When I received a copy of the school district’s 2010-11 tentative budget book, its glossy cover struck my eye. Something didn’t quite look right.
The teachers depicted looked a little too perfect. The students were a tad too photogenic, but certainly had the demographic base covered: white, black, Hispanic and Asian. But hey, maybe the school district spent a little extra time arranging this year’s cover shot, I thought, and wanted diverse photos to reflect Lee County’s growing diversity.
And then I looked a little closer. Several students were wearing sweaters (it’s Florida — that’s a fashion faux pas). In the background, there was an old-fashioned green chalkboard (whiteboards have long since replaced green chalkboards in Lee classrooms). Then the kicker — the “school” depicted had wire mesh security windows (like the kind you’d see in an urban school up North). And is that snow outside?
My hunch was right; those aren’t Lee County children or local teachers on the cover; they are stock photos plucked from an out-of-state company’s image collection. The school district has almost 82,000 children and 5,000 teachers at its disposal, but its tentative budget book features models from some unknown locale.
So I approached school officials for an explanation.
According to budget director Ami Desamours, the school district produced all 75 interior pages, then shipped the file to Minuteman Press of Fort Myers for a mass printing. It was Minuteman that designed the cover, Desamours said, and the cover photos weren’t a concern so “long as the price we paid for the books was low.” The district paid $5 per budget book for 50 copies. The school board will approve the final 2010-11 budget on Tuesday, so another set of budget books will be printed in the next few days.
It’s not the first time district materials have used stock photos. Some previous budget books and annual reports also featured images bought from other sources.
So what do you think? Should the school district feature Lee County children on its publications? Please leave your comments in the reply box below.
Now you’re getting it, Dave — ask more questions and check the detail with these guys. It would have taken only a little extra effort to ensure that the photo on the cover depicted children in a more sunny, Florida-like locale. No need to spend $$$ for an area photog, but a simple request of the printer to make it right. However, as usual, the district makes some flimsy excuse for doing a half-donkey job. They’ll probably claim later that they received awards for this budget, when in reality the past one they received was for adherence to the government standard on formatting, not content. So no need to check that the margins are correct, but if you do a thorough investigative job, Dave, you’d better verify that the numbers are right. Happy Hunting!
More incompetance! Maybe that is why Browder is applying for Edison College.
Boy it must have been a real slow day for a clearly ignorant reporter. Seriously Mr.Breitenstein…..or should I call you Petunia? Perhaps the NP should review their budget to see if you’re really needed when this is the only thing you can find to write about…a cover on a book? My guess is that you haven’t the slightest idea how to comprehend what’s in it or the extremely hard work that is put into it. And get it right…the Director of the Budget Department is an extremely well-educated leader that does a fine job for this district along w/the employees she directs. Try to find a REAL story next time when you’re away from your coloring book and crayolas….
Mr. Moore….you are utterly clueless as well….You wouldn’t last a day in ANY Government budget department!!
I guess you’re behind Mr. Traube….still bitter after loosing?? The Superintendent didn’t go anywhere today. Perhaps you should be checking in w/your ignorant buddies at the NP before you submit your comments….
Hey Olive – what are your credentials? Breitenstein is looking under the hood and asking questions about being thorough on a report which details the usage of taxpayer money. He didn’t have to go too far either. A faux-up right on the cover. Why are you so hostile? Must be you have a vested interest in the district remaining as is. Hmmmm.
Mr. Moore….I don’t need to provide my credentials to an idiot such as yourself….once again you prove that you have no idea on what the budget for the school district is really all about and all you do is sit back sipping your bloody-mary’s on the golf course criticizing the hard working employees of the school district…clearly neither you nor Mr. Breitenstein know how to read….Perhaps I should call you Petunia as well….Seriously…your a moron….get a life!
That’s you’re a moron….not to get my grammer mixed up with an idiot such as yourself Mr. Moore…