I was in a CA high school as it fell apart (Benicia High in the North Bay). The district was in the hole to the tune of millions and cutting everything they co

I was in a CA high school as it fell apart (Benicia High in the North Bay). The district was in the hole to the tune of millions and cutting everything they could. Multiple teacher walk-outs a year, terrible morale. An administration more concerned with protecting their own asses than doing anything about education. The school had two copiers on the entire campus: one for the teachers that was always broken, another for the administration that was magically in great repair. I had a french teacher who finally flipped and stormed the admin copy room, refusing to leave until he'd made the copies he needed to teach his class. They put him on leave pending a psychiatric review. Buildings falling apart, bus service discontinued. Violence and an attempted shooting that was only thwarted through sheer dumb luck. I was fortunate that my family moved to Texas between my sophomore and junior years so I was spared the worst of it. Just after I left, the school ended all advanced classes and extracurriculars. AP classes gone. The band only survived due to a strong booster organization. A complete disaster in what was once the heart of America's dream. I was practically in shock when I started at my new school in Texas where the district seemed to have unlimited funds: I was in the first graduating class of the most expensive school ever built ($77 million). I told a teacher there that copier story and he couldn't believe it.