Post by title1parent on Aug 16, 2010 7:04:38 GMT -5
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/opinions/2601746,2_4_AU16_LETTERS_S1-100816.article
Disparity between East, West High fees
Beacon LTE 8/16/10
Working as a teacher in the East Side in District 131 and living on the West Side and having my offspring attend District 129 gives me a interesting perspective on education in Aurora. After registering my two youngest at West High, I left with my wallet $700 lighter. That does not include yearbooks (two for a total $74), nor gym uniforms, sports fees, lab fees, school supplies, not so much as a pencil.
I needed to rip up the $250 check for driver's education and change it to a $350 check due to a $100 rate increase between our meeting in April and registration. That got me thinking, if West could increase fees by $100, what does East charge? East only charges $100 total for driver's education. Registration? Only $50 a head compared to the $175 West charges.
Both districts are approximately equal in size, both recently won referendums. We know the state is having a budget crisis and schools are not getting paid. East expects $66,849,495 during the '09-'10 school year from the state, whereas West only gets $30,688,330 for the same period. That means when the funds are late, East's losses are more than $30 million greater. Clearly the East side is managing the funds available to them more efficiently.
Dr. Rydland, it is time to tighten your budget. East is able to offer an equivalent education at a fraction of what you charge parents, more than half of which applied for fee waivers during my visit. When the time comes for the East-West basketball game, have your administrative team run an East-West budget meeting. Otherwise you may need to change your motto from "West is Best" to "West is Expensive."
Amie Thompson
Aurora
Disparity between East, West High fees
Beacon LTE 8/16/10
Working as a teacher in the East Side in District 131 and living on the West Side and having my offspring attend District 129 gives me a interesting perspective on education in Aurora. After registering my two youngest at West High, I left with my wallet $700 lighter. That does not include yearbooks (two for a total $74), nor gym uniforms, sports fees, lab fees, school supplies, not so much as a pencil.
I needed to rip up the $250 check for driver's education and change it to a $350 check due to a $100 rate increase between our meeting in April and registration. That got me thinking, if West could increase fees by $100, what does East charge? East only charges $100 total for driver's education. Registration? Only $50 a head compared to the $175 West charges.
Both districts are approximately equal in size, both recently won referendums. We know the state is having a budget crisis and schools are not getting paid. East expects $66,849,495 during the '09-'10 school year from the state, whereas West only gets $30,688,330 for the same period. That means when the funds are late, East's losses are more than $30 million greater. Clearly the East side is managing the funds available to them more efficiently.
Dr. Rydland, it is time to tighten your budget. East is able to offer an equivalent education at a fraction of what you charge parents, more than half of which applied for fee waivers during my visit. When the time comes for the East-West basketball game, have your administrative team run an East-West budget meeting. Otherwise you may need to change your motto from "West is Best" to "West is Expensive."
Amie Thompson
Aurora
