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Common Dreams reports
Colorado's teachers' union expects more than 400 teachers at a rally that's planned for Monday at the state's Capitol in Denver.
[...] Englewood School District, outside the capital city, announced on Sunday that schools would be closed the following day as 70 percent of its teachers had indicated they wouldn't be working Monday. It was unclear on Sunday whether more school districts would be closing.
"We are calling Monday, April 16th a day of action", Kerrie Dallman, president of the Colorado Education Association (CEA), told KDVR in Denver.
[...] According to[1] KMGH in Denver, "The CEA estimates that teachers spend on average $656 of their own money for school supplies for students." The state's teacher salaries rank 46th out of 50, with educators making an average of $46,000 per year.
Public schools are underfunded by $828 million this year, Dallman told the Post, and lawmakers have said they could inject at least $100 million more into schools--but they have yet to do so.
[...] The planned protest follows a trend that was seen in West Virginia and Kentucky before moving west this month to Oklahoma and Arizona as well as Colorado. In all the states where teachers have walked out and rallied at their Capitols, teachers have reported paying for school supplies out of pocket, working second and third jobs to make ends meet, and coping with funding shortages while their legislators hand out tax cuts to corporations.
[1] For a laugh (or perhaps a deep sigh), check out all the whitespace in the source code of the page.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Monday April 16 2018, @04:27PM (10 children)
Cost of housing is the new caste system - sure, most people with a steady job can afford an average-ish house on a 30 year mortgage, but if you want to move into the "nice" neighborhood with the $700K+ homes, you're either inheriting that money, getting lucky with investments, or in the top 10% of salary earners.
You want to live in Denver and own a 3-2? That market seems to be running median around $350K, so if you squeak by with a $20K down payment, you'll be needing $43,500 annual income to make the .43 ratio on a 30 year 330K mortgage.
Remember voters, your average school board member is elected on a platform of "spend no tax dollar that is not required to be spent, by law." Because, your average voter doesn't have kids in school, nor care about what school does for children and the future.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 16 2018, @04:30PM
True.
And when even the minimum becomes too onerous they move to South Carolina or Kentucky to avoid paying absolutely anything for anyone else's benefit.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Thexalon on Monday April 16 2018, @05:07PM (8 children)
Which is stupid, because I can tell you why I, a childless person, care a great deal about having good public schools: I don't want to live in an ignorant country. I mean, consider how ignorant an average American is, then make it worse.
One thing I fault the Democrats for is rarely making this argument, actually: They usually make their support of the public school system in terms of opportunities for the students, rather than the effect on society as a whole.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Monday April 16 2018, @05:21PM
I entirely agree (and not just on the simple face argument: less education is more stupid.)
Of course, there are exceptions - the Northeast US is pretty good about funding education. I even lived in a neighborhood in Miami that approved a bond issue (voluntary tax) to improve education. Yeah, that happened, once. Even in Alachua (read, backwards backwoods Florida) county, one school board member really believed in "doing the right thing" for the kids and the future; unfortunately, she was outnumbered 6-1 on most issues of substance.
I fault them for just not being all that different from the Republicans on most matters of substance. They talk a slightly more liberal line, but the donkey and the elephant walk about the same.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 16 2018, @08:30PM (3 children)
When I am due $0.45 in change and that comes back mostly in dimes, I wonder if the till is out of quarters or if that cashier is simply weak at basic arithmetic.
When the amount due is $7.37 and I give the cashier $8.12 and she pauses for a moment, confused, I wonder the same thing.
(Those times when she hands back the $0.12 leave no doubt in my mind.)
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 16 2018, @10:30PM
Not everyone is good at instantly performing calculations in their heads, even though they most likely could solve the problem. Also, sometimes people get nervous and can't solve the problem in the most optimal way possible. It's such a stupid nitpick, since there are much more fundamental problems with our school system than churning out people who aren't human computers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 16 2018, @11:44PM (1 child)
Agreeing with the other AC. I'm really good at math/science but not so great if you catch my brain off-guard. Something strange like a person handing me unnecessary change would make my brain pause a sec to figure it out. Next time just add in "a little extra change so you can just give me back quarters" and then they won't waste your precious time wondering what is wrong with you.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 17 2018, @02:33AM
Agree with the other two ACs. When one has a computer to do all one's calculations, one's mental math goes to shit.
I'd like to point out that it's a skill that can be practiced, however. You're always dealing with two positive integers such that: i₁ < 10; i₂ < 10; |i₁ - i₂| = 5. Change counts up in increments of {25, 5, 10, 1}, and bills count up in increments of {20, 10, 5, 1}.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Tuesday April 17 2018, @01:27PM (2 children)
They're more into the future generation comes from demographic replacement via immigration; their voters were educated by the school system in El Salvador not locally.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Tuesday April 17 2018, @03:34PM (1 child)
No, they're more into nice fat checks from Goldman Sachs. They only care about the immigrants insofar as it helps them look good on TV.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Tuesday April 17 2018, @03:59PM
Not disagreeing in an anecdotal sense that is absolutely true, but a significant fraction REALLY don't like white people...