Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

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CenterBHSFan

333 - I'm only half evil

Mon, Feb 10, 2025 1:15 PM

Which of the federal bureaucracies do you think can, not only go, but won't be missed?


I will start with the Department of Education.


I was already into my elementary years of school when the DoE was established and then implemented. In just under 50 years, this is some of the results of its "accomplishments":


About 20% of high school graduates can't read very well.


About 75% of high school graduates have a hard time doing basic math.





geeblock

Member

Mon, Feb 10, 2025 1:26 PM

I guess I would have to know what those numbers were like before the department of ED. 

I would say ok that’s fine if you want to get rid of it at a federal level, but the states would need a lot of time to replace all the things the fed does. Especially the red states. 

We would have to have another plan for college funding and overhaul the way we do it. I’m fine with all that but it sounds like most things that are happening this last couple weeks, things are being done without a replacement plan and there are lots of unintended consequences that happen without a real plan 


Also without federal title 1 money most schools would have to immediately ask for levy. 

geeblock

Member

Mon, Feb 10, 2025 1:34 PM

Also I don’t want to see things like the national anthem or the Bible to be involved in schools, which if you leave it to the states I’m sure you will see some wild stuff. I can remember being embarrassed in elementary school haven’t to sit for the anthem every morning because my mom was a jehovas witness. Kids have no say in parents religion or customs. It should stay out of schools. 

Heretic

Son of the Sun

Mon, Feb 10, 2025 2:13 PM
geeblock wrote:

Also I don’t want to see things like the national anthem or the Bible to be involved in schools, which if you leave it to the states I’m sure you will see some wild stuff. I can remember being embarrassed in elementary school haven’t to sit for the anthem every morning because my mom was a jehovas witness. Kids have no say in parents religion or customs. It should stay out of schools. 

Or just make it so that if one custom is observed, every single one followed by any damn person in the building also has to be. Follow up the Jebus prayer with a bit of kneeling to Mecca and a hearty HAIL SATAN so everyone is either happy or totally fucking disgusted at all the blasphemy going on.

CenterBHSFan

333 - I'm only half evil

Mon, Feb 10, 2025 2:20 PM

I'm wondering just how many Pride flags are strewn in public school systems. 


We have freedom of religion and we have equality. 


One simple solution to this conundrum would be that if you hang a Pride flag in public schools, then the Ten Commandments can be hung right next to it. 



CenterBHSFan

333 - I'm only half evil

Mon, Feb 10, 2025 2:26 PM
geeblock wrote:

I guess I would have to know what those numbers were like before the department of ED. 


As of right now, they are about the same as they were in 1970, several years before Jimmy Carter gifted the teachers unions.

There have been big and small fluctuations between them and now. But it seems we have come full circle. It rather, averaging the same throughout the years. 

Laley23

GOAT

Mon, Feb 10, 2025 2:32 PM

I would like to see the numbers and if it is more evenly distributed now though? Like, blue states -- more specifically -- rich districts, are going to have a lot more money to provide their school system than red ones which I imagine was the case beforehand? I wasnt around so I dont know. 


What type of money is Florida, Texas, etc going to have for school without a state income tax? The property taxes will be fine for the rich districts, but those states have a LOT of very poor areas with low property taxes. Are the property taxes going to be used state wide in that case? 

geeblock

Member

Mon, Feb 10, 2025 3:26 PM
CenterBHSFan wrote:

As of right now, they are about the same as they were in 1970, several years before Jimmy Carter gifted the teachers unions.

There have been big and small fluctuations between them and now. But it seems we have come full circle. It rather, averaging the same throughout the years. 

Interesting. I wonder what data they use for that back then. I don’t believe state testing started at least in Ohio until 1992. Is that including special education students in both data sets? Then and now? 

geeblock

Member

Mon, Feb 10, 2025 3:36 PM
Laley23 wrote:

I would like to see the numbers and if it is more evenly distributed now though? Like, blue states -- more specifically -- rich districts, are going to have a lot more money to provide their school system than red ones which I imagine was the case beforehand? I wasnt around so I dont know. 


What type of money is Florida, Texas, etc going to have for school without a state income tax? The property taxes will be fine for the rich districts, but those states have a LOT of very poor areas with low property taxes. Are the property taxes going to be used state wide in that case? 

I believe funding schools based on property taxes was found to be unconstitutional in Ohio like 30 years ago but no one has found a workable so

CenterBHSFan

333 - I'm only half evil

Mon, Feb 10, 2025 3:38 PM
geeblock wrote:

Interesting. I wonder what data they use for that back then. I don’t believe state testing started at least in Ohio until 1992. Is that including special education students in both data sets? Then and now? 

Those are good questions. Go look up the answers and report back to us. I'm curious!

geeblock

Member

Mon, Feb 10, 2025 3:39 PM

Some districts like upper Arlington and Olentangy probably take little to no Title 1 funding. Rural schools and your average suburban schools would get hit pretty hard. It would depend on income levels and number of special ed and handicapped students. Provides lots of equipment and transportation and facilities for kids with very specific needs as well. 

Ironman92

Administrator

Mon, Feb 10, 2025 5:02 PM

I mean rural schools have to have something. Title 1 funding is a huge portion.


I don’t have the answers. The rich seem to get richer with the schools and the poorer are loaded with not so smart or wanting to highly achieve people.


If Ohio gave every school district $50,000,000…most schools around here would just make sure they have the nicest athletic facility/field house type of investment. Wouldn’t be many state of the art science buildings.

CenterBHSFan

333 - I'm only half evil

Mon, Feb 10, 2025 9:04 PM

I think the NSA can go. 

ATF

TSA (we don't need 10 handfuls of intelligence agencies)


Thoughts? 

sportchampps

Senior Member

Mon, Feb 10, 2025 9:52 PM

I do t know what I would totally get rid of but I would make major cuts to a ton of them. One I would cut majorly is the EPA. 


I knew someone whose company was caught illegally dumping in a river. It was a big news story on the evening news and this person made a couple donations that night and by the morning it was a non story and the EPA left the scene and nothing was done.

jmog

Senior Member

Tue, Feb 11, 2025 9:55 AM
geeblock wrote:

I guess I would have to know what those numbers were like before the department of ED. 

I would say ok that’s fine if you want to get rid of it at a federal level, but the states would need a lot of time to replace all the things the fed does. Especially the red states. 

We would have to have another plan for college funding and overhaul the way we do it. I’m fine with all that but it sounds like most things that are happening this last couple weeks, things are being done without a replacement plan and there are lots of unintended consequences that happen without a real plan 


Also without federal title 1 money most schools would have to immediately ask for levy. 

Agreed.  I am ok with getting rid of the federal DoE or maybe vastly scaling it down.


Currently on average each school gets about $2400 from the Feds and $7700 from state governments (I assume in Ohio this is tax levy). 


That $2400 would have to still come from federal at least for awhile. Maybe a few people handling the administration of funds rather than the whole DoE. 


Some agencies can just disappear for the most part (USAID for one) but the DoE would need a transition plan like geeblock says.


As for the other part…


I agree no Bible in school. However, the history of religions, specifically the 3 major Abrahamic ones, is very important and should be covered as a historical context. The problem is that both sides get all up in arms….


The left “YOU CANT TEACH THE BIBLE!!!”

The right “YOU CANT TEACH ISLAM!!”


Those of us on the middle “relax, it’s a history lesson.


I understand the pledge/National Anthem logic but I am still for having it in schools. This is the country we are in. You are not forced to stand, recite it, etc so there is no harm no foul other than embarrassment.

jmog

Senior Member

Tue, Feb 11, 2025 9:59 AM
geeblock wrote:

Interesting. I wonder what data they use for that back then. I don’t believe state testing started at least in Ohio until 1992. Is that including special education students in both data sets? Then and now? 

No, I did state testing in Ohio in grade school. I was in grade school from 1984-1991.  It wasn’t every year maybe just 3rd and 5th grade or something like that. 



jmog

Senior Member

Tue, Feb 11, 2025 10:01 AM
CenterBHSFan wrote:

I think the NSA can go. 

ATF

TSA (we don't need 10 handfuls of intelligence agencies)


Thoughts? 

Do all intelligence agencies need to go? No

Can most disappear? Yes 

jmog

Senior Member

Tue, Feb 11, 2025 10:02 AM
sportchampps wrote:

I do t know what I would totally get rid of but I would make major cuts to a ton of them. One I would cut majorly is the EPA. 


I knew someone whose company was caught illegally dumping in a river. It was a big news story on the evening news and this person made a couple donations that night and by the morning it was a non story and the EPA left the scene and nothing was done.

As someone who has worked beside EPA engineers on large industrial furnace jobs…..


The EPA is where the lost gpa engineers go to work.  They are usually incompetent. 

Laley23

GOAT

Tue, Feb 11, 2025 11:51 AM

TSA needs to go. You can’t let airports handle their own security, it needs to be federal. But wrap it into another, competent, organization. 

Ironman92

Administrator

Tue, Feb 11, 2025 11:56 AM
Laley23 wrote:

TSA needs to go. You can’t let airports handle their own security, it needs to be federal. But wrap it into another, competent, organization. 

Die Hard 2 agrees

iclfan2

Reppin' the 330/216/843

Tue, Feb 11, 2025 12:06 PM

What about blown up and rebuilt from scratch? FBI and FEMA.

And yea fuck the TSA

Heretic

Son of the Sun

Tue, Feb 11, 2025 12:27 PM
jmog wrote:

No, I did state testing in Ohio in grade school. I was in grade school from 1984-1991.  It wasn’t every year maybe just 3rd and 5th grade or something like that. 



That was, I think, the IOWA test, right? Remember doing that. I believe it was my senior year (91-92) that schools started making the standardized testing a requirement for graduation. Set up this weird thing where my class didn't have it as a requirement because (I guess) we were seniors, but we still had to take it. So the school did one of those "class that does best gets a pizza party" (ie: about 2 pieces of pizza for everyone).


Yeah, a test that counts for nothing and me...not compatible. I still feel I owe my class a bit of an apology because I just filled in answers at random, so I could get finished ASAP and zone out for however long the stupid thing lasted. Probably not the sole reason my class didn't get the pizza, but it was a contributing factor!

jmog

Senior Member

Tue, Feb 11, 2025 12:37 PM
Heretic wrote:

That was, I think, the IOWA test, right? Remember doing that. I believe it was my senior year (91-92) that schools started making the standardized testing a requirement for graduation. Set up this weird thing where my class didn't have it as a requirement because (I guess) we were seniors, but we still had to take it. So the school did one of those "class that does best gets a pizza party" (ie: about 2 pieces of pizza for everyone).


Yeah, a test that counts for nothing and me...not compatible. I still feel I owe my class a bit of an apology because I just filled in answers at random, so I could get finished ASAP and zone out for however long the stupid thing lasted. Probably not the sole reason my class didn't get the pizza, but it was a contributing factor!

You are right I think, IOWA tests sounds familiar.


I think I was the first graduating class that absolutely required the “9th grade proficiency test” to graduate HS. This later became the “Ohio Graduation Test/OGT” probably because it hurt people’s feelings that they couldn’t pass a 9th grade test with 8 tries (2 per year back then).

Ironman92

Administrator

Tue, Feb 11, 2025 12:48 PM
Heretic wrote:

That was, I think, the IOWA test, right? Remember doing that. I believe it was my senior year (91-92) that schools started making the standardized testing a requirement for graduation. Set up this weird thing where my class didn't have it as a requirement because (I guess) we were seniors, but we still had to take it. So the school did one of those "class that does best gets a pizza party" (ie: about 2 pieces of pizza for everyone).


Yeah, a test that counts for nothing and me...not compatible. I still feel I owe my class a bit of an apology because I just filled in answers at random, so I could get finished ASAP and zone out for however long the stupid thing lasted. Probably not the sole reason my class didn't get the pizza, but it was a contributing factor!

Never knew we were the same age and grad year

Heretic

Son of the Sun

Tue, Feb 11, 2025 1:34 PM
Ironman92 wrote:

Never knew we were the same age and grad year

Old (ish) Bastards of the World, unite!

geeblock

Member

Tue, Feb 11, 2025 1:36 PM

Haha i was also a 91 grad