Mt. Lebanon School District spokeswoman Cissy Bowman said tissues are among the few items elementary school students are asked to bring at the height of the winter cold season; the district provides most other school supplies. Mt. Lebanon students are expected to provide their own backpacks, binders and, for high school students, graphing calculators, which can cost $100 or more, depending on their complexity.This also follows the Technology Presentation given on Monday evening. See page 15 for "Bring Your Own Technology."
The district's budget for supplies has shrunk year after year, down 2.7 percent in 2011-12 to $1,325,716, said Bowman.
"Our supply budget's gone down; it keeps getting sliced and sliced," she said, but parents haven't been expected to pick up the slack yet. The district has been able to maintain its current system through a favorable contract to buy supplies through Office Depot, Bowman said.
Are we still excited? After all, it's for the children.
Read more: As supply costs rise, school districts conserve, look to parents - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/s_751993.html#ixzz1VWoOkZkd
5 comments:
Notice the subtle announcement... YET!
Sometimes you just have to shake your head in disbelief! Can they really say these things and keep a straight face?
Would someone please remind Ms. Bowman that parents (along with all taxpayers) created ALL the district's revenue in the first place. The district provides nothing, we provide it all!
Her salary, the superintendents, construction money and the $900,000 they plan on using to purchase kitchen equipment separately from the HS renovation comes from the taxpayers wallet at some point.
Doesn't matter if it comes from local revenues, Gov. Corbett or President Obama.
Where does she think the money comes from, the tooth fairy?
Dick Saunders
Oh boo hoo. I went to Catholic school and they provided none of those items for me also. Somehow, I survived, along with my classmates.
God forbid we teach personal responsibility and preparedness. God forbid we teach students where the school budget comes from and how the school board's bad decisions impact the budget.
I'm glad the schools are working hard to raise a new generation of whiners.
Jack, There is no effort in teaching kids to whine; the parents teach that all too well. Sarah Morris
Steve Diaz
It is a species of special taxation to require parents to provide essential school supplies normally provided by the district, especially specialized equipment (I think that our school administration has forgotten that Thomas Jefferson envisioned a "free" and universal public education system controlled by parents and taxpayers). How can the school board say it has money to give a raise to a completely ineffectual superintendent, or for "consultants" in whom the board members themselves say they have no confidence, while denying the students basic academic equipment? It is part and parcel of the false leadership of a school board more intent on exercising power than on educating our children. This community needs to ask the fundamental question: Who is responsible for maintaining the quality of education in this school district? If the answer is all of us (as I believe it to be), then we are responsible for demanding a change in those we hire to manage the district. The members of the school board should all resign (in disgrace) and take their superintendent with them.
Steve Diaz
Anonymous and Jack: The money does ultimately come from all of us, which is why the spendthrift current school board leadership must change as a consequence of mismanagement, incompetence, and political insensitivity---not to mention the overt failure of their own self-declard policies. Instead of spending more money on the unobtainable goal of new buildings and gilt-edged give-aways, the school board should focus on their fiduciary duty to address the substantial deferred maintenance of our common property and minding the free passing around of cash in a manner inconsistent with the primary demands of our also failing academic program. From first to third in lightning speed is not acceptable. The school board members should ALL resign.
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