You Can't Make This Up Archives - Page 8 of 34

Los Angeles Unified School District: Broke—and Building the Most Expensive Schools in U.S. History

Wall St. Journal: “At $578 million—or about $140,000 per student—the 24-acre Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools complex . . . is the most expensive school ever constructed in U.S. history. . . . this city’s Staples sports and entertainment center cost $375 million. . . . the school district is currently running a $640 million deficit and has had to lay off 3,000 teachers in the last two years. It also has one of the lowest graduation rates in the country and some of the worst test scores.”

Los Angeles Unified School District Lunacy:

Visual and Performing Arts High School – $232 million
Edward Roybal Learning Center – $377 million
graduation rate is approximately 40%

Total cost for just these three Los Angeles Unified School District schools is $1,187,000,000 tax payer dollars spent by a school district that has a $640 billion budget deficit – excluding the cost of the three palaces.

LA charter schools are not happy and with good reason. A charter school organization called Green Dot paid just under $85 million to build seven schools for 4,3000 low-income students. Green Dot’s graduation rate is double that of the LAUSD.

Man Sues Lawyer for $38 Quadrillion – Whatever that Is?

A man who sued a lawyer’s client for $918 billion also sued the lawyer for $38,000,000,000,000,000 – that’s $38 quadrillion for those of us that are big number challenged. This case might give us the answer to the legal question: Is a quadrillion more or less than a zillion? If he wins, I am going to go out on a limb and predict the plaintiff will have a hard time collecting all of the judgment. Would the plaintiff settle the case if offered $1 quadrillion? FYI: a billion has 9 zeros, a trillion has 12 zeros and a quadrillion has 15 zeros.

Hair Extension Company Sues Paris Hilton for $35 Million Because of Bad Hair Days

Hairtech International Inc. sued Paris Hilton for breach of a promotional contract. The plaintiff alleges that instead of wearing its hair extensions, she wore extensions made by another company and asks for $35 million in damages from Paris’ bad hair days.

New York Insanity – 8.8% Tax on Sliced Bagels & No Tax on Unsliced Bagels

New York Post: “Only Albany could find a way to tax a cut. The cash-strapped state has been enforcing a bizarre distinction in the tax laws which requires delis and food peddlers to impose a levy on sliced bagels — even though there is no tax when the breakfast staple is sold whole.”

LA School District Has a $640 Million Deficit so It Builds 1 School for $578 Million

There is no better example of the lunacy and arrogance of government waste than the new $578 million school built by the Los Angeles Unified School District. The LUSD has a $640 million budget deficit and laid off 3,000 teachers during the last two years, but that didn’t stop it from spending other people’s money it doesn’t have. The new school is the most expensive school ever built in the United States at a cost that exceeds the cost of China’s Olympic stadium and the Denver Broncos new football stadium.

See “LA unveils $578M school, costliest in the nation” and “Los Angeles Public School Named After Robert Kennedy Costs $578 Million.”