Republished with permission from Montara Fog

Anyone who has lived in different places in the United States has no doubt noticed that spending on schools varies widely from place to place.

When I moved to San Mateo County three years ago I paid attention to this issue as it was a factor in choosing where to live--and what houses we could afford.

The chart above shows how we in the Cabrillo Unified School District rank in terms of spending per student compared to our peers in the rest of San Mateo County. (We’re the blue bar, sixth from the bottom. Click on the chart to see a larger version.) I didn’t show it here but I did compile the data for the past five years to see if Cabrillo’s ranking had changed over time--it has remained in essentially the same place over that time period.

O.K., so we are at the bottom of the chart compared to other county districts. Fair enough. But we are still well-off compared to schools in other states, right? This is California, after all, one of the nation’s wealthiest states, so well off we could, if we wanted to, form our own, separate country.

As the second chart shows, California was well below average in 2004 for per student spending (but, heck, we beat Louisiana--that’s something, isn’t it?).

Now here comes the really sad, depressing part. The more mathematically inclined of you might think, “Gee, I wonder how the ranking would change if we adjusted for cost-of-living?” That is to say, in some places in the country things cost less than in other places (obviously, right?). So a dollar spent on education in the Bay Area might not actually “buy” as much education, so to speak, as a dollar spent in Ohio, where things (most everything!) are cheaper.

You know how this is going to turn out . Just look at the states in the chart above to see who ranks below California. Louisiana, Texas, Iowa...Every one of those states is significantly (dare I say dramatically) cheaper to live in. Those states will move up on the list when you adjust for their dollar’s buying power. States with a high cost-of-living (like you-know-who) will drop on the list to account for the weak comparative value of a dollar spent in that state.

The result is that California is 51st in the country when you take into account cost of living.

Data provided by Education Data Partnership. Cost of living indices provided by Money Magazine. The crude methodology is my own invention.

Wanted: All cattlekings & kingpins, all cowpokes and cowgals, and funslingers from near and far to join us for the Pescadero Education Foundation & La Honda Educational Foundation’s Wild Wild West Casino Night!

Saturday, September 29
5 to 10pm
Long Branch Saloon
321 Verde Road in Half Moon Bay

Come have a knee-slappin’ good time!  Come for rousing games of chance and skill, including Texas hold ‘em, live music, live auction, and live entertainment. Come and buy a BBQ dinner before the fun begins, including prizes for “Best Dressed in the West” & the biggest winners of the evening! Bring your appetite, your thirst & your wallet and support our kids!

Buy a $75 ticket and have a BBQ dinner and get $25 in chips, or buy a $50 ticket and we’ll give you $10 worth of chips. Call 747-9287 to reserve your tickets.
A limited number of tickets can be purchased at the event.

All proceeds benefit the students of Pescadero and La Honda Schools.

All kids bathed, stories read, in bed by 8:30.

Up at 5:30, shower and dressed by 6:00

Breakfast of pancakes with warm syrup, sausages and fresh squeezed orange juice served with lecture on “a good breakfast fuels your brain”.  Play Mozart for kids to kick-start the day.

Make lunch.  Food pyramid balanced lunch including mini-sandwiches cut into hearts, homemade lemonade, and napkins folded into delightful origami animals. Veggie florets with little bag of hugs and kisses treat and haiku note:

Your first day of school
Playing with friends, learning new things
Love you to the Moon

Dress kids in finest, Lolo in sweet back-to-school dress, matching leotards and barrettes, with shiny patent leather Mary Janes. Matching darling swing coat with backpack filled with new school supplies.

Walk Lolo to kindergarten with dog, arriving early for play time before class and chat with Moms.  Hang out for coffee with other parents after the bell rings, resume dog walk for extra exercise.

Up at 6:00, shower and dressed by 6:30

Breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast and bacon with milk served with lecture on “eat quickly or we’ll be late for playtime”.  Listen to NPR, drink coffee and discuss story with older kids.

Pack lunches of hot soup, and one large heart sandwich. Toss in carrots with ranch dip and fruit cup with spoon.  Add Sponge Bob napkin left over from summer birthday party, with mini Hallmark card for kids: “Have a fun day”.

Dress Lolo in smart chinos, layered tops for comfort and playground friendly sneakers.  Can’t find barrettes but opt for oh-so-cute pigtails with matching rubber bands in favorite colors. Grab backpack, remove rocks, and sand. Replace broken pencils.

Walk Lolo to kindergarten, arriving just in time for line-up.  Head home to eat breakfast remnants from kids, telling self it’s good to recycle.

Up at 7:00, Fall asleep in shower wake to ice water—dressed by 7:45.

Breakfast of cereal with milk and banana served while reading aloud “a full day of recommended vitamins” from box to salve Mom’s guilt. Pop in Disney sing-along video with sound off.

Lunch of apple, square sandwich with crust hacked off, and fruit roll-ups—hey it’s fruit isn’t it?—torn paper towel for napkin. Toss in post-it note: “Luv ya, Mom”.

Dress Lolo in jeans and comfy tee shirt.  Spend 10 minutes looking for any shoes that match, settle on Hello Kitty rainboots to cries of “But it’s NOT RAINING, Mom.” Comb hair, put lunch in backpack. Note to self: remove all rocks and sand “later”.

Drive Lolo one block to school, circling parking lot 17 times looking for parking place. Carry child to class dropping her at the door just as the late bell rings.  Take nap in parking lot.

Up at 7:30, look at shower ... sigh.  Wash drool from corners of mouth, pull on sweats and flip-flops.

Breakfast of cereal with water. Remind kids to go easy on the milk so we have some for breakfast. Turn on “My Gym Partner’s A Monkey”.  Justify actions, as “you can’t protect them forever.”

Pack one of those delicious Lunchables that the kids love so much - pre-cooked hot dogs with peanut butter and jelly.  Add ketchup packet for vegetable.  Scrawl, “Mommy loves you” in sharpie inside lunchbox lid. This takes care of lunch notes for rest of year.

Dress Lolo in jeans (from yesterday), mismatched socks and sandals—the only shoes I can find. Spit on bangs and pull back from face, leave lunch sitting on the kitchen table.

Drive Lolo one block to school parking in fire zone and avoiding glares from Moms dressed in suits who arrived early.  Explain that “getting to school late” is an appropriate expression of self-confidence and that rules were created by the bourgeois to oppress the proletariat.

Return to car, bang head on steering wheel. Return home to the comfort of Judge Judy.

Wonder if Slim Jims and Coke constitute a reasonable breakfast. Add gummi bears for fruit. Scream “Hurry Up!” over the blare of cartoon network’s “Two Stupid Dogs” (don’t ask). Remind kids that there are children who can’t afford Slim-Jims, so quit complaining.

Dole out lunch money

Explain to Lolo that wearing pajamas and slippers to school is the latest craze. Cut bangs out of eyes with toenail clippers.

Drive Lolo one block to school parking directly in the playground, which is now empty since the kids are in class.  Push Lolo towards the classroom while speeding off before anyone can get my license number.

Return home and eye beer in fridge. It’s happy hour somewhere, right?

Well, summer break has finally drawn to a close and I get my life back (a little). With the school year brings new classes, new clothes--and a new principal at Farallone View. Catherine Werdel is the new principal, replacing Suzanne Michelony (who in turn, replaced Mike Bachicha the year before).

Want to get a head start on getting to know Catherine? Click your preferred video format for a three-minute introduction.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Reproduced with permission of Montara Fog.  Our daughter, who had Catherine Werdel for social studies at Cunha, describes her as “awesome”.

Meet Catherine Werdel [3 min]| Quicktime | Flash |

We visited Miss Balciunas’s kindergarten class at Farallone View Elementary on their very first day of School. Click on any image to visit our album.

The school district is holding public input meeting for the search firm it hired to find a new superintendent for CUSD. The meeting will be Tuesday, July 10 at 7pm in the Cunha Multi-Purpose Room. For more information, call 650.726.7871

If you can’t attend the meeting, feel free to share your ideas here on Coastsider, by clicking “comments” just below the headline on this story.

The County Times has a good short article on Superintendent John Bayless by Julia Scott, covering his departure and history at Cabrillo Unified School District.

Bayless said challenges for his replacement would likely include strict budget management, overseeing construction of the new science and art wing at the middle school and the eventual renovation of the rest of the buildings, and the need to adapt to demographic changes by increasing student access to second language programs.

San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury is calling on the county Superintendent of Schools to help county school districts follow best practices in construction and capital improvements, saying that managing major construction projects is outside the skill set of school districts [pdf of report].

The prior Grand Jury recommended that the county superintendent convene a blue ribbon panel of district superintendents, construction industry representatives, and architectural and construction management professionals to develop a set of policies and procedures for use by local districts.

The San Mateo County Superintendents’ Association rejected the blue ribbon idea, and instead the Superintendent of Schools established a website that has references to books, articles, and websites related to school construction. 

Meanwhile, school construction fiascoes have continued.  For example, the San Mateo Union High School District had significant cost overruns on its Measure D projects.  In addition, this same District is embroiled in controversy over its current Measure M contracting practices. 

You can see a full list of this year’s Grand Jury reports on their website.

Dr. John Bayless, superintendent of Cabrillo Unified School District, is retiring in the fall.  The board will begin its search in the summer and Bayless says that it should be complete by early fall.

You can download from Coastsider the superintendent’s letter and the letter from the school board describing his accomplishments over his decade of service at CUSD, including implementation of state standards, strategic plan, remodeling and building at all district schools and a record number of new grants.