i would like to keep the answer short so no one will feel the need to kick me in a certain area.

budget includes payroll and public schools have a larger student body, more teachers and other employees and pay more for the teachers. but your point was that the money allocated for school supplies, books, library, and other needs is small and i agree. money is wasted left and right and does not end where it should - such as the fiasco of the new high school that buried more than 20 mill in funds.

our school district enjoys a large pool of tax money and bonds from different parts of the county, so it cannot use the excuse of underfunding poor areas due to poor tax revenue. the difference between poor areas and affluent ones is the parents. one school in palo alto got a computer for each student-donated by a father of a student and later the parents wanted to pay from their pockets overtime for the teachers.

my point is that schools even in poor areas could and should look better only if we set our priorities to reflect our concern for the next generation.