Where is the Money for Schools Going?

I see there are a few brand new schools around here. My son goes to one that was just built. Its a beautiful building. But why did they need a brand new school? The elementary school I went to was built around 1900 and is still being used today, while having been remodled a few times and having additions put on the school grounds. Same with the HS I went to.

But my concerns are less with the looks of the new buildings than with the use of funding that could be better used for the students. At my son's school there are (supposedly) computers in every classroom for the student. In his class I saw two computers which he has told me they rarely get to use. Why are they there if they aren't used? There should be more computers in the classrooms for frequent use for the children. My son had to print something off of his memory stick/thumb drive (because my computer was in the shop) and his teach told him he wasn't allowed to print at school. WHAT? REALLY? Shouldn't there be funds available for paper and ink for printing? At least in black and white. Especially when not every student has the privilage of having a computer at home... Why did we even have to provide memory sticks to the students if they don't get used at school?

Basics should have come before brand new schools. The money would have been better spent on upgrades to the facilities rather than new buildings. How about using money on supplies that should be in every classroom so parents don't have to go buy supplies every month for classroom projects. There are students in my son's classroom that do not have adequate supplies so the constantly borrow and steal from him. Supplies such as construction paper and glue should be in the available for them if they don't have their own. A teacher should not allow them to take the supplies that one student has, supplies that parents have worked to pay for.

I don't want to make this any longer so I won't go into other examples. I just want to know why the people deciding how to spend money didn't think of better uses for it. Building new schools all over the place was very impractical. Just because a building is old doesn't mean that it couldn't be filled with state of the art learning/teaching equipment and everything the students need for a great education. The school board, principals, teachers and community should know this.