US schools lay off hundreds of thousands • Hacker News Board

Re: US schools lay off hundreds of thousands

#11

Post by readhn » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 2:48 AM UTC

viburnum wrote: post #2

You know who’s not laying off anyone? The military. Local funding of schools is ridiculous. Education benefits the whole nation. Educational investments shouldn’t be dictated by transient economic conditions.

Military spending trend is up for multiple decades.. regardless of who is in oval the office. Obama, or Trump, or Bush. There is no difference for the war machine in the long run, it keeps on working: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_budget_of_the_United_...

Re: US schools lay off hundreds of thousands

#12

Post by tathougies » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 2:49 AM UTC

achn wrote: post #3

Wait, public schools for children are not funded by the government in the US?

They are, by state and local governments.

Re: US schools lay off hundreds of thousands

#13

Post by teruakohatu » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 2:49 AM UTC

viburnum wrote: post #2

You know who’s not laying off anyone? The military. Local funding of schools is ridiculous. Education benefits the whole nation. Educational investments shouldn’t be dictated by transient economic conditions.

Are you an American (I am a New Zealander) but my understanding is that the military is the responsibility of the federal government and the federal government is not laying off workers. Meanwhile teachers are funded and employed by state and local government.

It is apples to oranges. The argument should be who should employ and fund teachers and if the States are willing to give up some control and taxation to the feds in exchange for ???

Re: US schools lay off hundreds of thousands

#14

Post by readhn » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 2:49 AM UTC

rantwasp wrote: post #9

it’s puzzling to me since I don’t understand who is going to replace the teachers. how is this going to work? also I feel like the priorities are totally wrong. on one side we invest in things that don’t matter or are harmful. on another we screw people that have a meaningful contribution to society

its always been done this way.

Re: US schools lay off hundreds of thousands

#15

Post by paxys » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 2:50 AM UTC

achn wrote: post #3

Wait, public schools for children are not funded by the government in the US?

They are funded at the state/city level, mainly by property taxes. This is why there is such a drastic difference in quality of education from school to school, and why local school rankings are a big factor in determining housing prices across the country.

Re: US schools lay off hundreds of thousands

#16

Post by wmf » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 2:50 AM UTC

rantwasp wrote: post #9

it’s puzzling to me since I don’t understand who is going to replace the teachers. how is this going to work? also I feel like the priorities are totally wrong. on one side we invest in things that don’t matter or are harmful. on another we screw people that have a meaningful contribution to society

The article says class sizes will double. But since classes will be through Zoom, teachers can just mute students who misbehave!

Re: US schools lay off hundreds of thousands

#17

Post by readhn » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 2:50 AM UTC

achn wrote: post #3

Wait, public schools for children are not funded by the government in the US?

They are funded by real estate taxes (high housing prices help fill local budgets) and income taxes.

Re: US schools lay off hundreds of thousands

#18

Post by MattGaiser » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 2:50 AM UTC

rantwasp wrote: post #9

it’s puzzling to me since I don’t understand who is going to replace the teachers. how is this going to work? also I feel like the priorities are totally wrong. on one side we invest in things that don’t matter or are harmful. on another we screw people that have a meaningful contribution to society

> it’s puzzling to me since I don’t understand who is going to replace the teachers.

Another remaining teacher. Class sizes will increase.

Re: US schools lay off hundreds of thousands

#19

Post by throwawaysea » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 2:52 AM UTC

In some ways I view this as an opportunity for society. I would be happy to have a return to decentralized schooling or alternate models with more choice, rather than a one size fits all model that is increasingly being co-opted by political actors to propagandize children with certain views or values.

Re: US schools lay off hundreds of thousands

#20

Post by tomweingarten » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 2:52 AM UTC

MattGaiser wrote: post #7

achn wrote: post #3

Wait, public schools for children are not funded by the government in the US?

They are not funded by the national government. They are mostly funded by city and county governments, with some money from state governments. Basically each city or county is mostly responsible for paying for the education of the children within its boundaries. EDIT: I am slightly off on the percentages. See the comment below.

"On average, 8% of revenues are federal, 47% from the state, and 45% locally sourced"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_school_funding_in_the_U...