The Ripon Rabbit
Test scores down. Budgets strained. Families are frustrated. Teachers burned out. And right in the middle of it? A mile-long receipt of “emergency” money that trained the system to spend fast… explain later… and somehow still ask for more.
Tonight we crack open ESSER—the billions that flooded schools nationwide during COVID—and we ask the question nobody wants on the agenda:
What did we actually get for it? We’ll expose the patterns: The pipeline that moved money fast (and warped priorities) – The deadline trap: “spend it or lose it” budgeting – The payroll cliff that hits after the party ends – Category fog + Tier-4 “logic models” that turn paperwork into proof – Ripon’s own budget story as the real-world example of the cliff in motion across the state and nation.
And we’ll arm you with 7 questions that cut through the fog at any school board meeting—without you getting brushed off or labeled. This isn’t anti-teacher. It’s pro-kid. Because if we can’t demand results now… when can we?
Get the workbook here
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Live at 6 PM Pacific / 8 PM Central / 9 PM Eastern on Ripon Common Sense Radio. Be part of the conversation!
