When I went through school in Texas, we didn't have many "luxuries". Most schools didn't have A/C, labs were pretty much basic. The problem, as I see it, is that teachers & administrators get paid too much AND many cities are building schools that aren't really necessary and the schools are very opulent instead of just meeting the basic educational requirements. My city wants to build a new high school at the cost of $77 MILLION!! Let's look at the facts: the old high school is still in decent shape. The graduating classes are HALF of what they were when I graduated. The economy here isn't all that good. There are many houses being repossessed and many more that have tax liens against them. Why?? The poor economy coupled with HIGH property taxes, most of the taxes for the schools AND a good majority of the local population is over 50, with many more over 65. Then, there are people who own properties that are assessed at less than half of the actual value. (Of course, these people just so happen to be civic leaders) A great example is our local school administrator. His property is assessed at $188K. He has a house that has 2200 sq ft valued at $170K alone. He owns 66.83 acres, with current values in that area being $5K/ acre. Just the acreage alone values out at $330K. Add in his house and you have $500K. And yet, his property is only taxed at $188K. Someone PLEASE tell me that something doesn't stink.
Anyways, back to the new high school.... the city doesn't really need it, NOR can they afford it. Our SAT scores were markedly higher than what they are some 35 years later. Our schools did us just fine, so what's happened??
