I distinctly remember my elementary, middle, & HS had book storage with new never used text books stacked to the ceiling. I remember a new piece of equipment that wasnt bolted down seemed to grow legs. I would expect in this day & age text books to be obsolete to convey the lessons. Even if students had to provide their own equipment like ipads or laptops or printers...unlike the 5 commodore 64s we had that were obsolete yrs before they were purchased. Also the public schools I went to had generous retirement pensions that more than coverd any salary deficit encountered during service.
If I were single that would be plenty of money but I’m married (to a low earning teacher) with a child and I live in the most expensive non-coastal city in America. Just keeping a roof over your head cost a minimum of $25,000 a year here. It also took me 26 years to get at this level and also I’m straight commission so sometimes I go months without money. Please don’t think I’m not humble . I pinch myself every day waiting to wake up from this dream and when I am awake I constantly wait for the other shoe to drop. Somebody gave me a good break into 2002 and it’s just worked out for me because I can sell. Without that break I’d still be working at a motorcycle shop or a car dealer or one of the multitude of places I worked before I got into this business and my earning would be lower. I thank Yahweh every day for where I’m at today.
I didn’t see anything wrong with your statement. It’s absolutely true. I live in a decent but definitely not upscale area. Rents for a 1 bedroom are $1400-1500 and 2000+ for a 2 bedroom. I won’t even talk about real estate because you can’t buy a hovel without making at least a quarter mil a year. That’s the reality in most coastal cities. Fuck I’m not even coastal I live 30 miles inland. You go 100 miles inland same shit. Yes I’ve thought of moving and I’m not too good to live in Fresno. Some people have seriously skewed and outdated ideas of what shit costs these days. The government’s official inflation figures are all total fucking lies. 2-3%, fuck you. The real rate is 10%+. Everyone knows this and can see it but the powers that be lie their asses off and keep printing money to prop up our broken system. That’s why Trump won and will be re-elected.
I was talking to my neighbor's pool guy. He could have been bullshitting, but he said he and his wife (they are owner/operators of their pool service business) make right at 100k annually. One of my buds from Jr High kept on mowing lawns through and after high school, and is now pushing 8 figures net worth with his name on the side of a fleet of landscaping trucks. But you won't hear about THAT on career day.
I have a HUGE problem with the begging. It's in large part utter bullshit. It is not for materials necessary to teach. It is for materials they like to have to teach or to decorate with or whatever. But the begging with what most - and yet one more time for Dave, not all, not even close, there are obviously systems with major issues and budget problems - make is insanity. Guess what, I pay for work items out of my salary! I'm typing this on a Mac I saved for and bought with my money. Emily will be using another Mac to score races tomorrow that I paid for with my salary. Welcome to reality. Stop begging for shit. Back to the large number thing - around ATL there isn't a single system that truly needs more money or any teachers in need of supplies to do their job. Some students maybe, but those materials are available from a LOT of local charities. The districts spending money badly or overpaying their insane amount of middle management is an issue for sure, but the money is there and throwing more money into the district won't get more to the schools for repairs or the like, the upper end will just steal more.
Skewed to my experience. Just like yours. $38k on the West Coast unless you’re living in a rural bumblefuck town means you’re living with relatives or roommates. $50k you can live on if you’re frugal. $38k in upstate Michigan is equivalent buying power to probably $80k in Southern California.
Well, that's easy, don't live on the West Coast. Or seriously - have roommates, nothing wrong with that. No need for a 3k square foot house or a brand new car and so on and so on. People can live for less, they choose not to.
Sorry guys, and gals....nothing you all are debating here really matters more than the kids having a FATHER...and not just a sperm donor. EVERY good kid I see/meet/know...had a FATHER. Every kid I know that's a brat, asshole, or a shit show.....has a sperm donor or the sperm donor isn't even remotely in the picture. FATHERS instill discipline, integrity, and right and wrong. Every chance I get, I remind my son that life is about choices and making good choices. You make the right choices and good things can and will happen for you. Rich or poor, 2+2 = 4. Whatever the property taxes were in the District isn't relevant. The school is just a place where kids are assembled to impart upon them the tools to go further in life. It's their choice to listen and apply what they're taught or not.
And to take this a step further, and I try to remind EVERYONE of this, along with those choices come consequences. Not necessarily good or bad but simply consequences.....cause and effect. If you choose to do X then Y is the very likely outcome, are you prepared to accept that outcome? This is more in the context of clueless people who think they can have the world on a silver platter and can't seem to take responsibility for their actions and don't think the world is a fair place. I try to remind them that hey, when there's a fork in the road and you choose the path that veers to the left, you cannot simultaneously get to what goes down the path to the right. You make a choice, you accept it and you deal with what comes of it.
Having been a school board director I have a few opinions on this issue.....First and foremost is don't become a school board director, at least if you like your sanity. Second, the NEA should be classified as a terrorist organization. Third, bring back paddling and other forms of corporal punishment.