Stop Complaining and Pay!

By Lisa Chavarria, Tierrasanta

E-MAIL STORY

Friday, Oct. 30, 2009 | I found your article about school fees very interesting. There is a rise in fees, obviously, but a $25 soccer uniform for an extra-curricular activities is mild, even if money is tight. I find it interesting that parents are complaining over $20 for art, a $20 activity card, etc.

No one is complaining that an elementary school class has 40 kids in it. Or that there is little to no art or music in elementary and middle schools. The schools have to made do with the limited resources they have. I guess to stop all this complaining about activities your kids don't "have" to be in (they're called extracurricular for a reason) ... cancel them all. Sure, you love soccer, cheerleading, football and art. Find a community organization to participate in (if you can). And let the fees roll! It will make your $20 seem like a steal.

7 Comments so far on this story...

Nearly 61% of San Diego Unified students are living at poverty level. In 1984, the court recognized that public education has to be a level playing field for all children. It is settled law - IT IS THE LAW. Parents have made it clear that they value extracurricular activities - hands down. Just because they do not know that the law provides that school districts must fund these activities does not mean that they can be taken advantage of by SDUSD staff. Parents do not have to fight this battle again. Thank you to the parents in 1984 that made this THE LAW - God bless them! Ms. Chavarria is right - $20 is a steal. The teachers and administrators and District officials owe refunds to all of these families who have suffered under the burden of these illegal fees.

Posted by Sally Smith | reply to this comment
October 30, 2009 12:54 pm

Well put. The solution for fair availability for all, that is paid for through taxes all are supposed to pay for the public education system, is to demand-- demand-- that administrators and politicians see that the enormous funds available through the taxed, are used honestly and prudently, and yes-- frugally-- for what those tax funds are intended for. Otherwise there should be no taxes mandated, and we can go with the callous-spirited mentality of this article and make everything private and a pay for system of business enterprise, regardless if it's related to an obvious common good and necessity for a genuine society, like education. And the demand referenced above would come from transparency and accountability, which is significantly nonexistent in both public youth education programs and private youth athletic and other programs that rake in money though parading as nonprofits.

Posted by John E. Quest | reply to this comment
November 18, 2009 9:20 am

Yes, let them eat cake. It's a steal unless you don't have the money. You do, so everyone does and they should be grateful it's so cheap. So why don't you pay up for people who can't?

Posted by janet | reply to this comment
October 30, 2009 8:02 pm

I find it amazing that many kids from families that are living at the "poverty level" seem to have their own phones, I-Pods, and the latest new $100 shoes, but then no money for the soccer uniform....

Posted by seemar | reply to this comment
October 31, 2009 8:48 am

I you can't afford inexpensive items for your children, please stop conceiving them. There are far too many children already.

Posted by Merkin Muffley | reply to this comment
November 1, 2009 12:25 pm

Solve the problem and level the playing field and get rid of all extra curricular events completely. Our state government can't manage a party in a brewery, our education experience is getting worse, our teachers blame administrators and vice versa. No-one gets fired for sucking, and no-one gets rewarded for being better than those that suck. Those who work in education aren't living in the real world so why expect our students to experience the inherent unfairness of society?

Posted by welcome to the real world | reply to this comment
November 1, 2009 2:03 pm

Words to live by: "No one gets fired for sucking, and no one gets rewarded for being better than those that suck." I think teachers who work in classrooms live in the real world and yes, those conditions could be better. But "welcome" apparently is an auto-didact who never learned anything from anyone else -- a self-taught wunderkind perhaps -- who has the grimmest possible view of public education and its expendable extracurricular activities for students. Even Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" -- set in the nuclear aftermath -- is more hopeful than this.

Posted by Thinks Welcome Sucks | reply to this comment
November 3, 2009 9:21 pm

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