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I've said for years that we need to go back to neighborhood schools and in doing so, busing would be drastically reduced. Use the extra money to boost up the schools in the low-income areas - hire the best teachers, keep class sizes small, employ tutors to help children that are struggling, etc. As a former teacher, I've worked at a school where PTA meetings meant one parent in the classroom attended because the others lived across town, and they weren't able to get to the school. Neighborhood schools would help involve more parents in their child's education. It's time we STOP pouring education dollars into the bus gas tank and start pouring them into that which will EDUCATE our children!

Going to school with blacks wasn't so bad. All I remember was the black guys standing farther back from the urinal and anything I brought to class worth over two dollars got stolen.

We played football at recess. One class had a huge held-back dude and so did the other. They got the ball every time. The younger of the two was a kid named Alvis. He didn't take a bath for the whole first semester. When we came back from Christmas break, the cloud was gone, the circle of desks closed; I even hugged him.

If the lottery would quit skimming the skim, there would be enough gas to bring 'em in from everywhere. More cow bell baby...

Mrs. Sherrill, sounds to me like you are advocating Seperate but Equal.

Unfortunately it 1) doesn't work, and 2) is unconstitutional (Brown v Kansas Board of Education).

The idea of neighborhood schools sounds great on its face. But these schools are locally controlled, so guess where the money goes? Rich parents put money into the schools their kids go to. They don't let their tax money go to schools for poor (often minority kids).

Unless the state takes over control of the school system DIRECTLY (no county school boards), then having neighborhood schools won't work because local interests will trump a good education system for all.

Panacea,

You said "Rich parents put money into the schools their kids go to. They don't let their tax money go to schools for poor."

Can you tell me how I am supposed to direct my tax money to certain schools?

I don't remember seeing that on my property tax form.

Panacea, when you said " The idea of neighborhood schools sounds great on its face. But these schools are locally controlled, so guess where the money goes?"

Would this be opposed to the efficient current system. Where all the money goes to Washington, then is sent to failing public schools to continue more failure? So as to support more and more control over them.

I've been away from this site for some months. Observations:

1) Based on the very small sample of comments of "Molene Gunch," there is a high probability he/she is a leftwing "plant":

From Webster's Third International Unabridged dictionary:

"Plant" - Definition 4b - something deliberately placed so that its discovery may deceive or mislead. Ex: "The story had all the earmarks of a propaganda plant"

The purpose is simple guilt-by-association, that is to associate, in this instance, doubts about busing with vicious sentiments and ideas. In various forms, "planted" false or misleading information is not that uncommon on the left.

As to the busing issue, it WAS a big issue in Charlotte for decades and IS a big issue in Wake County (Raleigh area). I had a letter on the matter in the Charlotte paper, excerpted below:

A comment on the News & Observer Web site defines the problem CMS tackles with more money, Wake County with busing:

“There are low-income parents who … don't make education a priority in the children's lives and refuse to participate in helping their community schools succeed.

“[Wake County] demands that the children of responsible parents be used as tools to correct this problem and to suffer the related sacrifices such as excessively long bus rides … siblings forced to accommodate different schedules and disruptive students ill-prepared for school.

“I do not think we should ask our children to take on such a responsibility.”

Your children or your money?

Given the finding by Queens University of Charlotte of similar scores for low-income students by either school system's policy, Wake County voters may indeed decide to just fork over the money.

angie,

It's simple. Get elected to the board of education. Be a loudmouth at board meetings and county commissioner meetings.

If you look at where the schools with the bells and whistles are, they are in well to do neighborhoods.

Money and political power DO play a role in how schools are built and who goes there.

Putting those decisions into the hands of the federal government and unifying the system would reduce that problem.