Reply to Muriel Bowser leads the Defund the Schools Movement

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "Muriel Bowser leads the Defund the Schools Movement"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Does OP understand how much $ per pupil DC spends as compared to the rest of the country? Isn't it like the highest spent per pupil in the country? And Mayor Bowser is asking for a 12% or so increase in funding for this coming school year--that's "defunding the schools"? Get a grip.[/quote]

Budgets increased by ~12% at a time staffing costs increased by 23%, so yes, the schools are being defunded. Part of the reason staffing costs aren't as well aligned is because the mayor refuses to sign timely contracts so personnel spending is hard to budget.[/quote]

DC is facing massive budget shortfalls. Which other city services do you recommend cutting in order to fund schools to the level you prefer?[/quote]

Do I need to get a grip or do I need to be in charge of budgeting?[/quote]

I didn't say "get a grip." I am just pointing out that DC has less money than it needs to do all the things it needs to do. I have a child in DCPS and I am not excited about our school having to make the 12% increase stretch to cover increased staff costs (even though I also think staff deserve the increase). We're Title 1 so I think there is more leeway, but it will still be tough.

But schools are not the only city service my family utilizes. We also have a huge crime problem (I live on the East side where the crime issues are very pronounced and I want those extra patrols and personnel we are being promised to address this issue). The homelessness issue has worsened since Covid and requires money. We have a lot of infrastructure in the city that needs repair and replacements. And on and on.

I get being unhappy about the modest increase in the face of rising costs. And I don't even like Bowser! But I don't understand screaming about "defunding the schools" when there is a very practical problem, which is that the city has a budget shortfall. If we do a 20%+ increase in school budgets, that money will need to come from elsewhere. Where?[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics