HOW MUCH DOES IT TAKE?   2.0

Although this blog is dedicated to discussing "education, music and life in general," our emphasis recently has focused heavily on the field of education. Currently education is facing many severe challenges in the United States and in many nations throughout the world; without sound education, the enjoyment and understanding of music and "life in general" would be greatly hampered. Many would agree that we are at a crisis level. As consumers and taxpayers, it behooves all of us to take a deep interest in education to the extent our busy lives will allow. By providing concise and direct summaries of current developments in education, we hope that our articles will aid in that effort. At some point in the near future, this blog may divide into two or three separate and independent blogs, on this or other major platforms. Our readership has grown tremendously. Thank you for taking the time to view our articles and enhance our collective knowledge on these vital subjects!       --Gary Liam Scott

Even as standards continue to plummet in many public and private educational settings, astonishingly, the salaries and number of administrators continue to spike upwards. Recently in Fairfax County, Virginia--the 12th largest public school district in the nation--Superintendent Michelle Reid's salary was increased to $424,146, plus a $12,000.00 automobile allowance and other perks. Even with a salary higher than that of the President of the United States, Ms. Reid will now also be granted a personal bodyguard, hired by taxpayers at a beginning salary range of $84,500-$143,000. 

In a similarly dramatic move, the school board of the Francis Howell School District in Missouri recently hired a new superintendent, Mike Dominguez, who resigned before his first day on the job in order to take an assistant superintendent position with the Shawnee Public Schools in Oklahoma. As a reward for breaking his contract, the Francis Howell board awarded Mr. Dominguez a going-away present of $229,000--and then refused to give taxpayers any explanation. Thankfully, the Missouri Auditor's Office has decided to investigate this matter and hopefully get to the bottom of this abuse of local citizens.

The frustrating aspect of the growing financial giveaways to educational administrators is that they come even as American education continues to decline. We are handsomely rewarding incompetency. If taxpayers are OK with this, well, we can call it part of the price of democracy. But one wonders...how many Americans are even aware of what is going on behind the closed doors of school management? Most of us were assured from childhood that educators were above reproach and could always be trusted. We now can realize just how naïve and costly that attitude is.

Always remember:  Each of us is entitled to a voice, and each of us has a stake in our educational system. We need to demand accountability and answers to our questions. We need to see improved test scores, and even more importantly, we need to see evidence in our daily lives that our fellow citizens can read, communicate, do basic math and have enough knowledge of history to be able to learn from its lessons.