It may be hard for you to fathom, but the charter movement is not “at all” for what is wrong with school districts. Carters have only been around for a decade and a half, while OUSD and many other districts have struggled for decades before anyone ever heard the words charter or reform.

Another point is the over the top arrogance of the education aristocracy(and unions as well) to believe that the ADA tax money “belongs to them in perpetuity with raises” without any strings attached irregardless of failure. I have news for you, that money belongs to US citizen taxpayers who have earned it by the sweat of their brow(and by extension their children).

I can answer that for him.

It’s because the institutional imperative is to drain as much money from the taxpayers as possible. Why hire a competent person for $40K when you can do it $125K?

In fairness to the administrators, those bureaucrats are often profit centers.

That’s right.

So much of the money chewed up by OUSD comes from USG grants. Generally, those grants come with all sorts of strings regarding oversight, compliance, etc. OUSD *must* to hire bureaucrats to qualify for the money. Indeed, those positions are institutionalized in the grant itself.

OUSD could not eliminate those positions even it if wanted to. Doing so would place OUSD in violation of the terms of the contract, and make it subject to all sorts of sanctions, like having to return the money!

Of course, OUSD does *not* want to eliminate those positions. The district gets to charge the government an “override” on them. You know, to pay for facilities, Dr. Smith’s rarified expertise, and so forth.

There’s that profit center.

In contrast, teachers are pure burden. *Their* jobs are the ones which need to go.

Tony Smith makes a good income; you’re welcome. There’s no good reason why he — and so many like him — shouldn’t have to pay $15,000 per year for each of his kids to attend OUSD.

And yet, when you bring up the point, opponents stand ready to accuse you of being some sort of heartless lunatic. Then they’ll tell you that the solution is a “temporary” sales tax increase on the working poor and middle class.

Right.

Once again we see public education working for the interests of the 1%.

OUSD needs to stop trying to walk the tight rope and stand up to the Feds, joining teachers and their families. Yes, they do not approve many charters and they are actually fairly good at closing bad (or criminal) schools. But that’s all they do, they do go up against Daddy.

–What would the $ saved equal if OUSD were to bring Central Admin costs below the 50%(?) required by State to avoid $ penalties from the State?

I want $ to understand and help us know where that puts us. Not general mud slinging and name calling.

–On the flip side has Tony Smith or staff ever given a reasonable explanation of why the high admin costs r necessary? I’ve not heard one and this issue ain’t going away until he’s responsive. There might b a perfectly good reason but just ignoring the issue isn’t helping anyone.

–Re. Charters, I agree. However I’ve also heard OUSD complain about how Charters drain money from the City and the cost formulations required from the State aren’t enought to offset OUSD costs. OUSD and the OEA r in agreement here.

My read is It’s not OUSD driving Charters, it’s the State. & there’s plenty of times OUSD has opposed renewing Charters but the County BOE overrules them. What’s up w/that?

On this issue OUSD needs our help in taking the battle to the Alameda County BOE. Not just flinging misplaced blanket accusations at a dart board named Tony Smith.

See previous post.

Every constituency — unions, LGBT, vendors, footballm etc, needs to be bought off.

What kids actually learn in the classroom — which is supposed to be public education’s prime directive — is LAST in line.

If it’s even there at all.

Once again we see public education exposed as a purely *political* institution.

The question regarding which schools to close (keep open) is one to be answered by politicians for political purposes. That is, influenced by which:

neighborhoods hold the most political power
schools are most/least beneficial to the unions/vendors
schools generate the most money from Sac/DC

That a certain school might be more convenient to the “customers” it purports to serve hardly matters.

Once again we see government contractors plying their craft.

This is why the GOP fight for more “outsourcing” (money to their friends at the expense of public unions) is NOT the taxpayer’s fight.

It makes little difference to taxpayers whether their money is wasted on teachers or vendors.

Posting #38 you wax regarding your philosophy that government shouldn’t grant territorial monopolies.

But, you didn’t address the reality that until your vision of how the world should work arrives, the world operates with government allocating monopoly rights to private corporations such as COMCAST cable.

Livegreen followed your posting with the question of how will schools be kept open and solve OUSD’s budget problems.

Wouldn’t getting COMCAST to live up to its agreement that established its monopoly have a positive impact on the District budget? Maybe it would or maybe wouldn’t.

I can see how someone concerned with political philosophy; and with little concern about the details of holding COMCAST’s feet to the fire and having them live up to their agreement that established their monopoly in Oakland, could care less if OUSD or COMCAST’s interest is served.

But, I don’t understand why Superintendent Smith, and the Oakland School Board members, wouldn’t demand full disclosure of the COMCAST deal; and, furthermore would want to see that OUSD got all it was promised when COMCAST got its Oakland cable monopoly. A power such as COMCAST isn’t living up to its commitment to OUSD unless a strong demand is made. And, a famous quote defines the situation with COMCAST:

“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.”
Frederick Douglass

Jim Mordecai