Our Schools Are Bankrupt, So We’re Building Them A New Theater!
Okay, the schools aren’t bankrupt (yet) and it’s not a “new” theater, but rather a complete renovation. But titles should only be so long 
For those who don’t know what I’m referring to, check out this article from the Morgan Hill Times. It’s essentially a glowing report about how 10 of 13 bids have been accepted by the Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Education and they’ve committed to spending $5.3 million in stolen money (aka taxes) to overhauling the Little Theater at Live Oak High School.
This despite the fact that not a week goes by without Z coming home from school* sharing how the teachers were complaining once again about the budget cuts, she’s been ordered to write a letter to the Governor complaining about lack of funding, or her bringing home a notification about the service cuts expected next year. Not to mention all the rugrats ringing my bell trying to sell me something as part of a school fundraiser. Yet they’ve got more than $5 million to renovate a theater which (according to the article) hosts a grand total of two performance s a year. Brilliant!
Some numbers fo y’all-
- Population of Morgan Hill – 33,556
- Population of Morgan Hill under 18 – 10,246
- Total households in Morgan Hill – 10,846
- Households with individuals under 18 – 5,152
- Number of high schools in Morgan hill – 2
So, with a little bit of simple math we can see that this $5.3 million theater renovation has the possibility of serving approximately 5,123 future students from roughly 2,076 households. Meanwhile, the other 8,770 households all are being required to pay nearly $500 each in order to renovate a theater they will likely never set foot in (and will probably be charged for the privilege should they do so).
*DISCLOSURE: Z doesn’t go to school here in Morgan Hill, but down the road in Gilroy.
Tags: budget, gun in the room, Little Theater, Live Oak High School, Morgan Hill, Morgan Hill Times, Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Education, taxes
Yes, I would much rather they keep wasting money on sports programs.
Welcome, Frank.
Sorry, but you’re not going to find a fan of Sports funding here.
I guess I didn’t make it clear in the original post, but I had this wacky idea that school funding should actually be spent on EDUCATION. You know, books and teachers. Maybe a field trip or two. I wonder how many guest lecturers they could get to visit these high school kids for $5,300,000…
The theatre at my high school was so small; it was hardly ever used as a theatre. It was mostly used for faculty meetings, our gym was great though. That’s more than likely where our high school reunions will take place, unless the class gets together to pitch in on a better location. I really don’t mind where it’s at, as long as it’s conveniently close to everyone. With all the school budgets I’m sure we will all settle for whatever we can get.
Great post! Thanks for sharing.