Milwaukee's Budget Courage vs. Council Rock's Grant Fantasies | Beware Bucks County, It's Coming For Your School Too

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Budget crises are revealing uncomfortable truths about school district priorities across America. This raw, unfiltered comparison between Milwaukee Public Schools and Council Rock School District exposes two radically different approaches to fiscal management in education today.

When Milwaukee faced a $17 million state funding shortfall, they responded with decisive action—eliminating 181 central office positions and prioritizing classroom instruction above administrative comfort. The message was clear: when money gets tight, students come first. Certified teachers were redirected to classrooms where they could directly impact learning outcomes, demonstrating a commitment to educational fundamentals over administrative bloat.

Meanwhile, Council Rock takes a markedly different approach. Rather than making difficult cuts, they're raising taxes while pinning hopes on speculative grant funding that may never materialize. The district continues investing in administrative positions with specialized titles and maintaining facilities like the Chancellor Center instead of redirecting resources to classroom instruction. This "wait and hope" strategy places the financial burden squarely on community taxpayers rather than streamlining administrative overhead.

This stark contrast raises profound questions about educational priorities and fiscal responsibility. Are we willing to make difficult decisions that prioritize student learning, or will we continue maintaining administrative structures at any cost? The courage shown in Milwaukee demonstrates that districts can make dramatic changes when necessary, while Council Rock's approach highlights how difficult breaking from administrative comfort zones can be. If you're a concerned parent or taxpayer, now is the time to make your voice heard at school board meetings before the next inevitable tax increase arrives.

 #SchoolBudgetCrisis
 #EducationPriorities
 #TaxpayerTruth
 #StudentsBeforeAdmins
 #CutTheFatNotTheClassroom
 #FundClassroomsNotChairs
 #AdminBloat
 #MilwaukeeVsCouncilRock
 #SchoolSpendingExposed
 #ClassroomOverComfort
 #EducationReformNow
 #WhereIsTheMoneyGoing
 #FixOurSchools
 #PublicEducationFail
 #DistrictDrama
 #FiscalResponsibilityMatters
 #StopTheTaxHike
 #ShowUpSpeakOut
 #SchoolBoardWatch
 #RockBottomReality 

Peace, Love & God Above! :-)

Episode Transcript

Speaker 0 (00:00):
Hey, welcome to the Rock Bottom Podcast.
Milwaukee did what CouncilRock's still dreaming on a grant
wish.
One district fired 181 people.
The other keeps out like he's arescue pet.
Oh, my goodness gracious, 181central office staff.
Like it was WrestleMania in aschool board meeting.
Meanwhile CR's over here likelighting aromatherapy candles
and hoping a grant fairy fliesin with a sack of money and a

(00:21):
fucking presentation.
Let's compare these two likeit's before and after Botox.
One's tight, bold and refreshedand the other is Council Rock
Fire in the hole.
Milwaukee they saw $17 millionvanish from state funding and
said well, I guess it's time toactually do something.
They accessed 181 centraloffice staff, not quietly, not
gently.
They hit them with asledgehammer of truth and said

(00:50):
you can reapply for your job,but maybe don't bother.
Counselor ock, still waiting ona grant and a hug.
Meanwhile, over at crsd, we'restaring out the window like a
disney princess, waiting for thegrant that might show up around
the same time as hailey's comet.
They're not firing people,they're rebranding them.
You're not a literacyspecialist anymore, you're a
district-wide languageintegration strategist.
Cool, still useless, stillsalaried.
And instead of moving bodiesinto classroom like milwaukee
did Cool, still useless, stillsalaried.
And instead of moving bodiesinto the classroom, like
Milwaukee did and other statesare going to be following, crsd

(01:11):
is out here buying modulars thathaven't been delivered since
before COVID graduated.
Let's do a little back and forthcomparison, shall we?
Milwaukee?
We're broke.
Let's do something smart.
Council Rock, we're kind ofbroke.
Let's just raise taxes a smidgeand hope nobody notices.
Milwaukee we fired 181 people.
Kids come first.
Council Rock we hired adirector of curriculum and
chaotic neutrality and built aflex lounge for third graders

(01:34):
who are emotionally allergic tofluorescent lighting.
Milwaukee certified teachersget in the damn classroom.
Council Rock, certified teachercool, go sit in the data
analyst bunker and calculate howmany times the superintendent
blinked during the last financemeeting.
Milwaukee time to restructure orcollapse.
Counselor Rock, let's wait tomaybe get this sweet state grant
that might arrive when pigsfinish law school.

(01:55):
Um yeah, also, did you guysknow we're $50 million above
where we were five years ago,which means all your taxes are
going up, up, up?
So instead of them doingsomething on their end to fix
the problem, they're forcing youon your end to fix the problem.
Yo, cancer rock is literallybuilding its entire
administrative survival planaround a grant that doesn't even
exist yet that's not budgeting,that's manifesting for

(02:16):
administrators.
That's the vision boardbullshit you do when your
boyfriend dumps you and youthink journal will get him back.
I mean, come on now, do wereally need to spend the money
on the chancellor center?
No, go find a classroom in abuilding and go fucking work
there, use zoom to communicateall your phones or just drive
there and just spend days withthe kids, like that's what
you're supposed to do.
The chancellor center, justgive it back to the fucking

(02:37):
township and let them deal withit all.
Right, it's ridiculous already.
You don't need to fix that shitjust because one old lady came
in and said you should reallypreserve the integrity of this
building.
Yada, yada, yada, yada, yada.
I mean, she seemed like a niceold lady, but you know she ain't
paying for it.
I mean, social Security mightbe, but she's not.
Milwaukee took their shot and itwas messy, brutal and necessary
.
Kounsarok, they're justpolishing the Titanic deck

(02:57):
furniture, pretending a yacht.
Uh yeah, we can't make cuts yet.
We're waiting on a state grantthat may or may not show up next
year possibly, or we couldapply for it next year, or
something like that.
It's not this year and it's notbefore the summertime.

(03:19):
So let's hire all these newpeople, you know, with all these
new titles, and spend all thismoney on facilities, but we
don't really know if the money'scoming yet or not.
So let's jack up the homeownersand taxpayers and everybody who
lives in the district andtaxpayers and everybody lives in
the district.
Let's make them pay more money,just in case.
Yeah, that with all the tariffscoming from our new president.
Yeah, that's good, that'sreally good.
Luckily, you guys don't have tospend money on haircuts, so,

(03:40):
yeah.
So let's hold off onreassignments.
Like there's a grant in theworks, maybe, possibly, who
knows?
Maybe we'll just get extrafunds from the county for
climate control, lego storageunits.
You mean, that's maybe possiblyone day.
Narnia money Milwaukee lostfunding and took action.
Councilor Rock imagined fundingand decided to I don't know host
a budget seance with Senatecandles and a whole lot of
Pinterest, vision something,boards, whatever they call it, I

(04:03):
don't even know.
Spirit of the budget, gods, ifyou hear us, please deliver us a
check and a few administratorswith basic communication skills.
Yet the people in the adminbuilding keep getting their
salaries bumped up per thecouncil rock parents page on
facebook, which I do trust, uh,immensely, but the school
district doesn't, because theytell you every time they have a
meeting don't trust anything youhear on social media.
Trust us, but you don't sayanything.

(04:23):
You listen to three minutecomment and then you just go
blank.
You just go dormant like you'reno longer available and it's
just like to the abyss.
So who are they supposed tolisten to?
Uh, spoiler alert, I don'tthink the grant's coming.
You might as well just wait forRadio Shack to make a comeback.
Milwaukee cleaned house.
They dumped dead weight, theytook hits, they made enemies and
said fuck it.
The kids win because we'reputting the people that actually
teach back in the classrooms todo what they're supposed to do

(04:44):
in the first place, and that'steach the kids.
Council Rock and they keep Alaround like it's a museum
exhibit.
And here we have Al, ourdirector of sitting through 74
meetings without doing a singletangible thing since 2008.
I mean, obviously you know hewas hired after that.
You know it's funny, like theytold me when he was a teacher
and he was a principal, like hewas used.
And then he got to the pointwhere we're going to make him
the director of secondaryeducation and give him a new job

(05:07):
title because he's earned histenure.
Okay, so no, I'd stick him backin the class.
Either that, or lock him in acloset, or let him be the
janitor.
I mean for real.
You know, if dust falls on hishead, you just wipe it off with
some lotion and a towel.
Milwaukee, huge fire sale.
Council Rock, huge circle.
Milwaukee classroom first,admin last.
Council Rock admin first,classroom if there's leftovers,

(05:27):
but students first always.
Yet all the extra money's goingto the admins in an office
that's unnecessary becausenowadays you don't need to all
be together.
Weird anyway.
Closing rant.
Counter-hawk doesn't need agrant.
It doesn't need a new directorof middle school vibes.
It doesn't need a tax hikedashboard or a pilot program.
It needs a fucking exorcism.
Purge the central office.
Stop playing patty cake withpublic funds.
Fire people, reassign certifiedstaff.
Tell al funk to build a lessonplan, or hit the damn road and

(05:49):
tell andy he doesn't get to givespeeches if he can't answer
basic questions about HVACdelays and budget math.
Milwaukee did it.
They nuked the central officeand lived to tell about it.
Council Rock, you're too scaredto even fart in the direction of
reform.
Either fire someone or quitpretending you care about the
kids, because the only thingbeing accessed in Council Rock
is courage, and it's courage todo absolutely nothing.
You guys building more shit,adding more shit as opposed to

(06:18):
making sure the kids are takencare of, do something productive
.
Milwaukee's not even a top 40city and they were able to
figure it out.
I understand, we're a suburb,but if it's happening there,
chances are it's going to happeneverywhere else too.
So forward, think this a littlebit and get out in front of it
before it gets out in front ofyou, because I'll tell you this
right now sooner or later, I'llbe the superintendent and I'll
be doing the budget off a chatgpt.
You know why?
Because that's how easy it isto do these days.
Numbers are numbers, they don'tlie.
Seriously, parents, I'd get tothe board meeting.

(06:38):
I really would, because if youdon't, your taxes are going up
like a scene out of a disneymovie.
There go the balloons.
Oh, I'm esg.
Peace, love and God above, andI'll talk to you soon.
Bye.