[Dixielandjazz] Re: Dixieland Youth Band Festival - CONTRTIBUTIONS FOR?

[TCASHWIGG at aol.com]

I was not going to post this on the list for not wanting to get into 
political shouting match and get the list upset, but Russ wrote back and persuaded me 
to do it, 

The Devil didn't make me do it Russ did, so if it upsets anyone write to him 
not me to bitch about it.  :))

Cheers,

Tom Wiggins   (off to the high school car wash) and signing up for 200 
magazine subscriptions, and buying a $100.00 worth of stale candy to support the 
poor little rich kids in my neighborhood learning about how to become used for 
the profits of others doing good and wonderful things for kids.  If the kids are 
lucky they get $.50 for selling a $2.00 bar of candy, or $.50  for every 
magazine they con someone into subscribing for at three times what you can get the 
damned magazine subscription for online by yourself.


In a message dated 3/5/05 8:08:10 AM Pacific Standard Time, 
russg at redshift.com writes:

> Hi Russ: 
> 
> Having lived here most of my life and actually worked for six years for our 
> wonderful school system I would like to chime in and say that they do have 
> the money, they just are too incompetent to use it correctly, when our state 
> touts that 80% of our taxes go to the school system and they still cry poor 
> mouth every year and beg for more and more tax increases and special funding 
> taxes on top of what they already got.  Something needs to be drastically 
> overhauled in the system from the TOP down.  It is not the fault of the Teachers, 
> who try desperately to do their job and for the most part do a fantastic job 
> at it. 
> 
> If the administration folks would just get out of politics and leave them 
> alone they could do it just fine.  I for one Californian am tired of paying 
> more and more every year to see it wasted or being siphoned off into some 
> politicians pockets instead of going to real education benefits for those it was 
> intended to benefit. 
> 
> I live right behind the second highest rated High School in the state, they 
> just last year completed two state of the art performing arts theaters on the 
> campus, as well as a brand new state of the art athletic field, and a state 
> of the art Track and field area with lights that rival the Oakland Coliseum 
> so they can have night games.  They also tore down the auto and wood shops in 
> November and are constructing brand new ones three times as big and with 
> state of the art equipment as well.  Oh yes and Two brand new Basketball 
> gymnasiums.  But they have no money for music programs. 
> 
> The classrooms however look like W.W.2. Quanset Huts 
> 
> Why because the parents feel like their kids have a better opportunity to 
> grow up and be a Sports star rather than a low paid musician.  Or maybe get an 
> Oscar for performing in the local Performing arts theaters, of which we have 
> two that were renovated for several million more dollars and remain usually 
> closed and not in use.  One on a campus that does not even any longer have a 
> school program, just a decaying group of class rooms and weed blooming 
> athletic fields. 
> 
> The problem is that we older folks who live in this community have NO 
> children in the schools and the folks who do have kids in the schools are younger 
> generation folks who moved here from out of the area because our academic 
> program is so good and now they want to drive up the costs to all the older 
> residents to support their sports related agendas for their kids. 
> 
> After all Clint Eastwood &Tom Hanks came from here right, maybe one of our 
> kids will be the next one. 
>  
> 
> I have watched my substantial property tax bill triple, as well as my local 
> utility bills, yet the teachers are still making the same wages they made 
> four or five years ago, but the administration folks are living like CEOs. 
>  
> 
> They are big on cutting the budgets by laying off teachers, and janitors, 
> etc., and saving 5% of the budget, then patting themselves on the back for 
> doing it and giving themselves an across the board raises for the next two or 
> three year of 10% to 15%  which more than wipes out any savings they made from 
> cutting teachers, and  music programs, and only furthers to drive up the 
> annual costs of operating the schools. 
> 
> Now don't even get me started about the bevy of new Libraries they have been 
> funding and building for the past ten or fifteen years, that hardly anyone 
> goes to but they think they need to have one in every city, I say why not just 
> use the ones that are readily available on EVERY Campus already, and if you 
> really need to go to a really BIG one you can take a fifteen minute or thirty 
> minute train or bus ride to Downtown Oakland, or San Francisco and visit 
> world class libraries.  But not necessary since every high school kid in our 
> town has a car or an SUV to drive themselves there. 
> 
> Enough is enough already.  It is simply a matter of priorities not the 
> availability of money. 
>  
> 
> Cheers, 
> 
> Tom Wiggins 
> 
>