the school might have come from different sources, i.e. vendors in the food court (corporate sponsors), did some money come from the Kennedys? I doubt all of that money came directly from taxpayers.
Anyway, yeah, something to ponder, definitely teachers first, but I think this is a bit on the poutrage side of things.
Horrible Horace
August 24th, 2010
8:50 am
“place where kids WANT to come to learn, then isn’t that worth it?”
Dems have not shame. Besides, L A is chock full of lil gang-bangers who only want to vandalize. Go visit the “Robert AHOLE Kennedy Community Internment and Brainwashing Center” in 2 years. It will be trashed.
Bob
August 24th, 2010
8:51 am
Left wing, the newspaper question was tough but 57 states twice in one conversation ? And we are mostly muslim country, another brilliant comment on par with potato. But lets get serious, your man obo said premiums would decrease by 18% and took over healthcare, for now. Isn’t ignorance by those that are actually making decisions what we should be worrying about ? It is fun to pick on Palin but her stool sample has more going for it that the congressional black caucus
Horrible Horace
August 24th, 2010
8:52 am
IF the kids want to learn they will learn and it doesnt take a 500 million dollar facility.
IF the kids do not want to learn then I certainly have no problem with building more prisons. Build them bigger, higher and stronger for these future thiefs, vagrants, rapists, murderers and miscreants.
“Come along son, we have a cell with your number on it”
Bosch
August 24th, 2010
9:09 am
Oh Horace, such faith you have in the youth of today. I’m glad no one gave up on me when I was 16, how about you?
Thurston B. Howell III
August 24th, 2010
10:12 am
I say three cheers for LA!!!!
Well done!!
Not So Casual Observer
August 24th, 2010
10:13 am
CJ,
Your comments are nothing more than a repeat of the same lies the Left has used for those 50+ years. You Lefties seem to believe if you say “it” long enough and loud enough “it” becomes true.
The Democrats eliminated the original “Trust Fund” for Social Security and placed the tax into the general operating fund of the government. The Democrats pushed through the laws breaking the FDR promise for the rate of tax and on and on with the Democrats destroying the idea and practice that was the basis for Social Security. The Left greed killed Social Security and you do not have the stones to admit you lie!
Keep printing your laughable comments – they are nothing but Dem talking points and lies. Socialism is a loser and so is CJ.
Horrible Horace
August 24th, 2010
10:45 am
Much different today. With all these daily environmental, socialistic brainwashing experiments its no wonder these kids drop out. I guess they are due a “Little Bit Of Sympathy”.
Little Bit of Sympathy – Robin Trower.
Dennis
August 24th, 2010
11:32 am
I know this has nothing to do with the topic of discussion, but after scrolling through every comment, I am encouraged that almost all of the comments seem to be thought out and well written. Something you don’t see on many blogs. Either there’s a heck of a lot of moderator editing, or this blog attracts a different class of readers within the blogosphere.
Just an observation.
Dennis
August 24th, 2010
11:41 am
You need to do your homework. Athletics is a very tiny part of the school budget! Coaches get paid a very small stipend like $2000 and most programs get about $500-$1000. So before you say get rid of high school athletics you might want to know what your talking about. This is not college!
Horrible Horace
August 24th, 2010
12:14 pm
Cheerleading should be eliminated.
Linda
August 24th, 2010
12:35 pm
Ayn @ 6:49, It’s been years since I read the book “Atlas Shrugged.” There is now a web site by that name. Communism is not dead. Obama appointed at least one Communist to his adm., Van Jones. “Modern people” are progressives who are afraid to admit who they are which are socialists. Socialism was not “found” by modern people. It’s been around since the 19th century in various forms. There are no prosperous socialist countries. Free enterprise/capitalism & socialism are complete opposites & to not mix. Socialism causes bad times, like now.