[olug] Computer Room Fire Suppression

[Bill Brush]

On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 1:09 PM, Hurley, Rod <RHurley at tenaska.com> wrote:
> Really.  So I went to public schools all my life.  If my school told me, we have no resources available for you. Go home and come back when we call you, I would have done just that.  How is that anything but a loss?
>

It is a loss, but  a) under what circumstances would that happen, and
b) would anyone one be held responsible for that situation?  Would the
revenue stream be impacted by your loss?  (No.)

> If your cable (which I often hear about on here) were a public utility, would you be peeved if they said "sorry guys, not enough budget for a good system, won't have your services available for another week", how would you respond? Well electricity, water, sewer, etc are tough to live without.  In my mind, public education is twice as valuable as any of those, and has been around for much longer.  No loss of product, if it closes?
>

What public entity has ever been closed permanently without being
legislatively defunded?  Technically you're incorrect on public school
being around for longer than other utilities, it's a product of the
early 20th century but that's really not pertinent.

Consider this, if you are unhappy with the product being delivered at
a public school (the quality, focus, or breadth of the education) you
can (probably) move your child to another school.  By doing so, does
that school see a corresponding drop in their revenue?  No they do
not.  This can, and will lead to a situation where the the management
of a public entity (not just schools) focuses not on what we, the
public, want but what their real customers want, which are the the
people who control the money.  In an extreme example, take the IRS,
as an institution it's focus is on delivering the maximum revenue to
the government that it can, because that's what it gets it rewarded.
Whether or not the public likes it, or is happy with it is utterly
irrelevant, it's where the money comes from that matters.  The
Director of <insert public entity> doesn't meet with the public to get
feedback on how they're doing, they meet with the legislators on the
Appropriations Committee.