The Corner

School Budgets

Several supporting posts from taxpayers.

—Reader A: “I have worked as a supplier to government institutions for

years. Let’s say the maintenance department has a budget of $100,000 a year,

but they only spend $30,000. Next year’s budget will be $30,000. That’s a

great system, for me as someone who supplies the schools with heating

equipment because at the end of the year they will just buy to maintain the

budget. My question is always, ‘What is the incentive for being fiscally

responsible?’ Answer – less of a budget. The wonderful leviathan at work.”

—Reader B: “When taxpayers [in my district] demanded more AP high school

courses to justify bigger budgets (we were sick of funding new fields, gyms,

sports programs), the number quickly jumped from 6 to 20. Well, guess what.

Only 30% of the students who take the AP courses are passing them! Don’t

know if the problem is stupid kids, stupid teachers, or a little of both.

But there is no accountability whatsoever. The school website brags about

the 20 courses, but does not reveal the success rate. When I publicly asked

for the data at an 8th grade parents’ informational meeting, I got quizzical

looks, shrugs, and this answer: ‘Most pass.’ A few minutes of Internet

searching and I had caught them in a lie.”

I’m going to continue voting down any and all local spending proposals every

chance I get. You’ll cut school buses? I have a car. You’ll cut police?

I have guns.

The only way to kill municipal socialism is to starve it to death.

John Derbyshire — Mr. Derbyshire is a former contributing editor of National Review.
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