The bottom line in education reform is money. As this article points out the federal government pays very little money into our educational system. We also know that wealthier kids do better than poorer kids. While there may be some social factors inherent in how children are raised across income levels that can explain part of the disparity, the basic problem with our system lies in how the vast majority of schools get their budgets. Most school systems receive the majority of their funds from local taxes. This automatically creates a class divide among schools. Wealthier neighborhoods have more money than poorer ones per capita. Since many locals use property taxes to pay for schools, the bigger the homes the better the schools. Any plan for fixing the US educational system needs to take into account the vastly different budgets that schools have across the country. Now more than ever reform must be accompanied by funds from the federal or state level, or systems must be devised so that school districts share their budgets more equitably across larger areas and socio-economic boundaries.

they pay 12000 per year per student in DC schools. how much more do you think they will need?

nope. it's not about money.

some dumbass liberal whining about public education is comical since liberals are the ones who have fucked it up.

maybe the democrats can do for the whole country what they have done the the public schools.

The Greater Metropolis of Saint Louis is divided into 88 townships for the expressed purpose of hoarding property taxes for a given district, which of course, is primarily a function of insuring that not a penny of your money is going to be spent on their education.

Court ordered bussing resulted in a number of inner city schools being built with federal funds to keep the more affluent kids from having to endure the run down facilities of the city schools and those schools have done a tremendous job of providing not only the bussed kids but the local kids with a better education.

Townships and districting should be illegal, or education should be moved to a state or federal level of control.

What we are doing now is a national disgrace.

I lived in California when Ronnie was governor. I thought he was doing OK at first. Then I watched his performance. Fiscally he failed.

Prop 13 was a direct result of his misguided tax policy.

California's elementary schools had ranked near the top in the nation. Prop 13 crippled them. Their ranking plunged, I understand it once ranked near the bottom, maybe it still does!

BTW the tax load for for education should be prorated on past performance. I do not want to continue to over tax "Liberal" states which educated their people only to see them raided to "low tax" "Conservative" states.

'Townships and districting should be illegal, or education should be moved to a state or federal level of control.'

that's what fucked them up in the first place. you want to do more of the same?

i say we should give parents vouchers like they do in progressive france.

'I do not want to continue to over tax "Liberal" states which educated their people only to see them raided to "low tax" "Conservative" states.'

so you resent tax money going to people you don't think deserve it? that is not very progressive of you now, is it?

'I do not want to continue to over tax "Liberal" states which educated their people only to see them raided to "low tax" "Conservative" states.'

and i don't like it when rich liberals deduct high local property and state taxes from their federal income tax liability.

I have had children in two different money-reward systems, because we moved the year between elementary and high school, and the problems with these systems related directly to who was paying.

The first system was a NCLB system on steroids, with a week-long state competency test with typical NCLB consequences. In February the kids started reviewing and practicing for the test; they took the test in early May, and then played until school got out. I figured they lost 1/3 of their year to these tests.

Second system was in high school (paid for by private grant) divided into three subject/track-based schools, ostensibly for the purpose of creating "small learning communities." Each "school" was on its own, with its own administrative staff and subject teachers, though the schools shared the arts and Spanish teachers. Otherwise, each school had its own math teacher, chemistry teacher, etc. Kids did not have the opportunity to take electives offered in the other two schools. The teacher who was best at teaching a certain subject, say honors history, was assigned to one of the small schools, and kids in the other schools did not have the opportunity to take her class. Indeed, the honors students not in her school were placed into regular history classes and given honors credit.

Both of these experiments had the effect of shortchanging the smart kids, either by boredom or ineffective allocation of resources, and shortchanging not so smart kids for the same reasons.

Education systems and schools need to be free to use their resources to their greatest benefit. Schools posses different teaching talents and financial resources, and they are in the best position to decide how to use them wisely.

Chang wants a voucher system.

I am sure all conservatives want a voucher system.

Nothing will really change except that the wealthy will get a coupon via the voucher to lower the cost of their kids private education while our already cash-starved public schools would then get even less money and create an even less educated kid. Vouchers would also be a boon to the religious education community which is already now sucking money from the government via faith based initiatives (so much for separation of church and state). I say let the rich shoulder the burdons of their luxuries (like private schools) and let the churches focus on religion and get out of the pedaphile supply chain business.

The solution is simple. MASSIVE cuts to our fat defense budget-DEFEND our country and secure our borders and let the rest of the planet police their own countries and educate their own kids (or start paying the US taxes for enjoying our services). Take all those billions we pour into Iraq and put it into education-imagine if we were complaining about 13 billion a month being sent to schools?

Wow chang. That "support the general welfare" part of the constitution really bugs you doesnt it?

Vouchers are stupid. And they don't encourage competition. We already have competition; my own school is losing students to other schools, including charter schools, private schools, and other public high schools. We already have competition. What we don't have are real options, because everybody thinks every school ought to be the same.

If they want competition in education, then they need to loosen the regulations and allow every school and/or district to devise its own curriculum and set its own standards. You can't shove federal or state standards down every school's throat and expect real options in the way of a competitive education market. Just look at colleges; some people strive for Harvard, but quite a lot of folks are happy with their local community college. For some reason, we expect every high school to be like Harvard, when plenty of people would be happy with something considerably different.

'Nothing will really change except that the wealthy will get a coupon via the voucher to lower the cost of their kids private education while our already cash-starved public schools would then get even less money and create an even less educated kid.'

hey stupid. DC schools spend 12000 per year per pupil with dismal results. is that not enough? should we go ahead and spent $100000 per student per year?

atlanta city schools are spending over $9000 per year per student with dismal results. the surrounding counties pay about $5000 per year with better results.

what gives smart guy?

You know where that money goes, Chang? Special education. A colleague recently opined that at least a third of Houston ISD's operating budget goes to special ed., which politicians, bureaucrats, and sue-happy parents tell us we have to deal with. It's a matter of state law.

Your high-dollar private schools have no such obligations. We're at a disadvantage when it comes to competition. We have no admissions policy; everybody who enters is welcome.

'Your high-dollar private schools have no such obligations. We're at a disadvantage when it comes to competition. We have no admissions policy; everybody who enters is welcome.'

maybe you should take a remedial reading class. i was comparing different public shcolld districts. the suburban atlanta schools are under the same constraints as the city schools and yet they spend 40% less per student with much better results.

so, what gives? anyone? it's not the money as the pitiful poor inner city chilluns are getting more money.

so what gives? come on!!!

The money is in test making, producing test coaching books, test scoring, and now privately tutoring students to raise scores. All of these services are done by private for-profit companies. NCLB causes teachers to prepare for the high stakes tests, robbing the students of the proven curriculum time. The result is students of lesser skills thereby dumbing down the citizens and the country. A dumbed down country is an easier to control country. I taught school for 35 years and saw many "programs" that interfered with educational progress, but when NCLB came into the schools, I saw the worst of the worst programs having the biggest negative effect on students of any of the buzzword policies. Curiously Texas companies were the sources of testing materials. Margaret Spellings (Sec of Ed) is from Texas also. HMMM! Dropout rates are exploding. DUMP BUSH'S NCLB ASAP. Bush breaks everything he touches.

Well, Irving, there are kids who want to learn and kids who like to screw off in class. There used to be a time when the screw offs were dealt with physically, with a call to parents who cared and kicked their butts again when they got home. Or they just kicked the trouble makers out of class.

Then the snide, rattlesnake republican lawyers stepped in to protect litte irvingchang-punk right winger who knew it all and sued the shit out of the teacher, the school system and any other entity they could squeeze a dollar out of to the point where all these little irvingchang-punks cannot be removed from class, touched, or disciplined in the manner that they need to be.

I say each school district should hire retired Marine gunny sargents to teach the "special ed" classes to those irvingchang-punks whose sole existence is to disrupt class, and put them all together under the delicate tuteledge of Sargent No Neck. Phys-Ed being mandatory and entailing most of the curriculum for those little punks who don't wish to comply. The only problem is their "who gives a shit" republican parents; where daddy is always away cutting a deal while mother is at the bridge club having her daily 8 martini lunch.

My apology to all of you republicans out there who really don't fit the bill I described. I just wrote this to insult the idiot-irvingchang.

Those problems are real however, and discipline in schools is something I never see being addressed.