Commentary: Mooney's Class
Antelope Valley Press
Edward Mooney, Jr.
September 19, 2005

Title: Teacher Training, Lesson 1

"Welcome to basic teacher training. We have a lot to cover in this course.
Before we begin we need to address fallacies held about public schools." The
instructor adjusted his glasses.

"Professor?" A woman raised her hand.

"Yes?" The man looked up from his notes.

"I'm observing this class - my friend," the woman gestures to her left, "and I
always argue about this point. I feel that the opposite is true - educators
manipulate data to mislead the public."

"I see. Can you give me an example of such manipulation?" The professor
settled into his chair.

"Well, they're always complaining that California schools are number 48, or
something like that, in funding per student. I heard our Senator George Runner
clearly state that public schools receive around $10,000 per student. Teachers
say it's around $7,000. Of course it's to their advantage to claim poverty."

"It's interesting that you mention this. Let's deal with facts, shall we? Maybe
some raw numbers will allow us to understand this." The professor walked over
to his whiteboard.

"Before you begin, where did you get these numbers? No offense intended, but I
figure you're biased. Teachers are your clients." The woman shrugged.

"No offense taken. Let's pull emotion out of this. I worked with David Vierra,
of the Antelope Valley High School District, and Jack Gyves, of Palmdale
schools, about their budgets for last year. So, I'll use publicly available
real numbers on file with the State of California. Are those acceptable to
you?"

"If they were reported to the state then they have to be verifiable." The woman
nodded.

"Good. Here they are. At the high school district, the budget, from all income
sources, for last school year, 2004 - 2005, was $162,587,661." The professor
turned from writing the number on the board.

"Okay." The woman nodded.

"Fine. Now, they certified to the state that they served 20,544.82 students."

"Point 82 students? What's that?"

"School districts don't get paid when kids are absent. That's another way
schools get dinged - yet they have little control over that. Anyway, let's do
some math. Divide the total monies by the total number of students. Anyone
have a calculator?" Three students raised their hands.

"Good. So, how much was received in the high school district last year?"

"That's $7,913.80, rounded," a young man answered.

"Maybe they're low," the visitor exclaimed.

"Let's do the same with the Palmdale schools. They took in $144,689,215. They
serviced 22,838 students. What's the amount per student?"

"It's even worse! It comes out to $6,335! What's going on?" A lady with a
calculator was confused.

"Elementary districts get less - high schools have more diverse expenses."

"Wait a minute! Are you telling me that $7,913 is the high end?" The visitor
asked.

"Well, some districts get a few dollars more, but it's in the ball park. We*re
48th in the United States." The professor answered.

"So, why does Senator Runner claim that districts get much more?"

"I'm not sure. You'll have to ask him. Maybe he didn't say that. Maybe they're
voting $10,000 per student up in Sacramento but that's not what's getting to
the school districts."

"Maybe you're not using other funds!"

"Nope. These monies are what the districts reported as ALL funds from ALL
sources, even interest from savings accounts." The professor returned to his
seat.

"My kids are in local schools. What's going on? How can you explain the
discrepancy?" The woman was getting angrier.

"I didn't know I had to. I'm using publicly available accounting data. I think
we need to ask where Senator Runner gets his numbers, if he really said that."

"Maybe you're not using construction monies!"

"We're talking operating budgets. If we include those funds, we REALLY drop
compared to other states. It's well documented that we spend less money on new
schools per capita than just about any other state. The recent RAND report
backs me up."

"Something smells here. Why doesn't someone investigate this discrepancy? It
seems that about $3,000 per student would add up to a mountain of cash! Where
is it?"

"Getting that to the districts would sure solve California's school funding
problems!" The professor nodded.

Thought for the Week: "In a time of tight budgets, difficult choices have to be
made. We must make sure our very limited resources are spent on priorities. I
believe we should have no higher priority than investing in our children's
classrooms and in their future."
- Bob Riley

Edward Mooney, Jr., of Palmdale, is a teacher at Quartz Hill High School and
the author of the novels "The Pearls of the Stone Man" and "The Journey of
the Stone Man".