This past week, Q-Line asked: “Does the lack of funding for public education in California concern you? Why or why not?” Here are your responses: ■ “The many California school districts need to sharpen their purchasing skills. All manufacturers have their fleet and volume prices. The way to get the very best volume price is to order a great deal of merchandise at one time. Due to each school district being a dynasty unto itself, it is difficult for these various school districts to combine their purchase order needs to create a large volume purchase. The school districts asking for bids not solve this problem. Bids vary on the basis of quantity. Tough negotiation on a volume purchase deal would guarantee the best price. If the state of California purchases 10,000 buses at one time and distributed those school buses to each school district according to their needs, the fleet price would be a great deal less. This volume price saving remains consistent on every product the school districts purchase. If the school districts would combine their purchasing needs, millions of dollars would be saved annually. The days of free spending are over. Sharp business practices must now prevail.” ■ “As a resident of Santa Monica with a masters degree in education, I would like to suggest that the Board of Education consider substituting the usual school textbooks with the following sources. First is: ‘High School Subjects Self Taught.’ Edited by Lewis Copeland, the 1989 version. Second: ‘How to Help Your Children With Reading Writing and Arithmetic.’ By Freida Van Atta, 1968. No other textbooks. They could keep them for a lifetime.” ■ “I believe that Santa Monica’s financial priority should be education. Instead we spend half a million dollars on really tacky decorations on the Promenade. We need to change our priorities.” ■ “I am and am not concerned about the so-called lack of school funding. The budgets have been traditionally overinflated to begin with. Unnecessarily huge amounts of money have been mismanaged and misused. Full disclosure of all amounts of moneys received by the educators, etc., and how it is used should be public.” ■ “No. It does not. My children have already gone through the public school system, which at that time was beginning to falter. At this particular time, I feel the school districts are in such disarray because there are so many illegal immigrants coming from south of the border.” ■ “Why be concerned? There is no hope as long as California tries to educate all of Mexico and those that are here illegally.” ■ “Of course, the schools need money. They can’t get it from the property tax and parcel taxes. I don’t see why the residents of Santa Monica should be subsidizing the schools of Malibu, which is one of the richest places on earth.” ■ “Education has become a joke in this country, especially in this state. I think it has a lot to do with leadership or a lack thereof. Kids are not expected to perform. I think that has a lot to do with who’s in charge.” ■ “The lack of funding for education does not really concern me. I am more concerned about the lack of education. Learning hardly goes on in out schools. Children are taught to sit still, past tests and follow orders. There is such a disorganized power structure running things. The more I talk to teachers, the more I talk to kids, the less hope I have for this system helping children no matter how much money is poured into it. I don’t know what the answer is, but I don’t believe that the problem is lack of funding.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 28, 2002. Read the original PDF.