Posted 10:30 AM by Susan Darst Williams

HAS IT COME TO THIS? PARENTS PAY EXTRA FOR ACADEMICS?

Well, it’s Long Beach, Calif., but it could be coming soon to schools in Nebraska. Finances have gotten so bad out there that parents at a school with 630 students are having to do fund-raisers to pay for Spanish class. The parent group has set a goal of raising $325,000 to ensure it can continue for four more years. Otherwise, it would have vanished due to budget cuts.

Meanwhile, the district likely has such overstaffing in the nonacademic departments that there’s an assistant to the assistant speck inspector. No doubt there’s AstroTurf on the high-school football fields, a cappuccino machine in the staff lounge, and a fleet of free SUVs for the bigwigs . . . but the parents have to hold bake sales for an academic “must” like Spanish in California.

Ay, carumba. Read more on:

http://www.gazettes.com/spanish01062005.htm