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Showing entries for Category: schools

My take on the increased public school enrollment news

4 comments

November 9, 5:15 PM

by Adam Meister, Baltimore Politics Examiner

I do not want to rain on Dr. Andres Alonso's parade. The guy has done an admirable job trying to clean up the public school mess in Baltimore. In the Sun and on the Teevee news Dr. Alonso was talking about how for the first time since 1969, there has been an increase in Baltimore public school enrollment. This positive statistic is used to imply that schools have improved and parents feel more comfortable sending their kids to public schools. I immediately wondered why the economic downturn was not mentioned as one of the reasons behind this news.

Imagine if you were a parent in Baltimore with a son about to enter high school. For the last few years you have been living way beyond your means with a German car and credit card debt. You were planning to send your kid to private school once he entered 9th grade. You were going to use some of your home equity line of credit to pay for it. Unfortunately your line of credit has been slashed since your home is no longer valued at what it was before. There is no way you can afford private school now that your wife lost her job. You may lose your job soon so public school is the ultimate value. Sure you would like to sell your house and move to the county to use that public school system, but you owe more money on your house than what it is worth and you could never sell it for a profit at this point so you are stuck.

I very much agree with Dr. Alonso's prediction of even higher city public school attendance next year. My reasons are based on the above economic realities rather than any real or perceived increase in the quality of a public school education.

For more info: Baltimore City Public Schools.

Topics: schools , Andres Alonso , layoffs

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Comments

The School System Should Sell Its North Avenue Headquarters

7 comments

July 9, 11:52 PM

For about two years I have been saying that the school system should sell or lease its headquarters at North avenue. The historic building is almost 100 years old and it is located on the edge of an area that is becoming trendy and much more safe... Read More
Topics: schools , Andres Alonso

The State Of Maryland And The City Of Baltimore should Consider This

1 comment

July 1, 2:13 PM

Most state workers in Utah are shifting to a four-day work week. If Utah can try it why can't Maryland? State workers are notoriously lazy and unproductive so why have them clog the roads an extra day of the week? In theory the extra... Read More
Topics: schools , four-day work week

Ringleader Of The Hunger Strike Kids is Paid $120k A Year

4 comments

June 19, 3:32 PM

Stephen Janis and Luke Broadwater of the Baltimore Examiner need to be applauded for this excellent piece of investigative journalism. Mayor Dixon and Jack Young also deserve shout outs for standing their ground and not giving this organization the money... Read More
Topics: Jack Young , schools , Algebra Project , Sheila Dixon

Protest The $1.2 billion A Year School Budget

3 comments

June 6, 10:22 AM

The Algebra Project kids sent out an email that I have posted below. They still want $3 million and they are having a press conference on Monday at noon at city hall. The protest should be at school headquarters on North Avenue not at city hall. ... Read More
Topics: schools , Algebra Project

The Hunger Strike Is Over For Now

7 comments

June 5, 12:30 AM

The kids at the Algebra Project said they were going to have a hunger strike if the Mayor did not give them $3 million to fund their Peer to Peer project. On Wednesday they suspended the hunger strike because Mayor Dixon agreed to meet with them. ... Read More
Topics: City Council , schools , Algebra Project , Sheila Dixon

School Lunch Program vs. Direct TV

16 comments

June 3, 10:30 PM

I was at a neighborhood meeting tonight and a woman mentioned how 98% of the kids at the local elementary school took part in the school lunch program. That means 98% of the kids at the school receive free or reduced price (she did use the term... Read More
Topics: schools