Scott Anderson
Juda High School math teacher
I want to express my concern of how The Monroe Times researched and wrote the article regarding area school costs based upon a per-pupil average compared to the state average, front page article "6 area schools spent more than average" on Nov. 23.
Sometimes when articles are written about how dollars are spent, it needs to dig deeper than a simple internet search and a couple of quick calls for comments.
The question that the article really needs to touch upon is why are the costs above average? And that question quickly leads to the following question, "Do we want to give up community schools?"
If we are simply going to measure a school on its cost per pupil, we are taking an industry approach to non-industry situation. If we simply want the lowest cost alternative, we should simply have one high school in Green County, using the simple economy of scale approach. Yet, as we all know that would be the first and final step in many communities losing their identity.
This article simply inflames the idea that schools above the average cost are being wasteful or not delivering the value they should. And by accusing a school of costing too much, you accuse the staff of costing too much. Yet the simple question is what does the staff at a smaller school make compared to their larger school peers. You will find the teachers at these districts on average make substantially less.
There is cost to maintaining local schools with local control and everyone at these smaller communities needs to realize that is the trade off for smaller schools. As a teacher, I find this article simply too shallow. At Juda, where I work, we do an excellent job at delivering a top-notch education at unbelievable cost, yet we are above the average.
And I say better above-the-average cost delivering a great education than the alternative.
Juda High School math teacher
I want to express my concern of how The Monroe Times researched and wrote the article regarding area school costs based upon a per-pupil average compared to the state average, front page article "6 area schools spent more than average" on Nov. 23.
Sometimes when articles are written about how dollars are spent, it needs to dig deeper than a simple internet search and a couple of quick calls for comments.
The question that the article really needs to touch upon is why are the costs above average? And that question quickly leads to the following question, "Do we want to give up community schools?"
If we are simply going to measure a school on its cost per pupil, we are taking an industry approach to non-industry situation. If we simply want the lowest cost alternative, we should simply have one high school in Green County, using the simple economy of scale approach. Yet, as we all know that would be the first and final step in many communities losing their identity.
This article simply inflames the idea that schools above the average cost are being wasteful or not delivering the value they should. And by accusing a school of costing too much, you accuse the staff of costing too much. Yet the simple question is what does the staff at a smaller school make compared to their larger school peers. You will find the teachers at these districts on average make substantially less.
There is cost to maintaining local schools with local control and everyone at these smaller communities needs to realize that is the trade off for smaller schools. As a teacher, I find this article simply too shallow. At Juda, where I work, we do an excellent job at delivering a top-notch education at unbelievable cost, yet we are above the average.
And I say better above-the-average cost delivering a great education than the alternative.
