The Future of Teams With Low Numbers

[say_oww]

Why are there so many churches??? The members of the congregation don't want them to close or consolidate. Its the same with small and rural school districts. Residents don't want their schools to close, and their kids and grandkids to have to travel hours each day for classes. Faced with bussing your child from Confluence to Somerset everyday, how would you feel? Heck, bussing them anywhere in Somerset County is at least 35 minutes. And the distance applies for most of those schools. Add in bus time, and you start to see the ripple effect. Remember a bus ride isn't the same as a drive in a car. Slower speeds, frequent stops and starts contribute to double the commute time. Why do you think there are 10-12 buses per school district? If there were only one bus per district, imagine how long it would take for a kid to get home at night?

Public education built this country because our leaders recognized that the only way to continue to strengthen our nation is to educate all of our citizens. The reason so many other nations such as Japan and Germany have caught up is that they still place education as a national priority. Those nations don't sacrifice public education and try to close schools to decrease corporate taxes or to improve high school sports competition. And by the way, I'm not a teacher, but teachers are respected in those countries. Even more than coaches! Want any sports topic on this board to get on a tangent??? Just bring up consolidation....

[richabolii]

Concerning small school football and small time inadequate education, my question is, "How long will this misery last?"
Every year posters are on here saying how miserable Ferndale and Conemaugh Twp is. They say that it won't last. What year will these schools be over?

[knowitall]

Describe an inadequate education? Are we so sure the AA schools are providing better educations than the A schools? How do you really measure that?

[sonofpsycho]

Schools like Ferndale, CV, Shanksville, etc -- schools that clearly should not exist -- will continue to exist as long as the grand parasite and public enemy number 1 of every taxpayer in the Commonwealth -- the PSEA -- can continue to extort public funding for them by threatening state politicians with election opposition.

.....or until parents of the students begin to comperehend how destructive the current public system -- which cuts their kids activities, sports, arts programs, music programs, AP classes etc in favor of preserving union teacher employment -- is to their kid's futures. But then again, the majority of parents will have to give a sh_t and that will be the hard part.

With a new left wing idiot in Harrisburg who will carry on the proud democrap tradition of spending money we don't have, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for these failing schools to consolidate. it's way easier to live with mediocrity that to press for excellence.

[knowitall]

If those schools were to go away there would be a need for teachers at the schools that absorb their students. The PSEA wouldn't be losing any clients and in the case of at least two of those schools consolidation would likely mean higher salaries which would in turn mean more dues dollars for the PSEA.

Try again.

[sonofpsycho]

Keep drinking the cool aid.

[knowitall]

Where did you get your edumacation?

Or at least your talking points?

[CRWizard]

Schools like Ferndale, CV, Shanksville, etc -- schools that clearly should not exist -- will continue to exist as long as the grand parasite and public enemy number 1 of every taxpayer in the Commonwealth -- the PSEA -- can continue to extort public funding for them by threatening state politicians with election opposition.

Not even close buddy. The last administration to propose consolidation was Ed Rendell. http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index. ... datio.html

The problem is the Republicans on the school boards who won't relinquish power. They are the ones who are putting up the fight and demand local control. When's the last time a tax increase has been levied that wasn't met with several board members stating the local effort is "tapped out" over an $16 tax increase. Give me a break. I hope the state just takes over and forces consoldiation. Equally distribute the money and lets move on.

[sonofpsycho]

No, Corbett indirectly proposed it as a way to deal with reduced spending on education but he could not get the repubicans from southeast PA to go along because they are all hanging by a thread to their seats in the democrap dominated southeast and the PSEA threatened to oppose them in the election if they supported consolidation. Locally John Wozniak, a democrap, has proposed statewide school consolidation twice but has received little support. Again, PSEA has opposed it and threatened legislators (both R and D) who support it with adverse action come election time.

You see our system does not work when the overriding objective of our legislators is to get reelected. It perverts the process and creates the abominable situation we have in our public schools today -- a statewide system effectively run by a labor union that places the interests of its members ahead of the interests of students.

[knowitall]

Which public school did you attend, sonofpsycho, and how did you do in your AP classes?