Quote:Education funding is being slashed left and right, and in states like Michigan that have been feeling the big hurt for a long time, that isn’t surprising since there’s only so much money going around, right? Well, Nathan Bootz, a school superintendent wrote a letter to the governor of Michigan requesting that his school be turned into a prison where the state’s funding shortage isn’t having quite the impact it’s having on his schools.

Quote:Dear Governor Snyder,

In these tough economic times, schools are hurting. And yes, everyone in Michigan is hurting right now financially, but why aren’t we protecting schools? Schools are the one place on Earth that people look to to “fix” what is wrong with society by educating our youth and preparing them to take on the issues that society has created.

One solution I believe we must do is take a look at our corrections system in Michigan. We rank nationally at the top in the number of people we incarcerate. We also spend the most money per prisoner annually than any other state in the union. Now, I like to be at the top of lists, but this is one ranking that I don’t believe Michigan wants to be on top of.

Consider the life of a Michigan prisoner. They get three square meals a day. Access to free health care. Internet. Cable television. Access to a library. A weight room. Computer lab. They can earn a degree. A roof over their heads. Clothing. Everything we just listed we DO NOT provide to our school children.

This is why I’m proposing to make my school a prison. The State of Michigan spends annually somewhere between $30,000 and $40,000 per prisoner, yet we are struggling to provide schools with $7,000 per student. I guess we need to treat our students like they are prisoners, with equal funding. Please give my students three meals a day. Please give my children access to free health care. Please provide my school district Internet access and computers. Please put books in my library. Please give my students a weight room so we can be big and strong. We provide all of these things to prisoners because they have constitutional rights. What about the rights of youth, our future?!

Please provide for my students in my school district the same way we provide for a prisoner. It’s the least we can do to prepare our students for the future...by giving our schools the resources necessary to keep our students OUT of prison.

Respectfully submitted,

Nathan Bootz, Superintendent, Ithaca Public Schools

Food for thought. Oh wait, there's not funding for that.

Loose Wrote:Prisoners get internet access and cable!?

WHAT!?

KhainiWest Wrote:We're talking bare minimum, its not like they are keeping up with HBO series and have FiOS

Quote:It sounds nice, but the argument is disingenuous at best. Prisoners are in prison 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. At $40k that works out to $4.56 an hour. Students are in school for 8 hours a day 180 days a year which at $7000 works out to $4.86 an hour. They're already spending more on students than prisoners. Things like a roof over their head are things a prisoner requires because they never leave. Schools aren't putting a roof over anyone's head. Additionally, at least in theory, you're only at school long enough to need lunch (though many eat breakfast there as well). In prison a lunch-only approach is not an option. Bottom line, the prison has to do many things the school does not, and at least in Michigan it does so with less money.

Sarah Wrote:Actually, we're not. They get really good packages in some prisons.

Eosian Wrote:Yes, yes they do.
Not to mention elective gender reassignments paid for by taxpayers.

Erebus Wrote:Didn't the Simpsons do something like this...