I volunteer at the school where my spouse works.

They’re more than willing to drop $10-20k a year on random equipment from a big name corporation for my “club” without so much as even a review by more than one person. We can get the same stuff 2nd hand for about $500, but we’re not allowed to do that.

she’s making <$2k/month and a raise is “in the works” but she won’t see it until spring 2024. It’ll probably be less than 10%.

Approving actual classroom expenses, or raises takes years. But if they’ve got a budget for “student enrichment” the district can just spend the money on whatever the fuck they want as long as a corporation is selling it.