LA has spent a billion dollars building 3 public schools capable of teaching a total of 8,400 students. Conservatively amortized over the course of a single student’s education starting at Kindergarten, that’s roughly $151,722 for a high school diploma. Oh… damn… we’ve still completely forgotten annual maintenance costs. Let’s hope that these initial investments don’t require any updating or repairs until 2023. Crap. And did I mention we haven’t hired any teachers or staff?
So, where the hell is all of this money going? Cool buildings. Physical structures. In fact, it’s the only aspect of the new school that Joe Agron, editor-in-chief of American School & University, really brings up when half-heartedly promoting it:
“There’s no more of the old, windowless cinderblock schools of the ’70s where kids felt, ‘Oh, back to jail’… Districts want a showpiece for the community, a really impressive environment for learning.”
In Midwest City, OK, I went to school in brick-and-mortar buildings of pretty standard fare. They seemed like prisons insomuch as I wasn’t allowed to leave until school was over. My schools were community centers because they were my schools, not because they looked like MoMA installations (and they certainly didn’t). As far as materials, I learned from a combination of books, videos and very primitive computers. And I received an unbelievable education… but it didn’t have anything to do with any of the stuff I just mentioned. My K-12 education was borne of the incredible teachers I’ve had throughout my life. Mrs. Darnell could have taught me contractions in a barn. Mrs. Murray simply needed my attention and the world around me to stimulate my fascination with the physical sciences.
When a school system generates a six figure bill per student without considering staff and maintenance amidst a state budget crisis (again, I’m being conservative: uber dismal holy crap-a-thon of insolvent proportions is more accurate), one might be inclined to understand why the crisis exists in the first place. I’m an advocate of education. In fact, I believe that in a time of economic crisis, nearly all other civic services should take cuts before educational institutions. It’s a pretty simple concept- if the present sucks, invest in a future that doesn’t. But LA County has missed the point entirely.
Education should be as far removed from materialism as possible. Humans teach other humans, not neo-contemporary architecture. Educators should be regarded as a school system’s most valuable asset. Oh, and kids don’t appreciate the artistry of their school. Buildings mean nothing. Period.
In March, LAUSD approved 5,200 layoffs, 4,700 of whom were teachers and non-maintenance staff, to deal with a $640 million budget shortfall. Yes, it’s possible that the money for the super-schools was completely disconnected from the LAUSD and it’s budget. But, you know, who f*cking cares? If the school system needed the money, who the hell decided not to tell these contractors to put down their hammers? What official didn’t do their job and hijack the “Taj Mahal” school project and push the cash into making sure that they actually have teachers to teach the kids? Oh, right- breaking deals with and failing to pay contractors isn’t an option when you’re a government institution. I totally forgot.
Half-finished buildings taking up space today are a hell of a lot better than half-educated kids staring into space tomorrow. But then again, this is LA. Aesthetics are more important than academics.
Thing is, there are tens of thousands of excellent, underpaid teachers out there- thousands more unemployed- and LA has used up it’s educational funds developing real estate. Taking inspiration from it’s Hollywood backlots, The LA county school system has built an elaborate facade with no substance beneath it.
Perhaps the people making these decisions haven’t heard the political cliche: Supporting today’s educators is important. Be it in their own education, or simply by allowing them to do their jobs without worrying about being fired at every economic turn or inheriting a classroom of 30 students that they can’t properly teach. It takes money to do that, but it’s money in the right place.
Let’s hope like hell that these palaces are filled with opportunity. Let’s hope that they are emulated, not because they’re pretty, but because they teach effectively. Let’s hope that future school designers can see the difference between function and form. And finally, let’s hope that the schmucks that thought of this idea in the first place never get to make any decisions about the minds of future generations ever again.
