@ Tantrums &Turf Wars: The School Car Line Is Chaos

[fortnightlily]

Apr 26, 2024 9:42:54 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

Apr 21, 2024 9:48:40 GMT -5 fortnightlily said:

I didn't get through the whole video, but the initial shots of the German suburb actually reminded me of the parts of Los Angeles I lived in during the early 2000s. LA gets a lot of flack for sprawl and car culture, and it's true that traffic is absolutely horrific, BUT, so much of the city is more semi-urban. Streets with smaller lots that mix single family homes and modestly-sized apartment buildings that are sandwiched between the larger commercial arteries with an abundance of shops and restaurants that you can walk to that often only offer street parking. It's when you want to leave your neighborhood to get to another part of the city that the lack of public transit options becomes an issue. Of course the weather makes year-round walkability more pleasant, too.

As opposed to the DC suburbs where I live now, where there are few neighborhoods with single family homes where any store or restaurant is within <10 min walking distance, where there are no cute 2-3 story <50 unit apartment buildings, just isolated apartment complexes, and even if you wanted to take a longer walk or a bus to a store the sidewalk to get there runs alongside a 6 lane road and there's a massive parking lot between the sidewalk and the storefront that you have to navigate on foot. 

See I live in the DC suburbs just outside the beltway and have a different experience. I guess you could call it semiurban. Our school is in the middle of the neighborhood so we only have one bus. We're only a few blocks away so DD walks to school. There are sidewalks the entire way and a crossing guard at the one slightly busy road. Not everywhere is the same in suburbia. Our neighborhood was built up in the 50s so the houses are smaller than newer ones built today. 

I've never gone through the car line, every now and then I might drive a few blocks and park to give her an easier time if it's pouring. DS is in middle school so he takes the bus and I'm very grateful for it. Next year he's going to do a STEM program at a high school that we're not districted for so I'll have to drive him. I looked into him taking a city bus, but it will take 40 minutes for what is a 10-15 min drive. Not looking forward to it! 

Oh our elementary school is in the neighborhood and we walk, too. The high school is also walking distance. But the middle school is at a very busy intersection right off the exit to the highway. And all three schools serve neighborhoods outside the walking zone. We do have a steady stream of cars, but plenty of kids take busses too. I was responding more to just the video and what "suburbs" looks like, separate from the main topic of the thread. 

[imimahoney]

Apr 20, 2024 9:52:37 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

Apr 20, 2024 5:44:50 GMT -5 @villainv said:

The brand new (3-4 year old?) middle school in my neighborhood was built without lockers. We don’t have a kid there yet, but from what we understand there is a place for band students to store instruments during the day, but there are no lockers, and the hallways aren’t wide enough to accommodate lockers.

Do you live in a warm climate? Where do kids put their coats? I live in NE and in the winter my locker was stuffed with a giant jacket, my lunch and my trumpet. And books, I had time to get to it at lunch so I’d only carry morning books or afternoon books in my bag. I can’t imagine not having a locker at all!

At the HS where I teach we have lockers but absolutely no one uses them. This trend started during covid when students weren't allowed to congregate together in hallways.

Even though we are in the boston suburbs most kids don't wear heavy winter jackets. If they, they stuff them in the backpacks.

The backpacks are massive and just carry everything with them all day. It's so weird.

And because of this trend, our new bldg that will open in August will only have a fraction of the lockers so they will only used by a few of the student body.

[lostrn]

Apr 26, 2024 9:42:54 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

Apr 21, 2024 9:48:40 GMT -5 fortnightlily said:

I didn't get through the whole video, but the initial shots of the German suburb actually reminded me of the parts of Los Angeles I lived in during the early 2000s. LA gets a lot of flack for sprawl and car culture, and it's true that traffic is absolutely horrific, BUT, so much of the city is more semi-urban. Streets with smaller lots that mix single family homes and modestly-sized apartment buildings that are sandwiched between the larger commercial arteries with an abundance of shops and restaurants that you can walk to that often only offer street parking. It's when you want to leave your neighborhood to get to another part of the city that the lack of public transit options becomes an issue. Of course the weather makes year-round walkability more pleasant, too.

As opposed to the DC suburbs where I live now, where there are few neighborhoods with single family homes where any store or restaurant is within <10 min walking distance, where there are no cute 2-3 story <50 unit apartment buildings, just isolated apartment complexes, and even if you wanted to take a longer walk or a bus to a store the sidewalk to get there runs alongside a 6 lane road and there's a massive parking lot between the sidewalk and the storefront that you have to navigate on foot. 

See I live in the DC suburbs just outside the beltway and have a different experience. I guess you could call it semiurban. Our school is in the middle of the neighborhood so we only have one bus. We're only a few blocks away so DD walks to school. There are sidewalks the entire way and a crossing guard at the one slightly busy road. Not everywhere is the same in suburbia. Our neighborhood was built up in the 50s so the houses are smaller than newer ones built today. 

I've never gone through the car line, every now and then I might drive a few blocks and park to give her an easier time if it's pouring. DS is in middle school so he takes the bus and I'm very grateful for it. Next year he's going to do a STEM program at a high school that we're not districted for so I'll have to drive him. I looked into him taking a city bus, but it will take 40 minutes for what is a 10-15 min drive. Not looking forward to it! 

The only bonus to the bus is the high schoolers get a free pass. And the bus stops are right by the school, so no crossing those crazy roads to get to one. We drive DS in the mornings but he does a combination of bus and metro to get home most days. Takes him about an hour and half to an hour and 45 minutes to get home.

[boiler717]

Our parking spots go for $15k which seems crazy. You get a sign with your name so it’s definitely a thing and there are always fights for them. Four available via auction.

[sent]

Apr 27, 2024 14:00:29 GMT -5 boiler717 said:

Our parking spots go for $15k which seems crazy. You get a sign with your name so it’s definitely a thing and there are always fights for them. Four available via auction.

Whoa! What does your school do with the money?

[abs]

Apr 27, 2024 14:00:29 GMT -5 boiler717 said:

Our parking spots go for $15k which seems crazy. You get a sign with your name so it’s definitely a thing and there are always fights for them. Four available via auction.

$15k?

.*faints*

[basilosaurus]

Apr 27, 2024 14:00:29 GMT -5 boiler717 said:

Our parking spots go for $15k which seems crazy. You get a sign with your name so it’s definitely a thing and there are always fights for them. Four available via auction.

This is just for pickup and dropoff? Not upperclass who drive themselves and would have easier access to their cars all day? Not that I think that's worth 15k, either, but we did have one spot for a senior every year auctioned off (I have no idea what it went for), and it saved a good 10 minutes walk from the student lot, a walk mostly uncovered in a place with tropical rains. If parents will throw down 100k for a bar mitzvah or sweet 16, what's another 15k for their preshus?

[boiler717]

Apr 27, 2024 16:12:55 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

Apr 27, 2024 14:00:29 GMT -5 boiler717 said:

Our parking spots go for $15k which seems crazy. You get a sign with your name so it’s definitely a thing and there are always fights for them. Four available via auction.

This is just for pickup and dropoff? Not upperclass who drive themselves and would have easier access to their cars all day? Not that I think that's worth 15k, either, but we did have one spot for a senior every year auctioned off (I have no idea what it went for), and it saved a good 10 minutes walk from the student lot, a walk mostly uncovered in a place with tropical rains. If parents will throw down 100k for a bar mitzvah or sweet 16, what's another 15k for their preshus?

Yes, just pick up / drop off. The money from the auction each year goes to support different things at the school, this year the primary funding was for financial aid for students.

[lostrn]

Apr 27, 2024 14:00:29 GMT -5 boiler717 said:

Our parking spots go for $15k which seems crazy. You get a sign with your name so it’s definitely a thing and there are always fights for them. Four available via auction.

Well it seems crazy cause it is crazy. Per spot?? $15k per spot?? I've had a couple beers, so maybe my brain is interpreting something incorrectly, but that is just unfathomable to me.

[sent]

boiler717, oh it's a private school. I was going to say, that's a lot of money for public school to raise per parking spot.

[lostrn]

Apr 27, 2024 23:03:48 GMT -5 sent said:

boiler717, oh it's a private school. I was going to say, that's a lot of money for public school to raise per parking spot.

Isn't it a lot for any school to raise for a parking spot? Maybe I'm too sheltered.

[sent]

Apr 27, 2024 23:43:12 GMT -5 lostrn said:

Apr 27, 2024 23:03:48 GMT -5 sent said:

boiler717 , oh it's a private school. I was going to say, that's a lot of money for public school to raise per parking spot.

Isn't it a lot for any school to raise for a parking spot? Maybe I'm too sheltered.

$15K is a lot for any school, but the fact that it is a private school makes more sense that parents would happily throw that kind of money to skip the line. There is also an expectation that you have to fundraise for the school to operate. 

I only have experience at our public school where people will bid $300+ for "ice cream with the bestest teacher" type of prizes. So these parents have some money, but I don't think a single family here would throw $15K at a public school auction item since we already pay around $15K or more in property taxes for our kids to attend the public schools in town. 

[erbear]

Apr 27, 2024 14:00:29 GMT -5 boiler717 said:

Our parking spots go for $15k which seems crazy. You get a sign with your name so it’s definitely a thing and there are always fights for them. Four available via auction.

What the fuck?! I am actually appalled at this.

I teach at a private school. NO WAY would this be allowed.

[jeaniebueller]

The other factor—my DS takes the bus home but often wants to be picked up on days that he brings his instrument home. If he brings it (he plays a large brass instrument), and rides the bus, it has to sit on his lap with his backpack the majority of his ride home—which is around 1.5 hours. The bus system in our district is not set up to accommodate all kids who are eligible to ride. They are packed already. And we are a very rural, poorer district compared to some of you, $15K parking spots? lol

[pixy0stix]

It's all fun and games until we're reminded once again that the rich would happily watch the education system burn.

[mrshandy]

Sorry but a $15K parking spot at a school makes me want to puke. That is all kinds of entitlement that I can't even imagine.

Our entire PTA budget is under $5K.

[redheadbaker]

Apr 27, 2024 14:00:29 GMT -5 boiler717 said:

Our parking spots go for $15k which seems crazy. You get a sign with your name so it’s definitely a thing and there are always fights for them. Four available via auction.

On top of tuition??!??

[mrsukyankee]

Apr 29, 2024 10:48:59 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

Apr 27, 2024 14:00:29 GMT -5 boiler717 said:

Our parking spots go for $15k which seems crazy. You get a sign with your name so it’s definitely a thing and there are always fights for them. Four available via auction.

On top of tuition??!??

I've worked at several private schools where this amount of money would have not made the parent blink an eye. Yes, THAT rich.

[neverfstop]

Just as a side anecdote....we have a raffle fundraiser over the weekend, with 2 spots available for drop off & pickup (skip the line type of deal). They went for about $650 each...

I actually liked this fundraiser better than one that's run by a company that keeps like 40% of the donations for overhead and crappy kids' prizes.

[dontlook]

Apr 29, 2024 8:48:48 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

Sorry but a $15K parking spot at a school makes me want to puke. That is all kinds of entitlement that I can't even imagine.

Our entire PTA budget is under $5K.

This disparity in schools is crazy. My kids attended 2 schools just 5 miles apart. I was the treasury at school #1. Our fundraising goal for the whole year was $20k. School #2 has a fall fundraiser that made $50k alone. That’s only 1 of 4 fundraisers. I could see a parent donating $15k for a prime parking spot at school #2.

[sent]

Apr 29, 2024 15:07:05 GMT -5 dontlook said:

Apr 29, 2024 8:48:48 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

Sorry but a $15K parking spot at a school makes me want to puke. That is all kinds of entitlement that I can't even imagine.

Our entire PTA budget is under $5K.

This disparity in schools is crazy. My kids attended 2 schools just 5 miles apart. I was the treasury at school #1. Our fundraising goal for the whole year was $20k. School #2 has a fall fundraiser that made $50k alone. That’s only 1 of 4 fundraisers. I could see a parent donating $15k for a prime parking spot at school #2.

Is the second school a public school?

If it is, what do they do with that kind of money?

[basilosaurus]

Apr 29, 2024 15:46:31 GMT -5 sent said:

Apr 29, 2024 15:07:05 GMT -5 dontlook said:

This disparity in schools is crazy. My kids attended 2 schools just 5 miles apart. I was the treasury at school #1. Our fundraising goal for the whole year was $20k. School #2 has a fall fundraiser that made $50k alone. That’s only 1 of 4 fundraisers. I could see a parent donating $15k for a prime parking spot at school #2.

Is the second school a public school?

If it is, what do they do with that kind of money?

I can't speak to those schools, but my sister as pto pres raised 30k+ fspecifically or an accessible playground at their public school. After she died, even though it was fully funded, donations doubled that fund. I have no idea what they did with it if there was extra, but according to my dad the school was every bit as decked out as the $$$$ private high school where he worked. I'm going to guess lots of technology and fully funded sports. I'm only guessing sports because of that ml thread with people paying so much money for public school sports. I have no evidence.

[dontlook]

Apr 29, 2024 15:46:31 GMT -5 sent said:

Apr 29, 2024 15:07:05 GMT -5 dontlook said:

This disparity in schools is crazy. My kids attended 2 schools just 5 miles apart. I was the treasury at school #1. Our fundraising goal for the whole year was $20k. School #2 has a fall fundraiser that made $50k alone. That’s only 1 of 4 fundraisers. I could see a parent donating $15k for a prime parking spot at school #2.

Is the second school a public school?

If it is, what do they do with that kind of money?

Both are public schools.

Sadly, it’s used to fund what I consider the basics: extra paras, teacher reimbursements for items they buy for the classroom, field trips, and yearbooks.

[Jalapeñomel]

Apr 29, 2024 15:46:31 GMT -5 sent said:

Apr 29, 2024 15:07:05 GMT -5 dontlook said:

This disparity in schools is crazy. My kids attended 2 schools just 5 miles apart. I was the treasury at school #1. Our fundraising goal for the whole year was $20k. School #2 has a fall fundraiser that made $50k alone. That’s only 1 of 4 fundraisers. I could see a parent donating $15k for a prime parking spot at school #2.

Is the second school a public school?

If it is, what do they do with that kind of money?

Schools around here build new football fields, build new gyms, start a Science Research team

[penguingrrl]

Apr 29, 2024 15:46:31 GMT -5 sent said:

Apr 29, 2024 15:07:05 GMT -5 dontlook said:

This disparity in schools is crazy. My kids attended 2 schools just 5 miles apart. I was the treasury at school #1. Our fundraising goal for the whole year was $20k. School #2 has a fall fundraiser that made $50k alone. That’s only 1 of 4 fundraisers. I could see a parent donating $15k for a prime parking spot at school #2.

Is the second school a public school?

If it is, what do they do with that kind of money?

My public school has a PTO and a separate educational foundation, both of which run 6-figure budgets. The PTO covers janitorial staff and supplies the school budget can’t carry. The educational foundation covers all technology (from the 1:1 Chromebooks for students to smart boards and teacher laptops) because our district budget has no money for tech beyond wiring the two schools for internet. And since Chris Chrsitie’ms budget caps we would otherwise have to let a lot of teachers go if the parent groups didn’t step in.

[sent]

penguingrrl , we have both of those, a PTO and a separate educational foundation. The PTO would never fund the kind of stuff you and Jalapeñomel described. The educational foundation doesn't pay for that kind of stuff either. The gym is being built with referendum money. A Science Research team would get a small amount of PTO money like upto $200 per club that applies because the leaders of the PTO believe money must go to things that benefit ALL students and not just to the students that want a science research team.

In the next year or two, courtesy buses are going to be a problem because they're going to switch up the grades and buildings which will mean eliminating buses for the kids in grades 6 - 8. Neither of the organizations would be the ones to hire an extra bus driver even if the parents wanted to do that. These are all strictly school board decisions except maybe the research team thing. Maybe the education foundation would help them out, I don't really know how the HS clubs work. 

A small group of us would love to build the PTO up to a 6 figure budget, but it's not happening with the way it's run at the moment. We have young kids though so we have a decent amount of time to try and steer the organization to make our vision happen.

There are some prime HS parking spots available in the upcoming auction. No one has bid on them yet. Either their parents don't know or they don't care because maybe the parking is not that big of a deal at the HS level.

[abs]

sent yeah same here. We have an active PTO at the elementary level and junior high level but not much beyond that. The district also has rules around what fundraisers can pay for. It’s mostly teacher supplies, technology updates (like smart boards), end of year parties, and things like playground equipment. It can’t be used for niche things as it needs to be something all students benefit from and also something all schools could theoretically have.

Something like a football field would be funded through a bond but those never pass anymore.

Such a mess. We are 49th in state funding for education. Something has to give.

[penguingrrl]

Apr 29, 2024 20:12:19 GMT -5 sent said:

penguingrrl , we have both of those, a PTO and a separate educational foundation. The PTO would never fund the kind of stuff you and Jalapeñomel described. The educational foundation doesn't pay for that kind of stuff either. The gym is being built with referendum money. A Science Research team would get a small amount of PTO money like upto $200 per club that applies because the leaders of the PTO believe money must go to things that benefit ALL students and not just to the students that want a science research team.

In the next year or two, courtesy buses are going to be a problem because they're going to switch up the grades and buildings which will mean eliminating buses for the kids in grades 6 - 8. Neither of the organizations would be the ones to hire an extra bus driver even if the parents wanted to do that. These are all strictly school board decisions except maybe the research team thing. Maybe the education foundation would help them out, I don't really know how the HS clubs work. 

A small group of us would love to build the PTO up to a 6 figure budget, but it's not happening with the way it's run at the moment. We have young kids though so we have a decent amount of time to try and steer the organization to make our vision happen.

There are some prime HS parking spots available in the upcoming auction. No one has bid on them yet. Either their parents don't know or they don't care because maybe the parking is not that big of a deal at the HS level.

I should have said, too, these two groups are only for our K-8 district. There are no buses, and only two buildings servings under 1,000 kids (one K-4 and one 5-8). No school fields, the fields adjacent to the schools belongs to the towns so that’s covered by municipal budgets instead of schools (a change made as school budgets grew tighter). Our HS has its own fundraising group, but I don’t know much about them because they basically shun the arts and fund only sports so I avoid them.

[Jalapeñomel]

Apr 29, 2024 20:12:19 GMT -5 sent said:

In the next year or two, courtesy buses are going to be a problem because they're going to switch up the grades and buildings which will mean eliminating buses for the kids in grades 6 - 8. Neither of the organizations would be the ones to hire an extra bus driver even if the parents wanted to do that.

Are these changes not up for budgetary votes? Because in our district, any movement like this has to be approved by the schoolboard and then voted on by the district. There's not a chance in hell that would pass here. 

[sent]

Apr 30, 2024 9:05:04 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Apr 29, 2024 20:12:19 GMT -5 sent said:

In the next year or two, courtesy buses are going to be a problem because they're going to switch up the grades and buildings which will mean eliminating buses for the kids in grades 6 - 8. Neither of the organizations would be the ones to hire an extra bus driver even if the parents wanted to do that.

Are these changes not up for budgetary votes? Because in our district, any movement like this has to be approved by the schoolboard and then voted on by the district. There's not a chance in hell that would pass here. 

No because technically almost no one qualifies for busing in the district according to the state laws. The district provides subscription busing where they pay for some of the bus cost and the parents pay for the rest. After COVID, they actually had to scrap busing to the Catholic school in town so the parent portion would not increase for the public school students. I'm guessing they do this otherwise we would have the car line chaos with the entire town trying to drive their kids to school because almost no one wants to walk 20 minutes each morning with a 1st grader in tow from the opposite end of town.