Quality Counts...but does money?
Call public school funding the anti-Lake Wobegon effect.
In Garrison Keiller's fictional Minnesota town of Lake Wobegon, all the children are above average. Well, to hear educators talk, every school district is below average in funding.
The new Quality Counts report from Education Week magazine gives a comprehensive state-by-state look at school funding. Thursday's News & Record includes a story on how North Carolina stacks up.
The answer, not surprisingly, depends on your point of view.
North Carolina schools spend about $900 less per student than Georgia and about $700 less than South Carolina and Virginia, although the Tar Heel state outpaces Tennessee. But North Carolina students outperform their regional peers on national math and reading tests in almost all categories.
Certainly, that appears to be evidence that North Carolina schools are using their money wisely, at least compared to schools in neighboring states.
For educators, this is fuel for the argument that North Carolina schools are underfunded. The numbers, they say, show that the schools are spending money responsibly and can be trusted with more funding.
Critics will say the numbers are evidence that funding isn't the end-all, be-all of having good schools.
The Washington, D.C. public schools are Exhibit A in this argument. Despite spending a whopping $11,269 per student, the D.C. schools have passing rates in the single digits on some tests. They are the educational equivalent of the New York Mets, a big-budget team languishing in last place.
North Carolina probably will spend more money on schools in the next couple of years, despite the state's tough economic climate.
The ongoing Leandro lawsuit requires the state to funnel more money to poor, rural districts. The State Board of Education has estimated that complying with the court order will cost $220 million.
Also, Gov. Mike Easley continues to push for a state lottery, with revenues going toward education. But as John Dornan of the Public School Forum of North Carolina warns, "Lottery money gets spent three or four times in speeches."
So what do you think?
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