<p>Our system is very similar to what DougBetsy describes. Fees are paid/due the first week of practice although they vary for sport. I’m sending a check next week for $175 for s3’s spring sport. I think football was only $50, but there is much more support and more kids in football so the cost is lower. Skiing is higher for instance. Scholarships for those that need assistance. The Boosters Club (parents) holds dinner dances, casino nights, student dances, post-prom activities and all kinds of fund-raising events that are absolutely not funded by the school budget. The school does cover the insurance for related activities. Band kids supply their concert attire and replace their marching uniforms about once a decade through fund-raising, there is a cost for marching band camp, etc. Ditto, choir. As mentioned earlier kids do pay for their own testing with the exception of the PSAT, the school still covers PSAT for all juniors (but not sophomores or freshman and they are not “allowed” to take it). If this is unusal in your area, it might be coming soon with the funding crisis. We do have some very generous parents who contribute thousands each year to the school earmarked for sports and EC activities or purchase equipment, etc. and donate. Everyone is grateful and we all benefit from those that could easily pull their kids and send them away to school to leave them in the school and support the school financially.</p>
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<p>Twenty years ago our school costs were about $3,000 per student. Today they are $10,000 per student and I think that those costs are around the average for New England. I can tell you that my salary didn’t triple in that time period. I don’t really know what property taxes were like 30 years ago but I should go and check one of these days. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was around $1,000 per student.</p>
<p>$10,000 per student? Wow!!! Our school is only $4,600 per student.</p>
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<p>One guy in my group lives on Long Island and I think that they’re in the $20,000 per student area. The amounts spent in some districts is comparable to private school costs (not the high-end private schools). New England has a fairly high cost of living compared to many other areas in the US. What area are you in?</p>
<p>I doubt that I would want to be paying those property taxes either if we would have to fund $10k to $20k per student. </p>
<p>I don’t mind paying property taxes to get the schools what they need here, EC’s or no EC’s, but, I might change my mind with those kinds of rates.</p>
<p>I’m in California and they’re talking about cutting funding for schools even more.</p>
<p>Remember that these increased per-student costs cover not only ECs and “gifted” classes, but special ed, aides, and the like. Not begrudging anyone any needed services, but things are far different from 30 years ago, when most students with special needs were kept at home or even institutionalized.</p>
<p>Our small rural/suburban district spends roughly $14,000 per student. As you get closer to NYC costs escalate. Westchester County districts such as Rye and Bedford typically spend $21,000 to $25,000 per student. This definitely isn’t Kansas.</p>
<p>“things are far different from 30 years ago, when most students with special needs were kept at home or even institutionalized.”</p>
<p>Very true mommusic. My mother was a special education teacher for an urban “Association for ■■■■■■■■ Children” (as the organization was called back then). She was responsible for preparing the first group of ARC clients for mainstreaming into the public schools back in the 1970s. I can’t recall the percentage of former ARC clients who were integrated into the public schools but it was substantial. So substantial that the organization changed its mission and name to reflect its focus on intellectually-challenged adults. The added cost to public school systems has been significant. Our school district estimates the cost per CSE student to be roughly $35,000 per year, with a couple of students costing in excess of $90,000 annually.</p>
<p>Wow wow wow BC those are unbelievable costs per student. I’m amazed people and the state support that level of taxing! We’re around $7000 per student on average and going down per student these days in our midwest town.</p>
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<p>bobmom:</p>
<p>be careful when you total the ed numbers. There is a lot more than just ‘general fund’ expenditures. Money originates from numerous pockets: local property taxes, state taxes (which itself includes several buckets), federal funds, spec ed funds, PTA fundraising, etc. Add it all up and the total is WAAAAY more than $4600, particularly in California (where a starting teacher earns low $40’s). For example, LA Unified is in the $9k/pupil range. Sausalito’s costs approach $20k per student!</p>
<p>Thanks Blue. I was looking at the SARC report and that’s what it had, but I did find a report that listed all of the schools/districts in CA and they range from $59,054??? to $6,179. Our district was around the middle and the middle was $8,594, but our actuals school is less than the district. So, instead of $4,600, our school is around $7,500. Still lower than the numbers that everyone else is seeing. But, I am amazed at some of the #'s that were on that listing.</p>
<p>bobmom, where did you find the report that listed all of the schools/districts in CA? I would be interested in seeing our school and district. Teachers took a pay cut last year and are being asked to take an even more substantial one next year. I paid over $500 for my son to participate in football (which does get some school funding) and will pay over $450 for lacrosse (which gets $0 from our school, just the practice fields).</p>
<p>SDMomof3 – Which union do your teachers belong to? I would be shocked if any of the unions that represent public school teachers in this state ever agreed to a give-back on salaries. So far, in the handful of cases I have read about this year where school boards have asked teachers to consider a wage freeze, the teachers’ union has said no thanks – they’d rather take lay-offs.</p>
<p>It’s a report based on ADA (average daily attendance) for 2007-2008 rather than cost per student, but is a good indicator of the costs per student and ranges in the state. I’ve never posted a link before, but here goes:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/fd/ec/documents/currentexpense0708.xls[/url]”>http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/fd/ec/documents/currentexpense0708.xls</a></p>
<p>Hopefully it worked.</p>
<p>Our teachers union is part of the California Federation of Teachers, rather than the California Teachers Association, if that makes a difference. I think our teachers (and parents and students) were horrified by the pink slips that went out last spring. In our high school, which is one of the newer ones in our district, something like 40 percent of our teachers initially received pink slips last year (it was based on district seniority). Many of the teacher jobs were saved, but we still lost some great, young enthusiastic teachers (including at least one that was voted Teacher of the Year by our students the year before).</p>
<p>bobmom, I couldn’t get the link to work, but I think I found the report using google. Thanks!</p>