IS THIS SMART SPENDING? Part 1

The District is between a rock and a hard place: the rock of unfunded state and federal mandates that suck up millions, and the hard place of twin community demands for better schools and no more taxes. My question is whether we’re doing the most with what we have. For instance, the district spends more on supplies than it does on busing eligible kids around the district:

$465,557

That’s how much the district plans to spend on supplies among all the budget areas. The specific nature of these supplies was explained neither in the budget narrative nor in the Board of Ed budget review meetings. It’s not for paper (the $65,000 budget for paper is a separate line item–right or wrong, the district feels that e-communications can’t replace paper communications). It’s not for