Why Do Public Schools Need So Much Money?

Sorry in advance to my friends with kids in public school, but I have a curiosity itch and I gotta scratch it.

So tonight as I'm cutting my umpteenth Boxtop for Education off of FOOD that I am consuming, I start wondering something.

Why do public schools need so much money?

It seems like they are always raising money for something and it is never enough. I want to see a damn balance sheet, a revenue report, their budget in Quickbooks or Excel or even on paper. Heck, you can even break it down per school for me instead of showing me some extensive Superintendent of Schools report for EVERY school in a district. Where can I get this information?

By the way, I'd be happy to whip up a balance sheet for my homeschool any day of the week. I run it cheap, folks and public schools could learn a thing or two from moms, that's for sure.

Because there are the Boxtops and the Capri Sun recycling and the Campbell's labels and the Best Choice labels and the restaurant nights like Sonic and McDonald's and Johnny's Tavern where the restaurant donates like 10-20% of the night's sales to the specific school.

Then there is the ice cream social and the carnival and the parties, all of which cost money. And you are buying a ring pop for 50 cents when you can get them for a quarter a piece at Costco.

Then there are the freaking fundraisers ... selling candy and wrapping paper and entertainment books and first-born children and when you ask a kid what the money is going toward THEY NEVER KNOW.

Let's not forget about how all those millions from lottery tickets and casinos were supposed to going toward public education. Hell, schools should have crystals on the doorknobs by now based on that alone!

I'm sure there's a lot of waste going on ... ask any teacher. And the party line is that teachers don't get paid enough, either (but consider their paycheck is only for NINE MONTHS).

I get why private schools do these things ... they don't get federal fundage.

So why do public schools need so much money?

Especially when so many of us homeschoolers are giving them like $1,000 per year from our property taxes and what do we get in return? I guess my family uses the school playground in our neighborhood and sometimes we have to park a car there for a few hours, so there's that.

I'm not even suggesting I be given that money back to put into my homeschool. I'm cool with helping to raise the village.

I'm not trying to be a jerk. I'm genuinely curious here.

Readers, school me on this subject! (and let me know about the money-raising things I've forgotten!)