School Pride

I go to Emmanuel Reformed Church in Paramount, CA. In 2005, Emmanuel made a 40 year committment to help rebuild Compton, CA. In order to do this, the Compton Initiative was formed. Every three months, on a Saturday, the Compton Initiative brings volunteers from Emmanuel, other local churches, business men and women, city leaders, etc., to go to multiple sites in Compton for a Compton Clean-Up day. On these days, dilapidated houses get a new coat of paint, new roofs and new porches, middle schools are painted, and Compton is rebuilt one site at a time.

Almost a couple of months ago, Emmanuel Church and the Compton Initiative was contacted by Denise Cramsey, producer of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. She is working on a new show called School Pride, set to premier this fall. Think of it as Extreme Makeover: School Edition. The basic gist is that the producers find schools all over the country in need of renovation (and often without the necessary resources to do so themselves), and then work with local volunteers to do just that. They really want to get the community involved in transforming these schools. They don't want to come in and do everything themselves. Enterprise Middle School, in Compton, CA, was chosen for such a makeover which took place this past week.

I had the opportunity to be one of the volunteers who helped to renovate the school. It was quite the experience. I saw a lot of what happens in the way of filming a show such as this (which actually kind of disappointed me), but I also got to see what happens when a community is given the tools necessary to transform itself.

My experience this past week leaves me with a few questions. Perhaps you all would know the answers to them. If so, please feel free to chime in.

1. Why don't public schools have the money to do necessary renovations?
2. In the L.A. Unified School District, why has the answer to a gap in the state budget been to cut the school year short by 5 days?
3. The superintendent, Ramon Cortines, says, "... this is a temporary 'fix' only needed until the state economy finally improves". However, he also says that there is no end in sight to the state financial crisis. If things don't turn around, what will it mean for students?
4. What does the state financial crisis mean for the salaries of state employees such as senators and the governor?
5. Why is it that there is a gap in the state budget in the first place? Has any of the state's financial issues been caused by unjust uses of state money?

As I said earlier, feel free to chime in if you have any information with which you can answer these questions.