Education Funding

Next week, my school board is voting to either raise taxes or furlough teachers. We had a $3,000,000 deficit. The board agreed to take $1,000,000 from our $6,000,000 savings to cut it to $2,000,000. Our Superintendent proposed raising $1,000,000 by charging $50/student for extra-curricular activities and raising taxes 1 mill (which is $37/yr. for $100,000 homes). Then he proposed cutting some extra-curricular activities like 9th grade basketball (but keeping Varsity and Junior Varsity sports). One thing that's frustrating is that the board was unable to pass that and wanted to see what $2,000,000 in cuts could be made to the education programs like elementary art and furloughing other teachers to raise class sizes further above 30 students/class. We are in this situation because the Governor also refuses to raise taxes $50/person to keep education funding the same and not give up the raises he has given to his staff over the previous administration. It all made me think of this report.

Report shows education funding equals investment in economy June 2004

A report released on July 8 indicates that investment in quality education programs is an investment in the economy, as well. The report, Smart Money: Education and Economic Development, demonstrates how increased investment in preschool, primary and secondary education, and colleges provides “concrete returns to economic development through increases in productivity, learned skills, technology and workers’ average earnings.” The report was compiled by William Schweke, research director for the Corporation for Enterprise Development, a nonprofit organization.

“If our goal is an economic climate that provides good jobs, decent living standards, entrepreneurial workers and a competitive edge over other countries, then investing in education is the single most important thing we can do,” said Schweke. “Education should be thought of in terms of productivity, innovation and the growing of wealth.”

The report examines nearly 180 studies that show the relationship between education investment and quality and economic development. It shows that schools provide greater knowledge as well as an improvement of the lives of current and future workers.

Some of the books findings:

Individuals with less than a high school diploma saw their mean family income decline by 14 percent between 1979 and 1995, but college graduates’ mean income rose 14 percent.

The public saves $7.16 for every original dollar invested in high-quality child care.

A state’s economic performance correlates to past investments in such areas as education. Eight out of 11 states with the highest grades for local investment received an A or B in overall economic performance.

Community colleges help to increase salaries. People with an associate’s degree earn 18 to 24 percent more than high school graduates.

Investing $4,800 per child in preschool education can reduce teenage arrests by 40 percent.