Hypocrisy: New Carpets & Paper Cut-Backs
August 26, 2009 by CaitlinColetti
Filed under Editorials
A new school year has come upon us, and we find ourselves lost in the crowds, figuring out locker combinations, meeting new teachers, and finding friends at lunch. North Gwinnett is the oldest school in the county, and with 3000 students, repairs and upgrades are needed. Two things are different this school year; you were told one, and you saw the other.
Every single teacher has reiterated a major point: the paper shortage. Our school, North Gwinnett, has to “cut back” on paper. Don’t expect teachers to pass out worksheets on a daily basis. You now have to print assignments from home off the school website. Also new this year is the fresh, clean carpet in every single classroom. How do these two updates to North Gwinnett relate? They actually go hand in hand - the economy.
Suwanee, Georgia is no longer for the middle man. Since the year 2000 the population of our hometown has grown 58.07%, going from 14,000 residents to well over 65,000. The population, however, is not the primary reason for a paper shortage; money is. In Suwanee the average cost of living is higher than the nation’s. For a double income family the annual combined salary is at least $70,000 a year. In America the average salary is $35,000. In most cases, Suwanee families are earning more than the national average. Suwanee is clearly not a poor area. We have famous people living, eating, and shopping among us. Ron White, the comedian from Blue Collar Comedy, shops at the Fresh Market. Kim Zolciak, seen on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” eats with her family at Tanner’s in Suwanee. There are R&B artists living in River Club. Are you really convinced that North Gwinnett has to take a cut back on paper?! There is only one reason to believe this paper shortage is occurring: the brand, spanking new carpets in every single classroom.
Do you know what it costs to recarpet a classroom, let alone a whole school? I asked my dad, the owner of a remodeling business. Considering classroom areas and measurements, he estimated that it cost at least $300,000 to recarpet the school. There are many problems with this financial situation. North Gwinnett spent over $300,000 to recarpet our classrooms, and then told teachers to cut back on paper, refusing to give them more than what is supplied. By cutting back on paper, the school is cutting back no more than $10,000. Realistically, what is another $10,000 to our school’s financial ruin? In the world of credit, if you have a debt of more than $50,000, another $10,000 won’t hurt. Do you see the hypocrisy? More than $300,000 spent on carpet, and then the school takes from our educators by not supplying them with necessities; this is punishing the students and the teachers! Ladies and gentlemen, the school says, “No more paper, less spending.” Then it has new carpets put in!
How many of you truly believe that cutting back on paper is saving money? Teachers have to buy their own paper and transparencies from their own paychecks, and they can only ride off $200 of it. The school might as well make the teachers take a furlough! While the average American is saying, “at least I have a job,” money is being taken away from him. The hyprocrisy in our society is just another form of lying. It is like a mother telling her child not to have chocolate because it is unhealthy, and then turning the corner and eating a huge Hershey bar. The students and teachers are being jipped. Coach Thomas stated,”When the paper runs out, I’ll just put everything on the board. I won’t be spending my own money - that just isn’t fair.”
Dear Cailtlin,
In your Dads calculations, did he take into consideration the discount the school probably got by buying such a huge amount of carpet? Another thing to point out is that each room is square and the janitors removed all of the furniture from the rooms making the installment of the carpet a heck of a lot easier. Also, the carpet isn’t of nice quality. It isn’t the 1 1/2 thick carpet in most homes. It is a cheap generic carpet made of a different texture used for large offices or schools.
It also seems as though you are more mad that the paper shortage has caused you an inconvenience, and not that it has made you have a lack of learning in your classes. Writing things down is proven to better help you learn material so maybe in the long run this paper cut back is better for everyone. Teachers, as you and I both know, DO waste A LOT more paper than they should.
Another thing to note is that not everyone from our school lives in Suwanee, the majority of our students actually live in Sugar Hill. I can guarantee you that you and I have both sat in classrooms where teachers give speeches of how this or that stain came about. Stains were on every classrooms carpet! The carpet was also torn all over. Some rooms didn’t get re-carpeted. I’m sure you forgot to exclude all the tiled rooms at school that do not have carpet.
All in all a lot of things are flawed in your article. next time indulge a little deeper into your topic before you publish your article because it makes you seem ignorant to many pertinent, influential factors.
Valuable thoughts and advices. I read your topic with great interest.
Dear Raving Rebuttler,
Your “letter” makes you sound Ignorant, and in fact you have no idea what you are talking about. My dad, is a successful owner of a remodeling business, and he has been for 30 YEARS! He does commercial, residential, and office work. He is more intelligent that you are on the subject! He did IN FACT take into consideration that the county would be buying A MASS AMOUNT OF CARPET! AND EVEN BOTTOM OF THE BARREL CRAP CARPET IS ATLEAST $20 A SQUARE FOOT (ON DISCOUNT)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And even then the school does not need to spending HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS!
I do agree that teachers and students waste paper, but this is not an inconvenience to me. And you perpetually show your ignorance throughout your comment. I do not write without doing extensive research on my subject… The majority of our school does live in suwanee… hello??? Moore Road? All the neighborhoods down there? Lansdowne, Lansfaire, The River Club, River Laurel, Crofton… not to mention the rest of suwanee…. MORNING VIEW IS HUGE!
The carpet was not a necessity… we didn’t need it. Just like we don’t need your ignorant comment. Next time you rebuttle… you might want to know what your actually talking about? Because are you writing these editorials? no i am, and I’m intellectual enough to share the truth. So thanks but no thanks.
Dear Cailtin,
I have looked up carpet prices for commercial carpet. All of the carpet sites I have gone to have shown a price of somewhere between 5 to 10 dollars per square YARD for commercial carpet. I cannot fathom how you decided how big every classroom was and how much carpet was needed to even make such a “well” estimate on the price the school spent on our new carpet.
I also looked up the school zone for NGHS, as far as the map is cocerned, it looks as though sugar hill and suwanee are evenly represented at North Gwinnett without one having a larger group of students than the other.
I figure the county, whose budget this past year was almost 2 billion dollars was the one who covered the spending for new carpet. Not the school. Therefore how can you say the school cutting paper and the county spending the money for the carpet have any relevance? The school is the one cutting our paper, not the county. Maybe instead of attacking the carpet you should attack the new concession stands, or new hardwood floors in the gyms, or the new lockers, or how about the flat screen? Those seem like good targets too you know.
My biggest concern with your article is that you solely put the problem out as being the carpets fault for us having cutbacks on paper. Thats all.
I read a few topics. I respect your work and added blog to favorites.
The issue basically boils down to this, tightening your belt after an gluttonous meal.
What Caitlin writes about is pertinent. How can the school (county) claim to be cutting back while installing brand new carpet. Raving Rebuttler does make some good points but even if the carpet IS only 10 bucks a square yard , and even IF a humongous discount was obtained IT STILL is an expensive
proposition.
Wasteful spending, is what this topic is about. I believe Caitlin was trying to bring this to light. With the current economic woes carpeting falls low on the list of priorities, its a nice to have not a need to have. Raving rebuttler has some valid points, new hardwood floors- definitely not a necessity, flat screens ( what are they thinking) new concession stands?
More banks failiing, economic woes, people losing jobs. Out of control spending is rampant in Suwanee, take a look around. We need to cut back but on paper? Does that make a difference.
I