I realize that all school systems are short of funds. Teachers have lost a lot of money due to furlough days. Programs are cut. Classes do not have resources. There just seems to be no money.
Or is there?
I am currently enrolled in classes to become Gifted certified. This means that I have learned how to better service students that qualify as gifted students. These students are usually highly intelligent and test well. All schools have a Gifted Program. It's required by Federal Law under ADA. These students are supposed to receive services like advance studies and extra curricular activities to keep them challenged. Although I am learning how to better accommodate these students, I am also gathering valuable insight on how the system uses money gathered by students.
First off, did you know your child's enrollment in public school helps the school get money? This applies to all grade levels from kindergarten to 12th grade. If your child is a regular child, they bring in approximately $2,000 for the school system. So, of course, the larger the school, the more money is brought in from the state. However, if your child is classified as gifted, that amount doubles. Instead of $2,000, they bring in approximately $4,000. This is also one school in a system of several schools. So what does that mean?
So what does that mean?
A teacher has 145 students total. Out of those 145, 105 are not labeled. These students bring in $210,000. The other 40 are labeled Gifted. They bring in $160,000. That's $370,000. These numbers represent one teacher. If these numbers are consistent, think about if there were 33 teachers in the school. $12,210,000. These numbers do reflect a small school. Of course, a larger school would bring in more.
Granted, there are a lot of costs in running a school. There are also many more means of how the school accumulates funding.
But where is the money? If there is this much money coming in just from student enrollment, why are there no resources available? Why are teachers taking the hit and losing money? Where is the money being distributed? It's not at the classroom level, or even at the school level.
Parents need to question where this money is going. Funding needs to be put back in the classroom and back into teacher's pockets where it belongs. Your child should have the benefits of the money they help bring into the classroom.
