Come Spring: Of Shabby Schools, Job Hunt and Cold Dreary Weather
Today is most un-Spring like. Cold and dreary. More like a late November day. I am sitting and sending out resumes. The modern automated systems are annoying to say the least. You put in your info, press a button and hope for the best. I've been chasing a couple of inside channels but no payoff yet.
I am also sitting and waiting for the phone to ring. I have calls out concerning Kid 2 and calls out for various stories I'm working/thinking of working. School board meeting tonight so I will be able to corner a few folks. I heard an interesting figure at the last meeting. Someone blithely allowed that the schools currently need about $17 million in facilities maintenance. Ulp. Talked to the BizWhiz Mini Superintendent and it's more like $12 million when you only take into consideration 'urgent' repairs.
The school is gorgeous from the outside and rather deshabille inside. Broken blinds, scarred and punctured ceiling tiles, etc. Small stuff but so out of kilter compared to the houses most of the kids come from. Not sure why that bothers me so much. I guess it seems to reflect a lack of attention as well as a lack of money. The outside is all flagstone and arches with a slate roof. Apparently the maintenance budget has been cut to very little over the years. Maybe it's the notion that the folks in charge think things are okay as long as the outside looks great. That somehow it doesn't matter what shape the inside of the building is in? Same with the curriculum over the last decade and the emphasis on test scores. Very mediocre curriculum in grades K-8 and as a result meaningless test scores. That's changing now with the national Core Curriculum. I'm glad my kids will be done soon.
I am also sitting and waiting for the phone to ring. I have calls out concerning Kid 2 and calls out for various stories I'm working/thinking of working. School board meeting tonight so I will be able to corner a few folks. I heard an interesting figure at the last meeting. Someone blithely allowed that the schools currently need about $17 million in facilities maintenance. Ulp. Talked to the BizWhiz Mini Superintendent and it's more like $12 million when you only take into consideration 'urgent' repairs.
The school is gorgeous from the outside and rather deshabille inside. Broken blinds, scarred and punctured ceiling tiles, etc. Small stuff but so out of kilter compared to the houses most of the kids come from. Not sure why that bothers me so much. I guess it seems to reflect a lack of attention as well as a lack of money. The outside is all flagstone and arches with a slate roof. Apparently the maintenance budget has been cut to very little over the years. Maybe it's the notion that the folks in charge think things are okay as long as the outside looks great. That somehow it doesn't matter what shape the inside of the building is in? Same with the curriculum over the last decade and the emphasis on test scores. Very mediocre curriculum in grades K-8 and as a result meaningless test scores. That's changing now with the national Core Curriculum. I'm glad my kids will be done soon.
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