Sum Numbers, Revisited

Here are numbers that boggle my mind:

I work in a very large school district. How large? According to the most recent stats, the fourth largest in Florida and 11th largest in the U.S. How big is that? We have over 176,000 students in 155 schools. [The high school where I teach has a little over 3,000 students and we don't come close to being the largest school in the district.] We [the district] are the second largest employer in Central Florida with over 23,000 administrative, instructional, and classified personnel. The House of Mouse Disney employs more.

The annual operating budget (used for salaries, benefits, utilities, maintenance, supplies, and equipment) is approaching $1.5 billion. [Yeah, that's really big. But teachers are still underpaid in my admittedly biased opinion.] The capital projects fund (used for construction, improvements, and remodeling) is nearly $1.7 billion. Since 2003, we have opened 24 new schools and as many more are being replaced, renovated, or enlarged.

Here are the numbers that I find most interesting though. Our students come from 179 different countries and speak 132 different languages and dialects. [Quick. Without looking at a reference source, how many countries and languages can you name?] Central Florida is WAY more diverse than where I grew up in Kentucky. [To be fair, many parts of Kentucky have gotten more diverse over the years too, but nothing on this scale.] It makes for more interesting challenges. But these are numbers that can leave you numb….