Are school districts properly budgeting their money?
Everyone is complaining and worrying about what is going to happen next with the news in school budgets and cutbacks, but this is something that has been on my mind since the beginning of this new phase in education. Recognizing that there is a legitimate concern and need for more school funding, I believe that there are several steps that school districts and administrators can take right now in order to make the transition easier and smoother and it all starts with budgeting.
Just the other day an administrator asked me what my opinion about this issue was and what I thought President Obama was going to do to solve these issues, and she was confused and thrown off guard by my comment. After hearing the question, I paused for a second to think to myself should I give her the “sugar coated,” politically correct answer that everyone usually gives, or should I be completely transparent and tell her how I really feel. I choose the latter and decided to tell her what was in my heart. I started off my response letting her know that I have given this question some thought and have examined several school districts to see what areas I might adjust or change to meet the needs at hand and let her know that from all of the different districts that I have seen the end result is the same. I told her that school districts have to reassess their priorities and refocus on the things that really matter and cut back from the auxiliary areas. I stressed to her that I have seen time and time again in several school districts that spend more money on sporting events and teams but are teaching from outdated textbooks, and are using expired software and technology. Many school districts and administrators would rather build the popularity of the school instead of improving test scores and feeding into the future of the students.
During my little speech this woman stared at me with a baffled and confused look, and waited until I was finished speaking to explain her look. She said that she was surprised to hear someone like me say something like that. She said for me being a former football player and someone who promotes athletics and extracurricular activities, she expected me to say something typical like increase taxes or something. I let her know that there is a time and a place where sports and clubs fit in schools, but when it comes to sports or education, education wins every time. With a permanent smile on her face and a sense of satisfaction in her heart she reassured me that with an attitude like this I will go far in this field. I thanked her and we broke our separate ways.
I presented this question because it was on my mind and I wanted to see if I was on an island with this comment. What would you choose sports or education?
