Until recently it seemed to me as if spending on public education was a bottomless pit. The amount spent continued to grow and grow with no expectations that things would get better and no serious questioning of where money was spent.
Now that budgets are being cut, we hear more screaming than ever that we are sacrificing our future. The problem is "how would we know?" If you are sacrificing the future, then that's a pretty serious thing to think about. The question is what do we really have to cut? Where is all of the money going?
Laura Rogers asks just such a question and gives some evidence to suggest that education spending isn't as transparent as it needs to be to make a good evaluation of whether or not public education needs more money.
I've long compared the days of my public school years in a relatively affluent area in southern California to what I see being spent around me. The buildings are nicer, athletic fields and uniforms are nicer. Lots of technology going into the classrooms. At the same time, I don't see the quality of education, even in more affluent neighborhoods getting any better.
Perhaps it's a good time to cut to the bone, then rebuild what is really necessary?
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