Read About Public Ed and Weep

by Craig Cantoni

If you're interested in public ed shenanigans, read this and weep.

I have just reviewed a report that the Scottsdale School District told me didn't exist.  An Arizona Republic reporter was gracious enough to send it to me.  It is a text book case of how school districts justify increased spending.  If I had commissioned the report, I would also deny its existence -- out of embarrassment.  The only good news is that there is enough material in the report to write 10 opinion pieces.

The report is a draft report from consulting firm DeJong & Associates, Inc.  After reading the piece of crap, I'm ashamed to call myself a consultant.  The report recommends options that the district consider for meeting purported facilities needs in the next 10 years.  It recommends two options:  spending $300 million or spending $294 million.  Some options.  That's like your dentist saying, "Would you like a root-canal or a stick in your eye?"

Keep in mind that by the end of this year, the district will be in compliance with the facilities guidelines of the state.  In other words, the state is saying that the district doesn't need any new or refurbished facilities.  

The report starts with platitudes.  For example, it lists one goal as creating "equitable school environments."  It doesn't define "equitable" or say how equity is measured.  It also says that school environments should "be technically viable," whatever that means.  

The report continues with the results of a questionnaire given to 235 people.  It doesn't say if the respondents were parents of students or taxpayers without students in the system.  My guess is that they stacked the deck with the former.  In any event, there are probably about 14,000 parents of school children in the district.  How representative are the 235?  Were they selected at random?  I dunno, but I suspect that the consulting firm knows nothing about statistical sampling, survey validity or coefficients of confidence.

Almost all of the 235 said that they want small class sizes -- surprise, surprise.  For example, 85% want class sizes in K-8 to be 20 or less.  Of course, the respondents were not given any cost-benefit tradeoffs to use as a guide.  

It sure is easy to spend your neighbor's money in reducing class sizes.  I don't have that luxury.  My son goes to parochial school, where the class size is 35.  Sure, I'd like a smaller class, but I'd have to pay the increased cost out of my own pocket, so I resist size reductions.  Spending one's own money sure helps to focus the mind and pocketbook.

Almost 100% of the respondent thought that high school students should spend 20-30 minutes maximum traveling to and from school.  Again, having your neighbor pick up the cost gives you a different perspective than paying the cost yourself.  My working class parents sacrificed and worked hard to send me to one of the best private prep schools in St. Louis.  It was a 45-minute bus ride plus a three-quarter-mile walk to the bus stop.  The length of the ride or the walk wasn't important to my parents.  A good education was important.  Silly them.  

Incidentally, my high school is 70 years old.  The Scottsdale district would have torn it down long ago as not being technically viable or not being an equitable school environment.  

According to the report, district enrollment is expected to decrease at most schools and increase at some over the next 10 years, for a net increase districtwide of 11%, or 2,976 students.  Remember, the spending options call for an expenditure of either $294 million or $300 million.  That works out to about $100,000 per additional student.

The report ends with a page on financing.  True to form, the district is planning to sell the expenditures by citing how little it will cost each homeowner in property taxes.  The district conveniently overlooks the disproportionate property taxes paid by commercial property owners, including by small business people who work 70-hour weeks.

Enough for now.  I have to quiz my son on his homework.  He has to go to bed soon, as he leaves the house at 7:30 a.m. to catch the parochial school bus for his first class at 8:30.  Incidentally, the bus costs me $64 a month.  I wonder if public school parents know the cost of their kid's bus.

Last update: 3/12/2002; 7:45:00 PM.