Years ago, Kat got an invite to an after-Grammy party that was being thrown by one of the major record labels. The company was taking over the Natural History Museum in NYC and throwing a major, major party. There were trumpets as we ended, ice sculptures, and pheasants on spears for no apparent reason. I ended ruining Kat’s evening, because she ran into her friend who was the event planner, and she told us that the party cost over $2 million dollars. As it happens, I had spent the day working on a ten page grant application from the same record company, trying to justify a $10,000 grant.

I found out how much the party cost and just was unable to enjoy the party after that. Worse, I spent most of the night complaining about the priorities of this country, where a company can spend $2 million on a party and make a teacher spend hours justifying $10K. Kat was not amused. (I don’t think we were even married yet. She’s a very, very patient woman.)

I bring this up because I was reading about Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg today. He’s been offered $2 billion to sell Facebook, and he’s turned it down. Now, this is not at all about the wisdom of his decision. I have no idea. But..

What is going on in this country where a site like Facebook can be sold for $2 billion dollars, and the School District of Philadelphia is $188 million in debt? The district will have made over $150 million in cuts in two years… affecting students in too many ways to count.

How is a social networking site a greater economic priority than our schools?