Tragic

It's chilly this morning as it always is after a good rainstorm. Could we have another? Please? Unfortunately, the forecast is for sunny and more sunny for the next week and beyond.

Over the weekend I heard about some of the problems facing the local school districts as the county runs out of cash. Cash owed by the state of California. Of course it isn't just Glenn County, it's everywhere the state does business. And then I read that the state wants to cut over $400 million from the textbook budget for the schools. That's criminal. And if I were a superintendent of a school district, I might ask; what will it take to get the attention of the legislature and the governor? And then I would simply shut down the schools. Let them arrest me. And what if that happened in every school district? Would the state finally take notice? Probably not.

And whose fault is it? Those who wish to abolish taxes. We say we want the best for our children but we aren't willing to pay for it. Even if the state was paying their bills, we would still be behind in the quality of our education.

I can't help but think back to my working days, (only 5 years ago) and I remember that our budget for computers and software was $2 million per year. For less than 700 employees. We budgeted close to $3,000 per employee per year; at a construction company. What does a school district budget for the computer needs for 700 students? Aren't they as important, or even more important?

Sad, but I've been upset about schools for a long time and I really don't understand why anyone would want to be a teacher. The pay is miserable and so are the working conditions. If you compare the teaching career to similar careers in the private sector, you would never make the choice to enter a classroom.