Owens:
Education costs need scrutiny
Sunday, September 26, 2004
It's a breath of fresh air, a spotlight on a topic that
demands attention from everyone.
While the four-part series beginning today on the front
page of The Express-Times will not solve the issue of
funding education, it will add to the dialogue of one of the
most important issues facing all of us.
Kids or no kids, single or married, private-school
educated or a product of public schools, we all have a
vested interest in the quality of education and how we pay
for it.
In Pennsylvania, years of debate over funding for public
schools came to a climax this summer when the state passed a
measure legalizing slot machine gambling. A big chunk of the
gambling proceeds will be earmarked for education.
In New Jersey, depressed school districts have been the
subject of court rulings and complicated formulas aimed at
sending money where it is needed most.
Both states have serious needs when it comes to
improving education.
Today's articles include discussion of vouchers and
school choice, the third rail of education among those
within the industry. (As an aside, you don't hear the word
industry much when describing education. Administrators and
union leaders don't like it because it detracts from what is
a genuine calling for most teachers. Yet, sit at a school
board meeting and listen to discussions about spending and
wage and benefits increases, and you realize this is serious
business. Plus, educators have the strongest political lobby
known to humankind).
The center of the voucher debate, not surprisingly, has
always been money. It will cost too much, opponents say. For
the longest time, people against school vouchers decried
them as unconstitutional, violating the separation of church
and state. The Supreme Court removed that hurdle in a ruling
two years ago, but the lack of fortitude from a majority of
politicians has kept the voucher movement at a
standstill.
Curiously, people who oppose vouchers -- which would
allow parents to direct money for education to the school of
their choice -- also oppose school choice among public
schools. Our tax dollars for schools are spent in a
noncompetitive environment and that's the way the education
industry likes it.
Nonetheless, no one can dispute that the cost of
education is skyrocketing and will continue to do so.
State mandates, special education, transportation,
inflation, health care costs, infrastructure, population
growth and mind-numbing funding formulas all present
challenges for administrators, school boards and
teachers.
Civic-minded people enter school board elections with
the idea of helping to improve our communities. A better
education system allows for better job candidates and, yes,
higher property values. Elected officials who want to make a
difference are often stuck between an administration that
wants the best of everything and taxpayers who can't get a
break.
Students are sometimes lost in the equation.
Inequities among school districts are the subject of
lawsuits and angry debates about where and how money is
spent.
And then there's college.
These are the issues to be examined over the next few
days.
All is not wrong with the state of education in our
area. But how we'll pay for it and make it the best for
everyone is an ongoing dialogue worthy of close
scrutiny.
Our future depends on it.
Joseph P. Owens is editor of The Express-Times. E-mail him
at jowens@express-times.com.
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