Giving Compass' Take:

· Jonathan Butcher at The Heritage Foundation suggests that school districts take a closer look at their financials for fraud and waste to help cut unnecessary costs and increase teacher pay.

· What is the best way schools can analyze their budgets and allocate funds effectively? How can districts reduce their wastefulness?

· Find out why Americans support raises for teachers.  

This May, Ohio authorities indicted a Strongsville City school maintenance foreman for using school funds to buy equipment for his personal use. Among the items fraudulently charged to the school account were a generator, thermal camera, lawn mower, snow plow and, oh yes, a barn.

All told, the illicitly obtained goods were worth some $65,000 -- almost as much as the median annual salary of a Strongsville teacher.

At about the same time authorities began looking into the maintenance man's purchases, school administrators and teachers went on strike in Arizona, Oklahoma, and elsewhere. Their beef? That state lawmakers were not spending enough on K-12 schools.

It's hard to squeeze more education dollars from state spending. Their general funds are already constrained by increasing pension and health care costs. Ultimately, it is the local school district that is responsible for setting school budgets and teacher pay.

Read the full article about school district fraud and waste by Jonathan Butcher at The Heritage Foundation.