[RP TownTalk] Opposing New Liquor Store on Kenilworth Avenue

[Dwight Holmes]

While more, smaller schools might in some ways bring improvements
(there's a huge literature on the optimal size of schools, and school
districts) how 'bout if the existing public schools were adequately
funded, so that they could have the capacity needed to do the job we
ask of them? For example, the average Montgomery County teacher gets
paid $65,400 -- our average PG County teacher gets paid $53,900.  That
difference is nearly equivalent to having an additional fulltime
minimum wage worker in the household. If I were a good teacher at
Riverdale Elementary and saw a job opening in Takoma Park, you think I
wouldn't be tempted to bolt?  This puts our local schools at a
tremendous disadvantage when competing to get and keep the best
teachers (and administrators).

Jonah, I'm sure all of us have high hopes and expectations for our
schools. (Even curmudgeons who hate kids rationally favor higher taxes
to support education because they're aware it raises the value of
their home). But these issues are really as different as apples and
oranges -- no zero sum here.  On the one hand we're talking about the
opening of businesses, a free market function to be regulated by the
government only in the presence of some kind of "market failure."  One
such reason to regulate is when the market would otherwise ignore
socially desired limits on the number of liquor stores. On the other
hand, talking about schools -- this is a legitimate function of
government which unfortunately is being universally under-resourced in
all 50 states -- to lesser and greater degrees.

On Feb 11, 2008 7:46 AM, Jonah Blaustein <jonah at mindspring.com> wrote:
> Gosh, it sounds like serving the community's alcohol needs takes
> precedence over the community's educational needs. What if there were
> schools every 2,000 feet along Kenilworth?