The destruction of America's public education system

[Biff Tannen 45651]

30 minutes ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

How to take out mass shooters, duh.

This is the obvious answer.  He wants people who are trained to use firearms.  I'm not at all surprised by this.

[Nivek 16913]

Many inmates have a wealth of knowledge they could share with students as well.  Such as how to hotwire a car, the best way to smoke crack.  How to get screwed over by the justice system.   Clearly schools should just meet in prisons.

[Bevoball 184]

So, first time posting in CR. My wife just started her 10th year as a teacher here in Austin. We are both in our early 30's and are wanting to start a family of our own. She has made the decision that this is her last year as a teacher. She cannot do it anymore, she can't teach because she is too busy with classroom management, she can't work on lessons plans properly because she has to spend her planning period doing other tasks such as reaching out to parents or meeting with school admins, the lesson plans she does make have to meet a certain criteria and be approved by her admin as well.  She spends the last few weeks of her month and a half off in the summer depressed and anxious about going back to work, nevermind the fact that during her time off she has to do trainings and in-services. She doesn't have the energy to enjoy her personal life, and we have had to put off starting our family because mentally and emotionally she wouldn't be able to handle it.

 

My mom passed away in March, she was a teacher as well, and even while she was in the hospital she was stressing about lesson plans and the requirements she was missing out on while hospitalized. I'm not saying being a teacher killed her, but her stress and anxiety I'm sure played a part in her early death at age 60.

 

It sucks that this nation and this state have done this to our public education, I am against private schools and charter schools. I grew up in rural south texas and loved my time in school, but Jesus I am terrified for the day that my future children will have to enroll.

[TexPx 2322]

Conservative Christian cellphone company donates 'In God We Trust' signs to Carroll ISD

The district is bound by law to accept the posters. A state law went into effect last September requiring public elementary or secondary schools to display posters with the nation's motto if they are donated.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/conservative-christian-cellphone-company-donates-in-god-we-trust-signs-to-carroll-isd/ar-AA10JXnM

[Captainant 27588]

47 minutes ago, TexPx said:

Conservative Christian cellphone company donates 'In God We Trust' signs to Carroll ISD

The district is bound by law to accept the posters. A state law went into effect last September requiring public elementary or secondary schools to display posters with the nation's motto if they are donated.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/conservative-christian-cellphone-company-donates-in-god-we-trust-signs-to-carroll-isd/ar-AA10JXnM

So fucking dumb. It should be "e pluribus unum" and not "in god we trust". Stupid shit that came out of the red scare in the 1950s and ratfuckers like roy cohn and joe mccarthy browbeating everyone with the culture war of anticommunism

[TexPx 2322]

So fucking dumb. It should be "e pluribus unum" and not "in god we trust". Stupid shit that came out of the red scare in the 1950s and ratfuckers like roy cohn and joe mccarthy browbeating everyone with the culture war of anticommunism

Exactly. I’m gonna start a
“Bring Back E Pluribus Unum” campaign.
Please contact your Representatives.

[Biff Tannen 45651]

1 hour ago, TexPx said:

Exactly. I’m gonna start a
“Bring Back E Pluribus Unum” campaign.
Please contact your Representatives.

And my representatives will point and laugh at me.

[TexPx 2322]

And my representatives will point and laugh at me.

That’s what mine did when I suggested common sense firearm laws.

[WhatTheBuck 28764]

1 hour ago, Captainant said:

It should be "e pluribus unum"

It should be but that would never fly on the right because it disavows white supremacy. 

[Js1 85227]

This is America, we speak AMERICAN. Our founding fathers would never stand for that learned behavior 

[Surly Bevo 24904]

Same cell phone company that dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into school board races around NE Tarrant County and is basically slowly taking them over.  I went out and pissed in the wind and voted against all those hacks in Keller ISD but now we get....

 

https://www.fox4news.com/news/keller-isd-to-remove-controversial-books-including-the-bible-from-library-shelves-for-review

Though the bible is clearly a troll job (even though it grabs the headlines....most of the books are those dealing with or brushing against race, LBGTQ, and all the other things that make pinheads shake in their boots that their kid might read something and all of a sudden become woke, gay, etc.

[ChuckNorrisActionJeans 2662]

"Patriot Mobile"  wtf. How does this company have all these spare dollars to throw around?

Guess it's a nice distraction from the fact that internet porn is more easy and likely to be accessed by minors and way more egregious than words in a book 

[Surly Bevo 24904]

"Patriot Mobile"  wtf. How does this company have all these spare dollars to throw around?
Guess it's a nice distraction from the fact that internet porn is more easy and likely to be accessed by minors and way more egregious than words in a book 

Exactly. You’re so worried about your little boo boo reading something in some school library book, meanwhile they are sending dick pics and tit shots and watching Japanese octopus porn on that phone you gave them when they turned 6 years old.

[Mole 4328]

All I read from the article is that schools are required to display donated signs containing “In God We Trust.” It sounds to me like it’s time for a consortium to commission a series of patriotic great works of art — be they cartoon, MS Paint, Photoshop, or other mediums — to foster a love of country among our youth. 

[SydneyCarton 47998]

17 hours ago, TexPx said:

Conservative Christian cellphone company donates 'In God We Trust' signs to Carroll ISD

The district is bound by law to accept the posters. A state law went into effect last September requiring public elementary or secondary schools to display posters with the nation's motto if they are donated.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/conservative-christian-cellphone-company-donates-in-god-we-trust-signs-to-carroll-isd/ar-AA10JXnM

 

3 hours ago, Mole said:

All I read from the article is that schools are required to display donated signs containing “In God We Trust.” It sounds to me like it’s time for a consortium to commission a series of patriotic great works of art — be they cartoon, MS Paint, Photoshop, or other mediums — to foster a love of country among our youth. 

I had the same reaction as Mole. Oh, they're required to display them? The opportunities for the people on this board alone for a few hundred dollars in printing fees are fucking limitless. 

[Samson's Wig 3187]

This topic is a tough one for me.  We're are a decidedly nonreligious family so I don't give a flying fuck about my kids attending a religious school. I would never send them to one under any circumstances.  But the pandemic seems to be the final nail in the coffin of public schools, especially in the cities. AISD went from just barely hanging on as an "okay" district to becoming a complete failure of an inner city school system during the pandemic.  We already pay a fuckton more than the rest of the state in public school tax dollars, only to see our schools become completely worthless.  I would rather see that money stay in my hands where I can utilize it on nonprofits that actually help kids rather than the nonsense that happens in Texas now, which is that city tax dollars subsidize million dollar football stadiums in the suburbs.  Public schools have failed in Texas, but it's not the fault of charter schools.  Charter schools are a symptom.

[Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand 13562]

Just donate In God We Trust poster illustrated with Flying Spaghetti Monster. 

[hayden_horn 11362]

36 minutes ago, Samson's Wig said:

This topic is a tough one for me.  We're are a decidedly nonreligious family so I don't give a flying fuck about my kids attending a religious school. I would never send them to one under any circumstances.  But the pandemic seems to be the final nail in the coffin of public schools, especially in the cities. AISD went from just barely hanging on as an "okay" district to becoming a complete failure of an inner city school system during the pandemic.  We already pay a fuckton more than the rest of the state in public school tax dollars, only to see our schools become completely worthless.  I would rather see that money stay in my hands where I can utilize it on nonprofits that actually help kids rather than the nonsense that happens in Texas now, which is that city tax dollars subsidize million dollar football stadiums in the suburbs.  Public schools have failed in Texas, but it's not the fault of charter schools.  Charter schools are a symptom.

https://www.kvue.com/article/news/education/schools/austin-isd-tea-recapture-710-million/269-2f5ea2dd-8e32-4f62-ae0f-2ab08ed2ee27

Quote

AUSTIN, Texas — Austin ISD reported Thursday that the district will have to pay $761.3 million to the State for recapture for the next school year, up $50.7 million from the year prior.

In 2020-21, AISD paid the State $710.6 million, which was $512.8 million more than any other school district in Texas. Houston ISD, the state's largest school district, paid the second-most for recapture with $197.8 million. Austin-area district Eanes ISD paid the sixth-most with $101.8 million.

the state is purposefully strangling austin (or letting us do it) with property values.

Quote

According to AISD, the recapture payment drains nearly half of the district's budget: $1.7 billion. The state started the recapture system – commonly dubbed by some as "Robin Hood" –  in 1994. It required the state to remove local property tax dollars from districts with the highest levels of property wealth per student in an effort to provide more equal per-student funding across the state. In 1994, the State removed $127 million from 34 school districts in order to equalize funding for public education. Recapture has since grown to roughly 160 districts paying upwards of $3 billion. 

As noted above, Austin ISD pays well more than any other school district in Texas. This disparity in payment comes despite Austin ISD noting that 51.9% of the district’s population is considered "economically disadvantaged."

Austin ISD's recapture payment has grown from $181.1 million in 2015 to the $761.3 million it's slated to pay next year, a 320% increase.

aisd is fucked for many reasons, some of which include some overinflation of admin, in my opinion, but when half your shit is gone before you even start, it's sort of a non-starter. 

[Samson's Wig 3187]

8 minutes ago, hayden_horn said:

aisd is fucked for many reasons, some of which include some overinflation of admin, in my opinion, but when half your shit is gone before you even start, it's sort of a non-starter. 

That is true in every school district.  I agree completely that recapture is the largest part of AISD's problems, but it will never change. No way will rural and suburban school district reps ever vote to shift that money back where it comes from.

[Biff Tannen 45651]

That is so fucked

[SydneyCarton 47998]

1 hour ago, Samson's Wig said:

This topic is a tough one for me.  We're are a decidedly nonreligious family so I don't give a flying fuck about my kids attending a religious school. I would never send them to one under any circumstances.  But the pandemic seems to be the final nail in the coffin of public schools, especially in the cities. AISD went from just barely hanging on as an "okay" district to becoming a complete failure of an inner city school system during the pandemic.  We already pay a fuckton more than the rest of the state in public school tax dollars, only to see our schools become completely worthless.  I would rather see that money stay in my hands where I can utilize it on nonprofits that actually help kids rather than the nonsense that happens in Texas now, which is that city tax dollars subsidize million dollar football stadiums in the suburbs.  Public schools have failed in Texas, but it's not the fault of charter schools.  Charter schools are a symptom.

We're a non-religious household. Our son goes to a religious private school because of some fortunate circumstances (at least at first) for us. That being said, there's good ones and bad ones, imo. I wouldn't be dismissive out of hand, although it was startling to hear my 4 year old come home and start talking about God. I'd keep an open mind and look hard at the schools if you're seriously going away from public. Just my 2 cents. 

[TexPx 2322]

Just donate In God We Trust poster illustrated with Flying Spaghetti Monster. 

(b) A poster or framed copy of the national motto described
by Subsection (a):
(1) must contain a representation of the United States
flag centered under the national motto and a representation of the
state flag; and
(2) may not depict any words, images, or other
information other than the representations listed in Subdivision
(1)

[Nivek 16913]

That is true in every school district.  I agree completely that recapture is the largest part of AISD's problems, but it will never change. No way will rural and suburban school district reps ever vote to shift that money back where it comes from.

Socialism is letting the cities keep their money.

[bolverk 29637]

Individual schools may suck, but overall Austin ISD is doing "okay" according to the latest TEA ratings that just came out. Now, those might be bogus (I dunno) but this is what's used by the state to judge performance. Table below is just a sample of Austin and some peers, but you can look up other districts or individual schools at the link.

	OVERALL	Student Achievement	School Progress	Closing the Gaps
Eanes ISD	A	A	A	A
Dripping Springs ISD	A	A	A	A
Frisco ISD	A	A	A	A
Austin ISD	B	B	B	B
Round Rock ISD	B	B	B	B
Leander ISD	B	B	B	B
Lake Travis ISD	B	B	B	B
Plano ISD	B	B	B	B
Fort Bend ISD	B	B	B	B
Hays CISD	B	C	B	B
Houston ISD	B	C	B	B
Del Valle ISD	B	C	B	C
Dallas ISD	B	C	B	C
Fort Worth ISD	B	C	B	C
San Antonio ISD	B	C	B	C
Spring ISD	B	D	B	C

 

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

Active measures, that’s what this is, it’s just GQP based now. 

 

 

[Samson's Wig 3187]

3 hours ago, SydneyCarton said:

We're a non-religious household. Our son goes to a religious private school because of some fortunate circumstances (at least at first) for us. That being said, there's good ones and bad ones, imo. I wouldn't be dismissive out of hand, although it was startling to hear my 4 year old come home and start talking about God. I'd keep an open mind and look hard at the schools if you're seriously going away from public. Just my 2 cents. 

I spoke too broadly as nuance doesn't often translate well to message board banter. I would absolutely send my kids to a religious school where religion takes aback seat to the academics, as is the case with the good ones.

[Covri 6244]

5 hours ago, Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand said:

Just donate In God We Trust poster illustrated with Flying Spaghetti Monster. 

Better idea

 

 

 

https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/87R/billtext/html/SB00797I.htm

Edited August 18, 2022 by Covri
It has some flag requirements to it lol

[BrickHorn 18208]

5 hours ago, Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand said:

Just donate In God We Trust poster illustrated with Flying Spaghetti Monster. 

Great idea. You could also be more direct. 

“‘In God We Trust’ was not adopted as the national motto until 1956, when Congress caved to special interest groups not unlike the theocratic jerks who convinced the Republican morons who dominate the Texas Legislature to pass a bill REQUIRING that your school hang this poster. If you don’t like the government forcing religion on you, be sure to vote for Democrats when you grow up. Oh and just to make sure we comply with the letter of the idiotic law that brought you this poster, here’s a picture of the US flag.” 

Come to think of it, I might just donate something like that to some local schools.

[Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand 13562]

5 hours ago, TexPx said:

(2) may not depict any words, images, or other
information other than the representations listed in Subdivision
(1)

It's the Daily Double of shitting on the First Amendment. 

Edited August 18, 2022 by Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand

[ChuckNorrisActionJeans 2662]

6 hours ago, Samson's Wig said:

That is true in every school district.  I agree completely that recapture is the largest part of AISD's problems, but it will never change. No way will rural and suburban school district reps ever vote to shift that money back where it comes from.

it's even worse than the recapture bullshit itself -- after the pitiful funding allotment the state sets per student is met in other districts, all those sweet extra millions of Austin's property taxes goes into the general fund. For Abbott to fuck around at the border with, do culture warring, or any other fucking thing he or the lege feels like doing. The state has a $27 bil surplus right now, and AISD is tens of millions in the red, so can't pay teacher salaries, meet special ed requirements, or fix all the failing AC systems. It's a fucking shell game that should be illegal.

[Samson's Wig 3187]

1 hour ago, ChuckNorrisActionJeans said:

it's even worse than the recapture bullshit itself -- after the pitiful funding allotment the state sets per student is met in other districts, all those sweet extra millions of Austin's property taxes goes into the general fund. For Abbott to fuck around at the border with, do culture warring, or any other fucking thing he or the lege feels like doing. The state has a $27 bil surplus right now, and AISD is tens of millions in the red, so can't pay teacher salaries, meet special ed requirements, or fix all the failing AC systems. It's a fucking shell game that should be illegal.

It really really sucks all around.  Between the state fucking with Austin, and Austin leadership tripping over their own dicks at every step, it's getting more and more difficult to justify staying here.  But it's been home for so long the thought of leaving isn't a comfortable one.

[Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand 13562]

2 hours ago, ChuckNorrisActionJeans said:

it's even worse than the recapture bullshit itself -- after the pitiful funding allotment the state sets per student is met in other districts, all those sweet extra millions of Austin's property taxes goes into the general fund. For Abbott to fuck around at the border with, do culture warring, or any other fucking thing he or the lege feels like doing. The state has a $27 bil surplus right now, and AISD is tens of millions in the red, so can't pay teacher salaries, meet special ed requirements, or fix all the failing AC systems. It's a fucking shell game that should be illegal.

If the state pays pennies for schools, how will it pay dollars to multi-national corporations to move here? 

https://gov.texas.gov/business/page/texas-enterprise-fund

 

[ChuckNorrisActionJeans 2662]

posted by a teacher from an elementary school in my son's district, in response to some parents' comments today regarding the rainy day pickup: 

Please give us grace as we figure out how to keep your students safe in light of the Uvalde massacre & the new safety procedures we are working out. 

The first week of dismissal is always a bit messy and chaotic.

We were told parents are supposed to wait outside and doors are to remain closed. We escort children out of the building to their families so essentially everyday is like rainy day dismissal at my campus.

[TexPx 2322]

It's the Daily Double of shitting on the First Amendment. 

Fuck it. I’m adding a Texas flag and donating this anyway. When rejected I’ll claim my free speech rights are being violated.

[4th&Five 41500]

 

[Fudge Nuggets 19170]

On 8/18/2022 at 11:04 AM, Biff Tannen said:

That is so fucked

Sounds a lot like socialism so it should be easy to get the rubes to vote to end it.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[HornOnTheBayou 8897]

 

 

[RexWilson 1341]

Today was the first time I saw any of Zimmerman's signs and it was the original version. I ended up seeing 3 of them within 10 minutes of driving. The amount of crazies tryin to get elected to the RRISD school board is unreal.

 

[ChuckNorrisActionJeans 2662]

Zimmerman did not contest abusing his minor daughter, with whom he now has no relationship. A total piece of shit, so of course he's still bouncing around as an R candidate.

[Biff Tannen 45651]

1 hour ago, ChuckNorrisActionJeans said:

Zimmerman did not contest abusing his minor daughter, with whom he now has no relationship. A total piece of shit, so of course he's still bouncing around as an R candidate.

Seems like that is information that should come to light in a very public way.  Not that it would matter to his voters, but still.

[tchookem 3900]

Today was the first time I saw any of Zimmerman's signs and it was the original version. I ended up seeing 3 of them within 10 minutes of driving. The amount of crazies tryin to get elected to the RRISD school board is unreal.
 

I'm looking all over trying to find any info on these candidates. It just seems like each one is crazier than the last. Looks like this was the wrong year to start working in RRISD.

[InkaUtexas 25836]

My ISD is going to run at a 14M deficit this year. Principal at the HS is no longer here. Friends who are teachers are leaving in droves. We are fucked. They were a partner on a NSF grant and don't even know who to call anymore for a coordination meeting. Yay..... 

[Texas Jeff 1940]

If you would like to do something good for Austin ISD, please vote for the bond in November.  It's a really big number, probably the biggest bond that Austin ISD has ever considered.  Because of the way tax rates work, your AISD tax rate is going down this year, because home values went up.  This bond raises the rate of money going to build buildings by 1 penny, while the overall tax rate will be dropping about 5 pennies even with this bond.  A penny of tax on a $500,000 house is $50 per year.

I've been in a number of Austin ISD schools over the last ten years and most of the ones I visited are in poor condition.  Everyone thinks that their side of town is getting ignored and things *must* be better on the other side of town, but the reality is that most of the buildings suck.  Austin let their schools deteriorate for a generation and we can now either make major investments or just let them rot.

This bond is the second in a series of bonds intended to repair the entire district over a 25 year period that started in 2017.  This one focuses more money on rebuilding schools in the "eastern crescent" for the most economically disadvantaged, but improvements are slated for other parts of town as well.  All buildings are getting critical repairs to things like HVAC that may fail in the next five years.  Almost all AISD buildings need help, but this bond will make a big dent in what is needed and keep the district on track to be fully repaired in a generation.  New buildings require less maintenance than old buildings, and less maintenance means more money for teacher salaries.

All of the bond money stays in Austin and it will go towards giving teachers and students a better experience.  None of it goes towards Robin Hood.  The bond is not perfect, but all bonds are works of committees and no one group is ever going to get all that they wanted.

If you vote for the bond, you are giving teachers a better place to work with modern facilities. You are giving AISD an edge in recruiting teachers.  You are giving a lot of economically disadvantaged kids a brand new school.  And it's one big step towards eventually repairing the entire district.  If it fails, we'll be back in the same situation a few years from now with even older, more broken buildings.

I don't feel that we can do anything about Robin Hood or how much it takes from Austin ISD, but we can at least vote to say we value our schools and our teachers and our kids, even if we can't do much to pay teachers more.

[crash_davis 23091]

In God We Trust, but in Arabic. Fucking lulz. This dude deserves a donation or 50.

https://onlysky.media/hemant-mehta/atheist-to-send-texas-schools-in-god-we-trust-signs-written-in-arabic/?rss=1

...the rules only allow the words “In God We Trust” and the U.S./Texas flags.

So the atheist from Florida created a version of the poster with “In God We Trust” written in Arabic in order to send them to Texas schools. Stevens told me, “I followed their ridiculous law, both in spirit and intent.”

[speed817 19222]

Watch them rename the school lol....

 

 

[tx 3 putt 76800]

36 minutes ago, speed817 said:

Watch them rename the school lol....

 

 

 

what a silly country we've become 

[SydneyCarton 47998]

On 8/22/2022 at 1:34 AM, InkaUtexas said:

My ISD is going to run at a 14M deficit this year. Principal at the HS is no longer here. Friends who are teachers are leaving in droves. We are fucked. They were a partner on a NSF grant and don't even know who to call anymore for a coordination meeting. Yay..... 

So, in your estimation, why are the teachers leaving in droves? 

[InkaUtexas 25836]

Everyone has their own reason. Admin bullshit, lack of supplies, shitty kids and parents, can make more in other industries are some I routinely hear. 

[Mo Horn 8812]

Since this is the first week of school one of the news stations here is running stories every night about what schools are doing to keep students safe. Every story is about the things they are doing to protect them from armed intruders, and the amount of money being spent to do that. There are all kind of gadgets to bar the doors and block windows and everything teachers are having to do to learn how to use them.  I don't know if they're making a point on safety or how much is being spent, or what, as the stories are very neutral. Every time I see one, and hear about the thousands of dollars they are spending, and the time it takes teachers to have to learn how to use them I get so pissed. Geez, maybe there's a simpler, and less expensive, solution to all this,  and maybe, just maybe, that money can be used to, I don't know, teach the kids. 

[Texas Jeff 1940]

18 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

So, in your estimation, why are the teachers leaving in droves? 

In Austin, here are some themes I have heard:

1. Many of them chose teaching to help children climb the ladder.  There are a ton of things they have to do that do not involve teaching that consume time.  This forces many of them to cover teaching during the day and fit the other stuff in after hours.  They spend a lot more time at school than they though they would.  Eventually the extra hours wear down their desire to help children.

2. They all knew the pay would be bad, but in this era of high inflation they are losing ground.  They are getting 2% pay raises when inflation is running at 8%.  They are having a hard time finding any place to live.  How long would you live in a one-bedroom apartment 20 miles from the place you teach?  Gas, commuting, rising rents are all eating in to their pay.

3. Kids lost a lot of ground during the pandemic.  Last year, kids were not used to being around other people and their social skills had atrophied.  This caused conflicts at school, but this is fading over time.  Many of the skills that the kids should have learned during the COVID year are missing, but the kids were pushed along anyway.  This makes current skills that build on those harder to teach.  Think about teaching kids precalculus when they are missing algebra 1 skills.  You can't stop and re-teach algebra 1, you just forge ahead.

4. As crazy as this sounds, the HVAC often does not work.  Imagine working in a building that might be 91 degrees on one day and 57 on the next.  I wish I was making up those numbers but those are directly from my wife's classroom last year, on two adjacent days.  Parking lot lights are broken, bathrooms are broken, doors are broken, desks are broken, and so on.  In Austin, that's why the 2022 bond is so important.  Fix stuff to make teachers happier in their classrooms.

5. The Uvalde tragedy showed teachers that an 18 year old can easily get weapons and when the shooting starts the police will do nothing.  If you hear pop, pop, pop ... run!  Or ... leave teaching.

Mostly I think they feel over worked and under respected.  A bunch of teachers have reached the breaking point and sense that a better life is not on the way, so they are choosing to do something else.