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In reply to the discussion: Schools must provide sports for disabled, US says [View all]glowing
(12,233 posts)districts already under to many severe budget cuts. Perhaps you don't have a child? But the basic list to send a child back to school these days includes copier paper and glue and paper towels and toilet paper.. exactly how much money do you think these schools have? In the elementary school, there is no "team" event sponsored by the school; anything extracurricular is an expense and travel cost assigned to a parent (this includes many middle schools as well). I live in the Tampa Bay area with larger school districts and more money theorectically. It isn't until highschool that schools help sponsor team events, and at some schools, transportation costs are having to be fundraised to keep going.
Like I've said, this is not a "dig" at special needs. This is a dig at our govt making mandates and not covering the costs to implement the mandates once again (and I'm not holding my breath waiting on the tea baggers to increase taxes to cover the costs of these programs that are constantly mandated). I feel the Feds should take over all of the schooling costs and get the burden off of property taxes all together. On the other side of that, creating the system of what and who and how we teach needs to remain firmly in the hands of those involved in actual teaching. Its not like we lead our army with accountants, we lead them with military generals. So, in the same manner the Ed. Dept should be run accordingly as well.
I know many, many people are capable of doing a lot, and should have the opportunity. But at the moment, getting a child fed properly in many cities and poor areas is quite a feat in itself... so, I believe we need the funding to come directly from the federal govt, pay for teachers, staff, mandates, and school repair, extra curricular activity, before and after school care, shit daycare for children before K, and Universities. We should spend more money on education of our next generation than we do bombing shit up.