FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES
Florida’s last one-room schoolhouse looks as if it might close:
At the end of September, nine students were enrolled at Duette: two in kindergarten, two in first grade, one in third, two in fourth and two in fifth.
Since state funding is distributed to schools on the basis of student enrollment, the amount of money funneled to Duette from Tallahassee falls woefully short of operating expenses. During the 2004-05 school year, operating expenses for Duette exceeded revenues from the state by $129,882, according to information obtained from the Manatee County School District.
It’s a damned shame, because this place is obviously teaching the kids to see through the same-age-socialization crock:
As they were doing their work, the older students took a moment to say how much they like the ways that their school is different from other, larger schools.
“It’s kind of cool because you get to make friends with kids older and younger than you,” said fourth-grader Logan McCormack.
Fifth-grader Maranda Lewis agreed.
“If the little kids need help with anything, the bigger kids are in the same room and can help them,” Lewis said.
2 Responses to “FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES”
 Comment by Daryl October 12th, 2005 at 10:42 am |
Geez! How much does it cost to run a 1-room schoolhouse? You have to figure that they took in at least $60,000 for the nine kids. Almost $200K for one teacher and overhead for a one-room building? How many administrators are they supporting? |
 Comment by Brian Sassaman October 17th, 2005 at 9:12 am |
Woody Gap School, the smallest public school in GA has 115 students and 24 employees!!! Disgusting. |