on 6/30/03 8:01 AM, Dooley, Bill at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > One eye-popping statistic: Minneapolis spends 70 percent more than St. Paul > for administrative costs.
> One statistic I would have liked in the article is a comparison of test scores > between Minneapolis and St. Paul students. Maybe the significant differences > of administrative costs and smaller class sizes are worth it if Minneapolis > kids are testing better than St. Paul kids. > > Here is the link: http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/3961121.html The Strib did a good job with this idea. I, too, would have liked test scores, but there were several other stats missing: * Demographics of both districts * a comparison of class sizes (didn't see St. Paul figures). * Comparison of teacher pay (since Minneapolis's average $53,000 salary is listed as a factor). A few specifics I thought were interesting: 1. Minneapolis costs are higher because of lower class sizes (again, didn't see St. Paul's) and more school choice. Voters have signed off on the class-size thing (even though it's now being reversed somewhat), and I suspect they would also pay for more choice - but we haven't really had that debate explicitly. 2. Administratively, the city paid a lot more for transportation; its bus drivers are district employees, unlike St. Paul's. It also buses kids more (see choice, above), or did until this year. The district cut $4 million in '02-'03 - which the story mentions, but is not factored into the larger analysis, which is a year or two older. 3. However, Minneapolis principals work 52 weeks a year - more than St. Paul's 45 - yet both are paid about the same ($95,000-$100,000). 4. Part of the Minneapolis's higher costs are for deseg. 5. It was interesting that special-ed costs were similar. So as a reader, I was left wondering exactly where the "fat" is. (This is not to say there isn't any.) We pay more for lower class sizes, more choice, desegregation, and our own bus drivers. With the exception of the last one, I think most voters would support that. Again, I think the Strib's analysis helped inform citizens. So my question is, what should we do that's different? I know there are list members who don't think small classes are important, and don't like SLCs, so I'd especially like to hear from those with other ideas. David Brauer King Field TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
