Lets do the math...

 

 

"It is almost like there is a money tree somewhere..."

Looking for a job? Dissatisfied with your present job? Looking for more money - I mean quite a bit more money? Consider education. Not just as a teacher, but as the boss - the superintendent. Fortunately for us, we live in a state which has lots and lots of opportunities to work as a school superintendent. How many? In Minnesota we have 339 independent school districts.

With just over 800,000 students in Minnesota enrolled in these 339 school districts, the average school district has less than 2,500 K-12 students. Most of these superintendents make over $100,000/year, have great benefits, and a highly paid staff. If you count up the number of dollars spent on these hundreds of superintendents and their staffs, the number is staggering.

Lets look at another state. Texas has three times the area of Minnesota and five times the number of K-12 students. However, the number of school districts is less than three times as much as in Minnesota. Why do we need so many school districts? In these days of "scarce" education dollars, would it not make more sense to consolidate and reduce some school districts?

The sad part is this. If each of our 339 districts were autonomous, a case could be made to have that many. Not a good case, but a case. However, most districts spend quite of bit time and resources trying to understand and interpret the myriad of statutes, regulations, requirements, and so forth that come down from both the Federal Department of Education and the Minnesota Department of Education. In addition, throw in the requirements which come from Congress that are "over and above" costs to educating our young (free and reduced lunches for example).

What is the problem with education today? Besides dumbing down our curriculum and shortening the amount of time students spend in school, we spend a ton of money just "feeding the beast". I am bored to death with the status quo in public education - it is expensive and does not work very well. I am interested in radical new ideas and solutions. Get rid of the Federal Department of Education - it serves no purpose. Reduce the size of the Minnesota Department of Education. Consolidate the number of districts so Minnesota has no more than 100. 

You want change? Demand change. Are you tired of the status quo? Demand change. You want less money spent and still getting better results in education? Demand change. You want more of the same? Keep voting for the same bunch of clowns that brought us this mess in the first place.