re: #106 albusteve
The problem with the schools is not just that the teachers have such lucrative contracts. IMO that isn’t the biggest problem with the budget. School districts around here spend about 3 times more per student on building costs and non-teacher salaries and expenses than they spend on the teacher. One problem is that principals who run the schools are not trained to be HR managers or business managers. They’re teachers who got promoted to boss, but nothing in their training prepares them to manage a multi-million dollar operation like a school. And the local dupes on the school board who get elected in summer elections no one cares about are even less likely to know how to negotiate contracts with a variety of unions and set budgets. The whole system is a hodge-podge mess.