Educational Finance in the US, Local Issues, Essay Example

Level of education is one of the core factors that predetermine the development of the country. Its quality and accessibility for the population is one of the criteria to determine the level of development of any modern state. Basic education in the United States is compulsory for any child, though the age for compulsory education may vary from state to state. Sources of funding and control are an essential issue for further development of the US educational system. Most of the schools that provide the basic mandatory education are public, which means that the family does not need to pay fort heir child to attend such schools.

Public schools can be funded on any of the three levels: from the Federal, State, or Local budget, but usually that is an actual combination of the three. Depending on the source of the funding, school boards or the school districts exercise most power over the vital educational policies. No nationally-operated schools exist, as the entire system is decentralized. Regardless of the funding source state educational board determines the basic standards that the school has to follow. Determining the necessary volumes and sources of the funding for the educational purposes is the matter of extreme importance. Money, spent on these purposes is considered to be the most solid and profitable investment, though the ROI can surely never be calculated even approximately. The current federal government request for the ministry of education purposes is $59.2 billion, though the overall spending on the educational purposes (including state, local and private school expenses) is estimated to almost reach a $1trillion at $972 billion[1].

One of the basic issues concerning the funding of the educational programs concerns equality of the dispersion of the funds provided from the various sources. It is Important to figure out whether any school in the United states has an equal access to the money provided for educational purposes. Overall, the United States has one of the highest dollar per-student rates in the world, but is this rate the same around the country? The table bellow demonstrates the current dispersion in the sum spent per year on the education of one student[2]:

It may be rather hard to understand the source for such inequality. After some investigation, however, it becomes clear that such dispersion is mostly unintentional and results in the complex system according to which the US public schools are being funded. Property tax is the main source of the funding for the local public school, apart from some federal or state grants or assistance programs. It is obvious that some neighborhoods have a much higher or lower income level, resulting in different sums gathered in a form of a property tax. This way, public schools in the poor districts may be able to spend a meager sum of about $2000 a year for the education of one student, while some institutions in rich districts spend over $17 000 per student. This is an obviously huge difference which will result in different quality of the education received. This is a paradox, as the US Constitution guarantees everyone an equal right for a free education. It turns out, however, that not everyone enjoys the same right, as person who wishes to change school for a better-funded one, but out of his/hers district, will be forced to pay tuition just as in a private school[3]. In the end, children from poor districts are forced to remain in the schools that are often mismanaged and do not provide a relevant level of knowledge.

A solution to this major problem seems to be found already, as a lot of attention has been drawn to it. Throughout the countries, poor schools file for court, claiming that their students are deprived of the constitutional right for the equal free education. On the state level, court establish a set of rues, according to which all the students are to have the same access to all the opportunities for the development of their talents. State taxes have been increased insignificantly, and the additional funds are being immediately redirected to the poorer schools[4]. The first state to effectively implement this approach was Kentucky, where the poorest school districts have been spending three times less per student on a yearly basis.

Educational funding in New York has been a matter of great attention and discussions in the past years, primarily due to the loud law cases. A law suit was filed to court, claiming that the state of New York is consistently under-funding its public schools, which leads to serious flaws in the entire educational system in the area. Thousands of kids were denied a right for a basic education because of the lack of funding from the State Government. The sum estimated for the sound funding of the New York schools is $15 billion, which is regularly failed to raise through the tax initiatives.

Other two important issues concerning funding the educational system are the efficiency of the public schools and performance funding for colleges. It is estimated that an average private school provides higher level of education, while the tuition there is often two times lower than the costs of the public schools. Higher, or college education is optional and is known for it very high costs, which can reach over $100 000 for some professions. Colleges, according to the recent changes in the system, enjoy a broad autonomy, but receive funding which depends on the results of their operations[5].

References

Burke J.C. “To Keep or Not to Keep Performance Funding”  Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 71, 2000.

Kirp D. L. “New Hope for Failing Schools: State Courts Are Remedying the Shame of Inadequate Education Funding” The Nation, Vol. 266, June 1, 1998.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), “National Public Education Financial Survey (NPEFS),” fiscal year 2006

Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Summary and Background Information http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget09/summary/09summary.pdf

MSNBC – “Chicago students skip school in funding protest” http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26515276/#storyContinued

[1] Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Summary and Background Information

[2] U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD),

[3] MSNBC

[4] Kirp D. L. The Nation, Vol. 266, June 1, 1998

[5] Burke J.C. Journal of Higher Education,    Vol. 71, 2000