Comments on: Sacred cow or sitting duck: In budget crisis, is education funding on the chopping block? http://minnesotaindependent.com/20157/sacred-cow-or-sitting-duck-in-budget-crisis-is-education-funding-on-the-chopping-block News. Politics. Media. Wed, 30 Nov 2011 23:48:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: icecycle http://minnesotaindependent.com/20157/sacred-cow-or-sitting-duck-in-budget-crisis-is-education-funding-on-the-chopping-block/comment-page-1#comment-20801 icecycle Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:24:59 +0000 http://minnesotaindependent.com/?p=20157#comment-20801 The teachers union really gets more bang for it's bucks with Greiling. The teachers union really gets more bang for it’s bucks with Greiling.

]]> By: Bus Pass http://minnesotaindependent.com/20157/sacred-cow-or-sitting-duck-in-budget-crisis-is-education-funding-on-the-chopping-block/comment-page-1#comment-20783 Bus Pass Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:47:34 +0000 http://minnesotaindependent.com/?p=20157#comment-20783 In other states they do things like get transit passes to older students and cut a lot of the yellow fleet. But with high fares, service cuts and the governor trying to destroy public infrastructure don't look for that in the Twin Cities. Instead look for more attempts to use the "budget crisis" brought on by giving the rich guys the tax breaks as an excuse to go after unions (public sector is the bulk of union membership) and public infrastructure "privatization", meaning giving guaranteed profits to political pals and public payouts for the inevitable scandal and screwups. In other states they do things like get transit passes to older students and cut a lot of the
yellow fleet. But with high fares, service cuts and the governor trying to destroy public infrastructure
don’t look for that in the Twin Cities.

Instead look for more attempts to use the “budget crisis”
brought on by giving the rich guys the tax breaks as an excuse to go after unions (public sector
is the bulk of union membership) and public infrastructure “privatization”, meaning giving
guaranteed profits to political pals and public payouts for the inevitable scandal and screwups.

]]> By: Alec http://minnesotaindependent.com/20157/sacred-cow-or-sitting-duck-in-budget-crisis-is-education-funding-on-the-chopping-block/comment-page-1#comment-20775 Alec Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:25:11 +0000 http://minnesotaindependent.com/?p=20157#comment-20775 St. Paul Schools spends twenty million on transportation per year. They bus 89% of their students more miles than any district in the nation, even far flung rural districts. Twenty million is a lot of money to bus students for no real apparent reason when most students have a school within a mile of them. Why is St. Paul continuing this extremely expensive program of busing? Is there any evidence that spending this $20 million has increased student achievement? This might be a place with some huge fat. On another note, if the state could figure out universal health care the schools and state would be set. Nobel Prize wining economist Paul Krugman estimates that universal health care could save the U.S. government 200 Billion, so if we could do it as a state we would save 1/50th, or $4billion. This ties in because St. Paul schools spends $100,000,000 on benefits per year, a large part which is health care. Pass universal health care and end pointless busing and you have close to $100,000,000 in savings without a single cut to classrooms or teachers! St. Paul Schools spends twenty million on transportation per year. They bus 89% of their students more miles than any district in the nation, even far flung rural districts. Twenty million is a lot of money to bus students for no real apparent reason when most students have a school within a mile of them. Why is St. Paul continuing this extremely expensive program of busing? Is there any evidence that spending this $20 million has increased student achievement? This might be a place with some huge fat.

On another note, if the state could figure out universal health care the schools and state would be set. Nobel Prize wining economist Paul Krugman estimates that universal health care could save the U.S. government 200 Billion, so if we could do it as a state we would save 1/50th, or $4billion.

This ties in because St. Paul schools spends $100,000,000 on benefits per year, a large part which is health care. Pass universal health care and end pointless busing and you have close to $100,000,000 in savings without a single cut to classrooms or teachers!

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