As we watch the fiscal collapse of Greece, consider that they are about two to three years ahead of The United States in the debt crises–why, because public schools in the United States have been following a “global education” formula that is quite popular with superintendents like Lakota’s Karen Mantia. Watch the video below to see how similar the problems in Greece are to our problems in America over public education.
Carl Rullmann of West Chester should be President of the United States for what he said in regards to the Lakota School System floating the idea of a “permanent improvement” levy in 2013 that public schools all over Ohio are clamoring for due to dwindling state funding sources. Carl said he would not support a permanent improvement levy in the Lakota district. He said school districts should be spending their money more effectively, with the main focus on student learning—what a radical concept! Specifically, he said “As a voter, I wouldn’t support a levy because the schools are in good shape; maintenance is an operating expense not capital. Parents have jumped in and done things when busing was reduced and sports fees were raised. There are plenty of avenues for kids to engage in activities in West Chester. Schools are for education and teaching kids about the Constitution.” Well said Mr. Rullman, well said indeed!
You can read the whole article about this issue from the Pulse Journal which goes into more detail and exemplifies the financial bottomless pit mentality that many of these public education advocates utter.
http://www.pulsejournal.com/news/news/school-districts-delay-capital-projects-amid-shrin/nTczc/
Of course that article features a nice picture of kids playing on a playground designed to appeal to the parents who aren’t much older than the children they send to the school, who have not yet developed an understanding of fiscal awareness—since they barely know how to balance their own check books. But the article wisely discusses how it will be up to parents to come together in PTA groups if they want to pay for things like play grounds, band electives and other extracurricular activities. This sounds like a much better activity for those groups instead of sitting around each other’s dinner tables complaining about me, or camping outside of Kroger stores trying to smear my name publically. They might even lose some weight getting up off their butts—which is good for everyone.
In the past education institutions have allowed private fundraisers to contribute to capital projects in small amounts to make the community feel like they are a part of the process of operating a public school, but have discouraged such behavior behind the scenes keeping the fiscal numbers low and uneventful. Public education institutions universally desire increased taxes on property values for the bulk of their budgets because it fulfills a philosophical commitment that all public schools are dedicated to—centrally controlled education that is attached like a cancer cell to real estate values of a community—so that the school can use that relationship as an extortion tool when it needs funding increases keeping the government on the mind of all residents as an ominous authority figure.
When a group I was involved in tried to give $10,000 to a community fund in early 2012 shortly after a school levy defeat the public relations megaphones went into overdrive to come after me personally. When I tried to give the check to a member of the athletic staff at Lakota in front of the TV cameras of Channel 5, Channel 19 and the Cincinnati Enquirer nobody showed up from the school even though it had been arranged before hand. I knew before the check was written that the school would throw a fit which is why I agreed to do it because it took away the emotional leverage that the schools utilize to extort money away from busy parents and would expose the hypocrisy. It was after that event that I had a major melt-down with that particular institution which can be heard in more detail in a recent speech I gave. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN.
I know that there have been attempts by community members to completely pay for the band activities, and sports programs with private donations, but Lakota has discouraged all such activity because they know that if the community took control of all those funding mechanisms that they would lose the emotional leverage they use against the community to garner tax increase approvals—so the schools have dug their own holes with restrictive, and unimaginative funding models. I would argue that Lakota could nearly fund its entire $160 million dollar plus budget with donations and fees from the community that wish to send their kids to the school by-passing the tax revenue from the state completely. There is enough wealth in the Lakota district and enough overly zealous parents willing to pour infinite amounts of money into their children that could fund everything and anything that Lakota would ever need. But……………..the schools are not about teaching children, and this is the hypocritical reality behind the whole school funding mess–schools are about government control of local communities—and are designed to attach themselves to every home in every corner of the entire country linking us all to Washington D.C. in a marriage made in Hell—without giving us the opportunity for a divorce.
I don’t want to pay for public education for the next 40 or 50 years of my life. I don’t like it, I don’t respect it, I think it is destroying children, and I don’t want to pour thousands of dollars of my income per year into a failing institution—yet I’m expected to out of some yearning to care for tomorrow’s children. Well, the parents are responsible for those children—I already raised my kids and my views are reflected in Carl Rullman’s quite effective comments. He is 100% right, the schools are only tasked with basic education functions and should be concerned with learning about the U.S. Constitution, which of course is spit upon by the national teacher unions who are openly committed to global communism. Those are not the kind of people I want teaching America’s future generations—so I view any money given to those organizations as a complete waste. I wouldn’t vote for an operating levy for my public school either and I certainly wouldn’t vote for a capital improvement levy. Instead, I’d like to see the supporters of those schools to pay not just the $5000 per year in property taxes on their homes, but $10,000 to $20,000 per year in tuition so Lakota can operate at the level they expect. After all, it is they who want the service—I don’t—so they should be the ones to pay for that service.
But common sense permeates in Carl Rullman’s words, and I hope that more people like emerge in 2013 to fight these kinds of battles that are sure to emerge on the backs of our communities children. He has a lot more patience with the levy whores than I do, and he is a great voice for our community—and I thank God that he is out there in the world doing what I wish everyone did—speak his mind and resist the temptation to be everyone’s friend. Sometimes the responsible thing is to tell people NO. And in public schools, they need to learn what the word NO means—and the politicians that have provided public education with a gravy train of looted tax money in exchange for votes need to learn that meaning as well. Thanks to people like Carl Rullman, educrats are hearing “NO” for the second and third time, and are beginning to understand what it means.
Rich Hoffman
