Outside the Beltway

What Every School District Needs…

Steven L. Taylor
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Via NPR:  San Diego School District’s New 18-Ton Armored Vehicle Creates Stir

The six-wheel Caiman MRAP has an official value of around $733,000. But the San Diego school district paid only about $5,000 to transport it, according to inewsorce.org, a website that partners with NPR member station KPBS.”

Even if one takes at face value the notion that this is just the district taking some free stuff from the feds that they will never really use, it is a sad commentary that the gift that the district is getting isn’t educational materials worth roughly three-quarters of a million dollars, but rather a mine-resistant vehicle.

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19 responses to “What Every School District Needs…”

  1. Hal_10000 Avatar
    Hal_10000

    Not just them. LA has a mine-resistant vehicle, assault weapons and grenade launchers. Clearly this is justified by today’s superpredator student armed with assault weapons. Or terrorist or drugs or something.

  2. Dave Schuler Avatar
    Dave Schuler

    I don’t know. I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. After all, they’re more familiar with their students than I am.

    Is this a primary district?

  3. John Burgess Avatar
    John Burgess

    Ever since the 1960s and Tinker, the Gates of Hell have been opened. What’s a poor school district to do in the face of such potential student opposition?

  4. OzarkHillbilly Avatar
    OzarkHillbilly

    @Hal_10000: Clearly this is justified by today’s superpredator student armed with assault weapons green tea and skittles. Either that or just some cheap cigars.

  5. beth Avatar
    beth

    I didn’t go back and read the source article but who is supposed to operate and maintain this? Does the school district actually have MRAP employees on its payroll or is the local police force responsible for that part?

  6. beth Avatar
    beth

    Oh okay it’s the school district police force that bought it. How sad that we live in a world where the school district has to have its own police force.

  7. ratufa Avatar
    ratufa

    Even if one takes at face value the notion that this is just the district taking some free stuff from the feds that they will never really use…

    There is no such thing as “free stuff” of this nature. If you ever plan on using it, you have to maintain it so it’s ready to use when needed, buy fuel for it, find a place to store it where it’ll be close to where you expect it to be used, etc.

  8. rudderpedals Avatar
    rudderpedals

    @ratufa: And the folks have to stay current on the toys and you know what that means. Playtime!

  9. ernieyeball Avatar
    ernieyeball

    @OzarkHillbilly: Hey! Watch out now. Nine year old girls with Uzis are a force to reckon with.

  10. Hal_10000 Avatar
    Hal_10000

    @beth:

    We don’t. Crime is down to 1950’s levels and school violence is way down as well. We live in a world where everyone claims to need their own police force and can find spineless politicians cosy enough with the law enforcement/prison industrial complex to fund it.

  11. gVOR08 Avatar
    gVOR08

    @Hal_10000: Exactly. Guy I worked with years ago rode as a civilian volunteer with a county park police force. The force was formed because they had a surplus at the end of a budget year they needed to burn. Up ’til then, the sheriff had been fearlessly patrolling the parks to everyone’s satisfaction.

  12. Tyrell Avatar
    Tyrell

    This would make a perfect vehicle to take students on field trips.
    “Take the bus, and leave the polluting to us”

  13. JKB Avatar
    JKB

    I looked up some of the costs to these things. Apparently, DoD will provide parts, but the district will have to find a specialize mechanic as well as a heavy equipment shop that can handle the weight. They get 6 MPG, so you want to keep them close or truck them the distance. Have a real tendency to roll over especially with novice drivers. Can’t do more than a 30 degree slope due to rollover. Oh and at 19 to 24 tons, these things will collapse bridges. Oh and they require special training in egress after a rollover.

    Almost forgot. They have air-assist on the doors so if you grab the handle while entering, it’ll slam the door on you. I expect a door that requires air-assist is not something you want to get squashed with.

  14. JKB Avatar
    JKB

    @JKB:

    And most important, they have special locks on the doors and hatches to keep the bad guys out, but they also will keep the fire department out as well.

  15. anjin-san Avatar
    anjin-san

    Meanwhile, teachers are paying for school supplies out of pocket.

  16. Franklin Avatar
    Franklin

    I haven’t really commented on this because it’s so sad.

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