Comments on: Wichita student/employee ratio tells a story

By: kimpot54

kimpot54 — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:42:33 +0000

Well, one thing’s for certain: The majority of 259 teachers does not have just 11 students in their classrooms. After seeing Bob’s article about the survey comparing private school teachers to public school teachers, I’m guessing there is much so-called “support staff” downtown doing higher-level tasks that teachers would be better off (and more fulfilled) doing themselves, because they are closer to the classroom. But then that would take away from the time they spend doing useless tasks that have no positive impact on students. Talk to public school teachers privately, and they’ll tell you this stuff, but don’t expect them to come forward and put their necks on the chopping block. Union mind control is pervasive in 259: if you don’t agree, you just keep your mouth shut.

By: craig gabel

craig gabel — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:51:44 +0000

A good example of this problem is evident at Truesdale,
50 years ago there were 40 employees when it first opened. Now there are 140. I have been told that a lot of the increase is the result of the special education need that are now addressed at that school. But the simple fact of life is that when the Federal Government created the monopoly, that public education represents, it destroyed any competition to excel. All monopolies produce the same effect, waste, inefficiencies, and self protecting bureaucracies.

By: Wichitator

Wichitator — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:06:46 +0000

These figures exclude the numerous bus drivers, lunch room aides and other part time employees. The district used to maximize its number of employees to try to rise to the top of the list of largest employers in the Wichita Business Journal’s annual list.

Actually, this is a sign of decreasing educational productivity. The larger number of people to educate basically the same number of students each year with about the same level of achievement is a sign of productivity declines and ultimately, economic weakness.

By: Mark Redeker

Mark Redeker — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:05:46 +0000

As seems to be the trend in everything government we keep on getting less for more money! Back in the good old days when I was in school I did not have to bring in all kinds of supplies for my school to function. Now my kids are always sent home with wish lists of things there schools or teachers feel the school could use, that are appearantly unfunded.
It seems as though all school extra curricular activities are under funded and require the parent to spend a lot of money if they want their child to participate.
When will the tax payers start to hold the government responsible for the efficient use of our tax dollars?