Mount Vernon School District Promise to Voters Vanishes with a Stroke of Gov. Patterson’s Veto Pen

The Journal News is reporting that Mount Vernon Schools will not receive $5 million in state aid it had previously told voters would be coming only if they approved the 2009-10 school budget passed last May. Whooops

School officials held up the $5 million in state aid as a key reason why city residents should vote for the 2009-2010 Mount Vernon budget plan. Officials repeated the claim that the district would only get the aid if the schools budget passed, which it did.

What I love best about this story is that 40% of the money was going to an entirely useless expense on technology:

The district also planned to spend $1.9 million on hand-held remotes that students use to answer questions in class, along with related software and training.

Really? Two million bucks on “hand-held remotes” so kids can answer questions in class Ummm. Does anyone remember the days when a teacher would ask a question and students would raise their hands and the teacher would call on one of the students? Does that not work anymore? Now we need $1.9 million for “hand-held remotes”. Even better, the Superintendent says that without the millions for “hand-held remotes” he is going to be forced to layoff teachers.

This gives me an idea!

How about we spend millions on a tiny beeper for each student that can go off each time a class ends instead of the ridiculous bell that rings every 50 minutes. How about a boatload of money on teaching school children how to play tag or kickball? Maybe we can ask Obama for a federal grant to pay for showing teachers how to grade papers with a special high tech pen that automatically calculates test scores and then draws an “A” or “B” on the paper. In fact, why have paper at all when we can spend millions more to create 3D holograms that can display tests in mid-air and give students laser pointers to answer the questions while sitting in vibrating massage chairs.

Meanwhile, a teacher caught cheating on the state Math exam in Greenburgh sets off without even a slap on the wrist.

State education officials will not take any disciplinary action against a Woodlands Middle School teacher found to have provided improper assistance to students during a state test.

Now, granted, this is minor compared to the kind of stuff going on at Isaac E. Young Middle School but if you are willing to tolerate even a small amount of cheating you are really opening the floodgates.