Here is a low-income school in Tampa that put out a public appeal for books. It needs $3,000 for books.

The superintendent makes $263,000 a year.

Categories Florida

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Arthur Goldstein says:

May 26, 2013 at 3:09 pm

In fairness to the superintendent, you can hardly buy a house for 263K anymore. Unless you live somewhere like Florida, of course.

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- nancy grzybowski says:
  
  May 27, 2013 at 12:29 pm
  
  So, the teachers and kids are supposed to live where? In the streets, perhaps.
  
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  - Duane Swacker says:
    
    May 27, 2013 at 1:07 pm
    
    Tongue in cheek was AG!
    
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stsmith222 says:

May 26, 2013 at 3:12 pm

I don’t blame the superintendent, I blame the state legislature for not adequately funding our public schools. And I blame Bill Gates for pouring millions into this particular school district to set up an “accountability” system while school libraries aren’t properly supplied with books. This is so infuriating.

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- Don says:
  
  May 26, 2013 at 9:59 pm
  
  That is what is wrong! ETHICS! I do blame her along with every single other administrator who accepts the status quo! We are all responsible for this mess! We all bear responsibility!
  
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  - Duane Swacker says:
    
    May 27, 2013 at 1:11 pm
    
    If by “we” you mean yourself as an administrator and the other administrators then fine. But if the “we” means all who comment here and all those who teach you are dead wrong. I’m certainly not part of that “we”. Some of us have been fighting this “data driven” crap and educational malpractices such as inadequate funding since before NCLB and have paid the price of being forced out of positions. And I’m not alone in that aspect.
    
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tuppercooks says:

May 26, 2013 at 3:13 pm

263 grand? Normally I’d rant, I’m speechless.

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Ellen Lubic says:

May 26, 2013 at 3:20 pm

Please remember Jeb Bush was governor…and the current whackadoodle whom they elected as governor now. It starts as ‘stsmith’ says above, with the State Legislature and what their priorities are in funding public education in the state budget.

Many school districts across the US have this same need for not only library books, but also text books, mainly in the inner cities. In California, many school libraries are only a memory…cut by the Legislatures and the stream of poor leadership. Fortunately we still have an excellent public library system…and this Florida school hopefully will use their public library to enrich their starved programs.

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Middle school teacher says:

May 26, 2013 at 3:45 pm

Here in Connecticut, our district decided to save money by cutting the number of elementary and middle school library aides in half. Now these aides are shared by schools. School libraries are only open every other day. There is talk about reinstating some of these positions, but keeping the hours at a low weekly total so that benefits would not be paid. What is the message to kids? This place is not important. The activity it supports — independently selecting and reading books — is not important.

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- cindy0803 says:
  
  May 26, 2013 at 4:44 pm
  
  Totally agree. Librarians are as important as teachers (my opinion) and we’ve basically eliminated them from schools.
  
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  - Louisiana Purchase says:
    
    May 26, 2013 at 5:50 pm
    
    The school district neighboring me has cut ALL librarians and reading specialists. It’s ridiculous.
    
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- Ms. Cartwheel Librarian says:
  
  May 26, 2013 at 7:47 pm
  
  Library aides, not certified librarians? The message here is not just that the place is not important but that children are not important. As I read blog post after blog post all I get from the posts is that children are no longer important. They might as well be rats in a laboratory. They are there for data, data, data. They are tested over and over again without any regard for what it is doing to them.
  
  While the original post has a librarian (media director) asking for $3000 for books that are current and relevant this is not at all unususal. I know librarians who have to raise all of the money for books in their school libraries and I spend my own money for books. It is common in education. Classroom teachers do the same thing. We all want our students to have what they need. It’s a shame that children are so undervalued in our society.
  
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  - Middle school teacher says:
    
    May 26, 2013 at 9:16 pm
    
    You are right, Ms. Librarian. As to why we have aides, not certified librarians, that was a cost-cutting measure as well. It has been more than 15 years since we had certified librarians. To Louisiana Purchase, our reading specialists were eliminated as well. To Cindy0803, I agree that librarians are as important as teachers. I see them bond with children over books, make suggestions that ensnare the most reluctant readers, and thrill avid readers by getting copies of the most popular series. They change lives.
    
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Mary Dooms says:

May 26, 2013 at 3:48 pm

What’s even sadder is the sup was a reading resource specialist. http://www.sdhc.k12.fl.us/Superintendent/bio.asp

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- LD says:
  
  May 26, 2013 at 10:48 pm
  
  “In 2011, she received the College Board’s District of the Year Beacon Award and was recognized with the Florida Department of Education’s Data Leader of the Year award for leading the way in using education data to drive student improvement” WTF? The College Board gave her an award after she bought their SpringBoard program and books for a bazillion $? Huh?
  
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stsmith222 says:

May 26, 2013 at 3:53 pm

In defense of the school superintendent, she’s leading the 8th largest school district in the country. It’s not so much that she is overpaid, it’s that the entire public school system is underfunded, including teachers’ salaries.

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- tuppercooks says:
  
  May 26, 2013 at 4:17 pm
  
  “In defense of the school superintendent”…….
  
  Seriously? You can’t fix stupid and you can’t defend it.
  
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  - cindy0803 says:
    
    May 26, 2013 at 4:46 pm
    
    Tuppercooks,
    
    What would be a fair salary for someone leading the 8th largest district in the country (I’m assuming that figure is accurate)?
    
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  - tuppercooks says:
    
    May 26, 2013 at 4:49 pm
    
    cindy0803- I’d say 145,000 , based on experience. There are 24 hours in a day, and those that make a 1/4 million aren’t any more valuable then those making 100 grand. This isn’t the NBA or NFL, we’re talking kids.
    
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F wood says:

May 26, 2013 at 4:28 pm

does anyone see the dystopian signs here? Gates pushing common core and technology and the sloww death of the libraries and the disappearance of books.
how many administrators are there in this moshpit where they are short 3k for books? how much has been spent to rearrange and train for common core? why is Jeb Bush in favor of soviet style education? common core aligns American education to global interests instead of the interests of American children. Classical Education,that which all on this forum received is the answer, dumping Duncan and all the consultants and their edutrends and the ancillary profiteers is a start. for every consultant pushing common core there are schools that do not get books, piano lessons or art classes. common core is toxic and the death knell for liberty, individuality and the pursuit of happiness.

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- Ellen Lubic says:
  
  May 26, 2013 at 6:19 pm
  
  Excellent points Fwood…to look at the complete picture, not just education, and to review our political and economic history since the 60s, there is endless evidence of this planned and carefully orchestrated overhaul of our democratic republic. It is now all firmly in the hands of Wall Street and we are all only commodities to be bought and sold.
  
  When Obama, who was our great hope for change, appoints a hedge fund manager, Duncan, to oversee national education when he clearly failed in this role in Chicago, and looking at the blatant way this ostensibly progressive Prez has surrounded himself with the biggest of the Wall Street deregulators (Geithner, Rubin, Summers, Orszag, Immelt, et al) we cannot be ostriches and say it is not a full scale attack of the 1% on all the rest of us.
  
  Education is only part of this planned free market push.
  
  The Kochs are starting their own colleges to train their entrepreneurs, and they, along with Rupert Murdoch who owns most of the media worldwide, will own the entire US media soon so that there is no longer the bastion of our free society, the free press. The Broad Foundation and Academy has been existence officially since 2000, but Eli headed in this direction much earlier. His Mission Statement tells exactly what he intended to do with education, and he has implemented his plan. The Waltons, the worst and greediest employers in America are huge players in this on schluss.
  
  Adam Smith and the Invisible Hand theory is now small potatoes in this oligarchic war which has killed off the Middle Class and is finishing off the union movement so at least 90% of us will work for meager wages and do as we are ordered.
  
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- DeeDee says:
  
  May 27, 2013 at 2:11 pm
  
  I totally agree. I think he wants to destroy the library with books and replace them with online junk. It makes me sick that a few people with money are bullying the rest of America and our politicians are so bought out that they are going along with it. Many charters don’t even have libraries. It is a crime.
  
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tuppercooks says:

May 26, 2013 at 4:53 pm

Where is Bill Gates? C’mon Bill we know you read this. Chime in will ya?

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Puget Sound Parent says:

May 26, 2013 at 5:01 pm

It’s kind of obvious what the intent is here. What’s happening to this one school in Tampa, is, or will be, the story of all schools, everywhere in the United States—unless we citizens prevent it.

This is really a story about every public school and library in the country. But it’s fundamentally about access to educational content, and all information in a free society, and who will decide what and how our children will learn.

And, it’s about Rupert Murdoch’s next plan to expand his Fox Empire. He, like many others, sees our schools as a “market”, and our children as “customers”, all paid for courtesy of our taxes. It’s repulsive.

As in many districts all over the country, the people in power want to defund libraries with the objective of then forcing them into an “electronic alternative”, forcing school kids and their families, and/or the school district to shell out tons of money to companies like the Fox “News” division, headed by the sleazy Joel Klein—who Rupert Murdoch pays $2 million + per year—that is pushing their so-called “electronic learning device” that can supposedly replace all books and allow for bigger classes and thus fewer teachers.

And, at a price for this gizmo ranging between $299 and $450 PLUS a YEARLY $99 subscription fee, per student, in all 50 states, guaranteed by the taxes meant for our schools, you can see why some Wall Street sharks are salivating.

I don’t like any private company—but especially not Fox “News”— controlling all educational content and access for our K-12 students.

(Even conservative Mormons are concerned by all of this:)
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865575439/The-Amplify-tablet-K-12-educations-future-or-News-Corps-cash-cow.html?pg=all

When ALL content goes “electronic” and access to that content is controlled by a handful of private elites—like Rupert Murdoch and his hired lackey, Joel Klein—it’s a real-life “1984” nightmare unfolding before our eyes.

So, tragic as this story of the school in Tampa, begging for books truly is, it’s part of a much larger and more dangerous story.

It’s the story of a nightmarish future in which possibly all information, and access to that information, is controlled by a small group of the Mega Wealthy Elite and their army of “mere millionaire” functionaries.

Our public schools and libraries are the most critical battlefields: if we win there, we’ll still have a chance for the future of our children and their great grandchildren. If we lose, it could be the next step to the road that leads to Big Brother.

Please spread the word on this. Whether you’re progressive, conservative, moderate or anything else, no one wants their child’s education, and their own access to information, to be controlled by a small number of private interests.

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- Linda says:
  
  May 26, 2013 at 7:29 pm
  
  Here they are, Joel and Rupert; they’re willing to WATCH your children…who needs teachers?
  
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Michael Weston says:

May 26, 2013 at 6:01 pm

Please allow me to fine-tune the description of our Superintendent’s salary. I am looking at her contract.

On top of annual salary:

15% of ALL gross annual salary compensation paid to a 401a, 403b or 457b type plan. This is ON TOP of her Florida Retirement system vesting.

Two years.post employment health insurance for every year served as superintendent.

125 per month car allowance.

One million dollar life insurance policy.

60% long-term disability insurance.

$500 per point increase in African American students taking an AP exam (note — it does not say passing)

$500 per point increase in Hispanic students taking an AP exam (note — it does not say passing)

$500 per point increase in students of any flavor taking an AP exam (note — it does not say passing).

**The bonuses keep on going, $500 per point for an increase in this, $750 per point increase in that; for a total of 14 such categories, totaling $8,000 per point if she achieves everything. Only $1500 is dependent on success.

$200 per school achieving AYP. With more than 200 schools, this can be a bundle.

$100 per “A” school.

….and some other miscellaneous stuff….

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- M. Schneider says:
  
  May 26, 2013 at 6:28 pm
  
  How privatization works: Objectify people. Reduce lower-level humans to numbers and put price tags on those numbers. Forget that they’re people. This helps the one benefitting from the objectifying to sleep at night.
  
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  - Ellen Lubic says:
    
    May 26, 2013 at 7:03 pm
    
    This is how corporations work in their business models. Looking at Big Pharma, they know that a certain number of people will die from some meds, but they build into their budgeting payoffs for the collateral damage.
    
    As with drones and warfare, students, citizens, all just collateral damage.
    
    Ugh! Let’s go eat hot dogs and drink a beer…happy Memorial Day.
    
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  - KrazyTA says:
    
    May 26, 2013 at 7:31 pm
    
    M. Schneider: and consider how the very act of measuring people down to a number and benefitting from those numbers affects those doing the objectifying. It can drain the humanity out of one’s judgment of such an intensely human experience as teaching and learning. Preposterous? Consider the following two vile statements concerning the closing of a school in the first instance and the firing of a competent principal in the second, based decisively or in large part on ‘bad’ numbers.
    
    A), Sarah Potter of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Second Education: “We were really forced to do this.”
    
    Link: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/16/4240048/state-forcing-gordon-parks-elementary.html
    
    B), Richard Vladovic, LAUSD board, “Basically we had no choice.”
    
    Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-weigand-20130525,0,1229089,full.story
    
    It is a whole lot easier to engage in bloodletting when it’s not your blood and the blood doesn’t get on your own hands, and you can casually wish it away because it all seems so abstract and mathematical.
    
    But the edufrauds and their accountably underlings aren’t the only ones who know a thing or two about math. For example, they bank on their numbers [e.g., of $tudent $ucce$$, political connections, friendly media forums, celebrity ratings] to give them a decisive edge. What they can’t seem to compute is that in the hands of ethical numbers/stats persons, figures can serve completely different purposes.
    
    Thank you again for using your powers for good. We’re listening and reading. It’s making a difference.
    
    🙂
    
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- Duane Swacker says:
  
  May 27, 2013 at 2:52 pm
  
  Wow! That contract is truly frightening.
  
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Cee Mor says:

May 26, 2013 at 8:14 pm

Get info-graphic/cartoon about education in American http://www.sooofun.com/wtf-is-wrong-with-americans/

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Don says:

May 26, 2013 at 10:00 pm

Diane, can you compare the $ spent by communities on trrrrism prevention (Homeland Security) vs. school spending?

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- teachingeconomist says:
  
  May 26, 2013 at 10:52 pm
  
  We spend over ten times as much on K-12 public education than we spend on the department of homeland security.
  
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  - Don says:
    
    May 26, 2013 at 11:39 pm
    
    I guess what I meant was we seem to find money for such things, especially at the local level when there is never any extra money for schools… thanks for helping me re-phrase it… 🙂
    
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  - Chris says:
    
    May 27, 2013 at 8:05 am
    
    Woops! FACT CHECK!
    
    US Dept. of Homeland Security budget request, FY 2012 $57.0 billion
    
    US Department of Homeland Security:
    
    http://www.dhs.gov/dhs-budget
    
    US Department of Education budget request, FY 2012 (estimate) $77.4 billion.
    
    There are 98.4 million students in US public schools.
    
    US Department of Education:
    
    http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget12/summary/edlite-section1.html
    
    Now you, after all, are a TEACHING economist, so you might have different math than I do, but that is not 10 times as much.
    
    But then again you might be including the money that states budget in your pronouncement, which would be comparing apples to oranges, since states don’t have departments of homeland security to pay for. They have police departments, fire departments, first responders, etc.
    
    And what do we spend on defense you might ask?
    
    US Dept. of Defense budget request, FY 2012 $671 billion. Now that is close to ten times as much as we spend on education, isn’t it?
    
    US Department of Defense:
    
    http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=14263
    
    Perhaps your argument is that there are more terrorists and security threats than there are students and teachers in US public schools?
    
    I’m not really clear on the point you think you are making.
    
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  - teachingeconomist says:
    
    May 27, 2013 at 8:50 am
    
    The latest figure for total spending on K-12 public education I could find is for 2008-9. It is a little over $610 billion. No doubt it is a bit higher now.
    
    The numbers can be found here: http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d11/tables/dt11_188.asp
    
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  - Chris says:
    
    May 27, 2013 at 11:23 am
    
    So you admit that you are comparing apples to oranges. Good. The total expenditures on school spending in the National Educational Statistics Digest includes all spending by all states on all forms of education. The Department of Homeland Security is a federal entity and does not include the expenditures for the Justice Department, the FBI, the CIA, and the enormous Department of Defense budgets, all of which are purported to ensure the security of the homeland. Again, I ask what your point is supposed to be?
    
    Just throwing out a specious statement that “we spend over ten times as much on K-12 public education than we spend on the department of homeland security” doesn’t actually prove anything, does it? Maybe we value our children and their education more than we value surrendering our civil rights to buy a false sense of safety?
    
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  - teachingeconomist says:
    
    May 27, 2013 at 11:26 am
    
    The poster asked for a comparison of spending on schools to spending on homeland security. I was comparing dollars to dollars.
    
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George Buzzetti says:

May 26, 2013 at 11:01 pm

I was recently in Fresno for a gathering of the Arts in Schools educators of California and the recently retired Fresno Superintendent of Schools gave up $800,000 of his personal income and benefits to keep arts and anti-bullying programs in the Fresno County Schools. If you want to see some of the results of this go onto George1la and you can watch. This superintendent of just a school district obviously has his priorities crooked in his head as does the Board of Education. I busted just this at LAUSD. I discovered that for 10 years they budgeted and did not spend on textbooks and instructional materials and supplies which are two different line items $250,000,000/year for a grand total of $2.5 billion. Sounds like the same thing here. As I always say a good look at the budget through 5-10 years will reveal amazing things to those who know what they are looking at. If you do not know the budget they can do anything they want to and you will never know the difference. This discovery led to the legislation in California known as Schiff-Bustamente which put an extra $1.5 billion over 3 years into the textbook and instructional material and supply category. Think about if you found something like this in your school districts books. You could make a change. Look into your schools budgets and compare the preliminary, at the beginning of the year, with the audited actuals, which are at the close of the year. This is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak.

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neanderthal100 says:

May 27, 2013 at 7:22 am

Beg for Books?
If it was not for the Staples Discounts, teachers would be flat borke.
They have to beg for everything while the Testing Heirarchy sits in thier cusioned seats on their petukas writing the rules…the teachers have NOTHING!1

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Mary Joslin says:

May 27, 2013 at 11:11 am

Well of course the taxes are low. We get what we pay for and unfortunately we are not stepping up to pay for what we need most. A 21st century education for our children-our future.

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Nora Marie says:

May 27, 2013 at 7:50 pm

Same school district same school featured in a feel good story. http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/hillsborough-starts-early-sinks-resources-into-turnaround-schools/2123209

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Greg Patrenos says:

May 27, 2013 at 8:15 pm

Overpaid CEOs, overpaid District Admin ( who quit being teachers ) They both feel they are indespensable and above us lowly workers who are easily replaced.

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