Shoes to the Rescue

or would you like boots, or maybe some athletic shoes, or just some casual flats?  Take your pick. They can be yours for $1,000 a pop.  And guess what?  Your shoe selection might even save the salary of a school teacher.

That's right.  Michele Miller, the principal of Jackson Elementary in El Dorado Hills, has decided to put her shoe 'collection' up for sale in hopes of raising money for the school system.  It is nothing new these days to hear about school systems and their budget cuts, but this one principal has come up with an innovative idea in hopes of helping recoup some cash from budget cuts.

Her theory is:  shoes + sales = salaries.

Yep, she is selling shoes (HER shoes) in order to raise money. With the help of the parents at her school, they have started a website called Shoes to the Rescue where you can view her 285 pairs of shoes.

Yes, you read that correctly.... 285 pairs of shoes!  Check out the video to see some of the styles.

This story is interesting enough in itself, but what has really gotten my attention are some of the comments I have read from readers of other blogs and newspapers.

For example, one person said, "How could she have spent so much money on shoes? Maybe we overpay her. She FAILED to make her house payment on her home in the school district she loves so much. FORECLOSED. Property taxes unpaid as well. Maybe that says more about who Michelle really is."

Another person just said, "Gimmick!"

A third person said, "Someone, please help me. I need a vomit bag. This has got to be one of the most self-serving efforts I have ever seen. How much manpower (school resources?) is going into this one-woman accolades-fest? She's gonna save the world! She should be ashamed of herself. Anyone who can afford THAT many pairs of shoes in a school district that is supposedly going to lose so many teachers, librarians, etc. is making waaay too much money. A better, and more humble way to help is to take a frickin' pay cut, sister. No wonder your school district is going bankrupt. Sorry, but ya ain't gettin' no sympathy from me!"

The negative comments go on and on. Maybe it's because I have spent so many years in education that I am able to see Michele Miller as a principal that might actually CARE about kids!  Maybe I am naive, and she has some other personal motive. I don't know the lady, so I really can't make a call on her character, but I will say that my initial reaction to the story was, "Kudos to this lady for trying to make an effort to help her teachers!"  I think it's wonderful that she came up with such a creative idea that actually seems to be getting people talking about the lack of funding in education. Who cares if she sells her shoes, it's making people  more aware that there is a problem in education, and the problem is:  THERE IS A SHORTAGE OF MONEY!  Parents can gripe, teachers can lose their jobs, but in the end, no matter how you slice the short fall of money, the kids are the ones that lose.
I mean, COME ON!!! Think about it, you have a principal trying to sell her shoes in order to pay the teachers..... sort of funny in a sense, would probably make a good Saturday Night Live skit. 

The sad truth of the matter is that education is suffering all over the country due to budget cuts. It's not just California. Teachers are losing their jobs, and if it takes shoe sales to get people talking, then bring on the Stilettos!

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