Discussion on Taxpayer support of Athletics

I'd like to start a discussion on district funding of Athletics. This school year the district will have a co-op Hockey team that is fully supported by donations, scholarships and fees, there are no taxpayer dollars going to fund this team.

Is this fair? Is this something we should look at for all our teams? If our sports teams had to be privately funded, would the teams disappear? Should the district at least have a minium number of participants to continue a team? Currently the district does not want to run academic classes if there are less than 15 participants, should the same standard hold for athletics?

I completely believe that athletics plays an important part in an adolescent's life but the question is, when educational institutions continually are cutting their budgets by millions, is the investment in athletics more valuable than the othe programs being cut?

I'd love to hear people's thoughts on the issue.

More on High School Boundaries

There was an interesting "Commentary" in the Northwestern from a former Oshkosh student who attended both West and North high you can read it here. She makes some good points and maybe it is worth a second look. I think it is better than the "lottery" idea I read somewhere. I still think the "High School Attendance by Mother's Birthday is better mostly just based on opportunities for students. Unless you have two of every club at the "split" schools, you will decrease students' opportunities. I also wonder what will happen to 8th graders from the North side who need to take Freshman level courses... will it be feasible to bus them to West High? The split high school raises some issues but should it have been dismissed as quickly as it was?

High School Boundaries

So what do people think about high school boundaries by mother's birthdate? As someone wrote on OshKonversation... it isn't likely to happen given the sacred nature of athletics in this district and what such a scenario would mean for our athletic teams.

I would like to see what this would cost in bussing and administrative time and if it was less than what we pay now, I think it is the right thing to do for Oshkosh. It would almost guarantee balanced high schools and it just wouldn't matter where one lived anymore and you wouldn't have to adjust boundaries and have angry parents fill up board rooms. Everyone would know the day their child was born (well even before that) which school they would go to. Could make things interesting in the dating world. Oh, your birthday is an odd date, can't marry you, I want my children to go to ....

I think it is an idea worth considering but I'm 99% sure that won't happen.

Poverty and Education

I have read and listened to comments from people who seem to believe that poverty plays no role in a child's learning. That poor, middle class and rich kids all have the same opportunities etc. Is that what most people believe or just a few bloggers? I have to ask a few questions for those who actually do believe that poverty makes no difference.

1. Why does the Federal Government give Title I funds to schools with high poverty rates?
2. Why does NCLB look at the gap between economically disadvantaged and non-economically disadvantaged?
3. Why was SAGE created?
4. Why do schools with high poverty rates almost always have low test scores?
5. Why was Head Start created?
6. Why have a "War on Poverty" if poverty has NO effect on children?

Why do people want to deny that poverty does affect children and their learning? I am not saying that every child in poverty will be affected the same way or that if you are poor you will not succeed. But to deny that teaching and learning is more difficult in high poverty schools just has no basis in reality.

It was asked on OshKonversation, "Is it fair that only some of our children benefit from SAGE classes and not others; what happened to equitable?"

The poster is confusing EQUAL with EQUITABLE.. SAGE is the very definition of equitable... equal means everyone gets the same thing, equitable means giving everyone an equal opportunity, which is what SAGE does.

It just baffles me that some continue to argue that poverty has no effect... or like the speaker at the last board meeting... those whose children qualify for free or reduced lunch aren't poor --- they just need someone to show them how to spend their money more wisely. Yeah, you go on believing that the families who make $6 and hour don't have it any harder than those that make $20. I guess it makes one feel better to believe poverty really doesn't matter, because then we are not required to address a problem that doesn't exist.

Just wondering

I've put off posting for awhile because I've been so frustrated, I've refrained from posting on the OshKonversation for awhile but couldn't stay away for long. I just can't really figure out why I keep bothering. I can't seem to stop operating under the misguided notion that people want the facts --- they don't! A poster says Smith's enrollment is increasing because a family with children moved in down the street. Well the WINNS data from DPI shows that the only significant increase in enrollment at Smith is due to Pre-K programs being put there. In the 2000-2001 school year there were 265 K-5 students last year (2006-2007) there were 181 K-5 students... how is that increasing enrollment? The response on OshKonversation? I was asked why I didn't send my children to Traeger when Jefferson was in disrepair? I had several reasons the primary one being Traeger did not/ does not have the diversity in its student body that Jefferson does, that diversity was very important to me as a mother. It is important to me that my children experience children of other cultures and economic situations so they understand that "everyone is not like them" which is not just OK but a good thing! Not that the posters really care about the answers to any of the questions they post, they just use it as another reason to bash someone. The question I keep coming back to is WHY do I keep posting???? Anyone out there have an answer???

One more irritation today --- I was perusing the blog of a former school board candidate and she had posted some questions on the state budget stalemate, the first one just had me shaking my head... it asked the governor (who has ties to education - she posts) why the education funds are being held up? Budgeting/State Government 101 --- The governor can only provide a budget to the legislature (which he did many months ago ---probably in April) then he must WAIT for a budget to be passed by BOTH houses (Senate and Assembly) this has NOT happened and the governor has no power to make it happen so why ask the governor why the hold up when HE is NOT the one holding it up!! I know I'm sure I misunderstood something ... just drives me crazy that people don't even get the basic functioning of our government.

I'm waiting for the Sept. 12th Board meeting to see if there is more delaying, yet another boundary option or if they will actually make a decison. I predict either more delays or they move the poor kids whose parents won't complain. Hope I'm wrong on both counts.