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Since Baltimore City is getting more money per student, why aren't they able to properly maintain their buildings [1]? Poor management? Corruption? Lack of heat

Since Baltimore City is getting more money per student, why aren't they able to properly maintain their buildings [1]? Poor management? Corruption? Lack of heating and working bathrooms is inexcusable. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/us/baltimore-schools-winter-heating.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/us/baltimore-schools-wint...

panzagl 9y ago
Older infrastructure requiring more maintenance, plus higher expenses/labor costs of city vs suburbs.
- millermp12 9y ago
  Sure. That's the ticket. "older infrastructure". Of course!
- zip1234 9y ago
  How expensive would it be to put space heaters in every classroom? Even window heaters are only $500. Surely a school district that spends $17m a year on maintenance can come up with that. My guess is bureaucracy/mismanagement is the real problem. The larger a school district is, the more bureaucracy.
  - zip1234 9y ago
    Ok--http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/bs-md-ci-schools-money-returned-20180104-story.html http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/bs-md-ci... The money is there apparently.
  - alphabettsy 9y ago
    They certainly have a problem with mismanagement, but having to use space heaters to warm a classroom means things are going seriously wrong.
  - panzagl 9y ago
    Ever plug in 20 space heaters at once in a building whose electrical systems are over 50 years old?
- rayiner 9y ago
  That might be true generally (and cities like New York and DC have really high per capita spending for that reason), but Baltimore is quite a bit less expensive than the surrounding suburbs. You can buy a gorgeously renovated townhouse in a nice neighborhood for $400-500k, a fraction of what it would cost in Montgomery County.
  - panzagl 9y ago
    That has little to do with how expensive it is to maintain a building, especially a government building.
dwater 9y ago
Suburban areas in the US aren't old enough to get hit with infrastructure maintenance costs like the urban areas are. This is a really interesting article about the profitability and maintainability of growth: https://www.strongtowns.org/the-growth-ponzi-scheme/ https://www.strongtowns.org/the-growth-ponzi-scheme/
alphabettsy 9y ago
Baltimore has much older infrastructure and buildings than any of its suburbs. That would lead to higher costs not to mention higher costs for being an urban metro to begin with.
rayiner 9y ago
Remember Freddie Gray? It’s the same municipal government in charge of education too.

panzagl 9y ago

Older infrastructure requiring more maintenance, plus higher expenses/labor costs of city vs suburbs.

millermp12 9y ago
Sure. That's the ticket. "older infrastructure". Of course!
zip1234 9y ago
How expensive would it be to put space heaters in every classroom? Even window heaters are only $500. Surely a school district that spends $17m a year on maintenance can come up with that. My guess is bureaucracy/mismanagement is the real problem. The larger a school district is, the more bureaucracy.
- zip1234 9y ago
  Ok--http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/bs-md-ci-schools-money-returned-20180104-story.html http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/bs-md-ci... The money is there apparently.
- alphabettsy 9y ago
  They certainly have a problem with mismanagement, but having to use space heaters to warm a classroom means things are going seriously wrong.
- panzagl 9y ago
  Ever plug in 20 space heaters at once in a building whose electrical systems are over 50 years old?
rayiner 9y ago
That might be true generally (and cities like New York and DC have really high per capita spending for that reason), but Baltimore is quite a bit less expensive than the surrounding suburbs. You can buy a gorgeously renovated townhouse in a nice neighborhood for $400-500k, a fraction of what it would cost in Montgomery County.
- panzagl 9y ago
  That has little to do with how expensive it is to maintain a building, especially a government building.

dwater 9y ago

Suburban areas in the US aren't old enough to get hit with infrastructure maintenance costs like the urban areas are. This is a really interesting article about the profitability and maintainability of growth: https://www.strongtowns.org/the-growth-ponzi-scheme/ https://www.strongtowns.org/the-growth-ponzi-scheme/

alphabettsy 9y ago

Baltimore has much older infrastructure and buildings than any of its suburbs. That would lead to higher costs not to mention higher costs for being an urban metro to begin with.

rayiner 9y ago

Remember Freddie Gray? It’s the same municipal government in charge of education too.