About 4.2% more than last year, 5.7% more than the year before, 6.7% more than the year before that - and the beat goes on and on.
While those numbers may not seem all that crazy when compared to a $688 million Guilford County Schools budget, let's think of these little spending increases another way. How big of a number does $250 million seem to you? If GCS gets their way again this year, that's how much additional cumulative spending has happened in only the past 5 years. You see how those numbers begin to blow up when you do a little 6th grade math. I actually did that calculation on the back of a napkin at Panera Bread, so as not to minimize the intelligence of our 6th graders. Suffice it to say - it's not rocket science. And friends, we're not talking about new buildings. That's a whole different post for another day. I'm referring to GCS's annual Operating Budget.
All this excess spending during a time when unemployment and underemployment is at record highs and most household incomes are level, at best, since 2007. Our home values are significantly lower. Our savings account balances are less valuable. 2+2 doesn't equal 4 <wbr>when it comes to the spending habits of GCS when compared to the many struggling families of Guilford County. Just like our Guilford County Board of Commissioners, GCS has had no measurable budget cut during some of the most hard hitting economic conditions of our lifetimes. If the consistent increases outlined here and in the Rhino Times article below were positively and directly impacting our children and their education in classrooms, we might not be so puzzled by all this craziness, but that is simply not the case. . </wbr>
Remember, there are at least 10,000 more students than 10 years ago, yet there are no more teachers in Guilford County than there were then. Does that make you wonder where all those additinal tax dollars are being spent? I'll post a video next week to help answer that question, but I'll warn you now that you will not be pleased with the findings of what my team of concerned citizens discovered last year during a thorough analysis of the GCS budget.
What is the significance, you may be asking. Nearly 45% of Guilford County's budget is directed to, you guessed it - Guilford County Schools. The majority of our current County Commissioners, including Skip Alston and Paul Gibson, have chosen to do almost nothing over the years to hold our GCS leadership accountable for their spending habits.
The citizens of Guilford County deserve better! With your support of Jeff Phillips for Guilford County Commissioner, District 5, those days will come to end. Kids need to come first once again!