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Follow the Money
Education/Nancy Salvato |
May 9, 2005
- Money and receiving an education are almost
synonymous in this day and age. You certainly have to have one to have the
other. But I wonder how many people really know how or what their individual
tax dollars actually contribute to their own child's education.
In the 1999-2000 school year, the breakdown of tax dollars went something
like this: Local and intermediate sources made up 43 cents of every dollar
in revenue, state revenues comprised 50 cents, and the remaining 7 cents
came from federal sources. (U.S.
Education Spending: 1999-2000)
Here's the catch. Local, state, and federal dollars all come from the same
place –you! When you think about it that way, the break down is pretty
important because where you decide to live directly impacts the amount of
money you spend on your child's local school district.
This understanding may have many implications for the discriminating tax
payer. When the federal government increases the percentage of taxes that
help fund education programs around the nation, you are in effect
subsidizing the education of those who reside all across the country. The
schools receiving the most funding will be those considered more in need of
federal tax dollars or whose legislators are adept at getting "pork".
In contrast, funding the bulk of your child's education through local tax
dollars should ensure that your own money is more than likely to cover your
own child's education. Unless you live in Texas, where the richer districts
keep only a fraction of their taxes and the other portion goes to (Robin
Hood) to the poorer districts. Talk about unfair!
Less than half of the money funding local schools comes from local sources
and funding formulas are in place to distribute state and federal revenue in
such a way that your child's school may not be eligible for as much money as
a school outside your district. The governing policy idea behind all this
allocating is to equalize public education.
When "Educrats" complain that it costs too much money to ensure (as a
prerequisite to receiving NCLB money) adequate yearly progress in your
child's school and say that the federal government isn't contributing enough
money to mandate this law, in effect they are saying that you need to pay
more tax dollars to the federal coffer to be dispersed amongst the more
impoverished school districts. Ironically, no states have actually collected
and spent all the federal money available to them yet they continue to
complain they need more.
When you stop to consider how tax dollars are spent in the schools, you may
want to reconsider voting yes on that referendum or lending your sympathetic
ear to those complaining that there isn't enough money to provide for public
education. On average, only 62 cents per education dollar is used for
instruction.
Over a third of the money is used to operate and maintain buildings, pay
school administrators, cover transportation, and other such things. Tax
increases often go to funding retirement pensions, premium health care for
current and retired teachers, and other benefits that do no directly affect
the student. This occurs amidst national debate over the security of the
average taxpayers' own Social Security and Medicare –which aren't nearly as
comprehensive and are often cost prohibitive.
Those benefiting from the monopoly of public education must be stopped.
Parents need to have more control over their children's education. The only
way to do so is to allow the parents to decide where their designated
education dollars will be spent. Allowing competition for students will
force competing schools to raise their standards and operate with more
efficiency and legitimacy.
The public school system as it stands is one big "redistribution of income"
scheme. Not only is it serving to socialize education but it lines the
pockets of those screaming the loudest against changing the system because
they don't want to lose "a good thing". A good thing for the students or the
taxpayers – I don't think so. But those who hold the purse strings don't
want you to know that.
Contact Nancy
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