Dec 20, 2018, Brentwood (CA) Press: Brentwood Union School District calls families to urge legislators to properly fund education https://www.thepress.net/news/brentwood-union-school-district-calls-families-to-urge-legislators-to/article_7deaead8-0485-11e9-935a-d7a7cfd0ef0c.html In a recent letter sent home to families in the Brentwood Union School District (BUSD), officials called upon parents to take action with words. The message outlined a growing and systemic funding problem for education within California and urged parents to write to legislators, calling on them to meet goals added to the state constitution with the passing of Proposition 98 in 1988. “In the ’80s, Prop. 98 was passed – a funding formula for how much education gets,” BUSD Superintendent Dr. Dana Eaton said. “It was supposed to make sure education never dropped below a certain funding level, even when the state was in trouble. But instead of a floor, it’s become the ceiling of funding. It allows legislators to say, ‘Here’s the minimum funding we need for education and now we’ve fully funded education, let’s move on.’”… “While California, as a state, has been underfunding education for decades, it is easy to believe that the issue has improved because the economy has improved,” said Terry Koehne, Contra Costa County office of Education chief communications officer. “The fact is California schools are still far behind the national average in per-pupil spending, and things like the growing pension debt obligation and increases in special-education costs continue to have a huge impact on school district budgets. Districts are already in cost-cutting mode, and if the next recession were to hit anytime soon, school districts throughout California would be facing some very difficult decisions.” Eaton expanded on those rising special-education needs and pension costs along with the specific revenue challenges faced by Brentwood, whose community is neither wealthy enough to fund education at a level such as Walnut Creek or Orinda nor severely steeped in poverty, which would factor into the funding level received by the state. … “In passing the Individuals With Disabilities Act in 1972, the federal government said we know (special education) is going to cost more, so we’re going to provide 40 percent of the cost, but they’ve never provided more than 16 percent, and the state hasn’t increased our special-education budget even though we’re seeing a rise in need,” Eaton said. “The government needs to recognize that these are our most at-risk students and provide the funding to support them….
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Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless.
John Stone,
UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic.
They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years.
Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
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