The Unequal School Funding Myth

Michigan Capitol Confidential ^ | 2/8/2012 | Michael Van Beek

[MichCapCon]

Public school special interests groups uniformly lobby for the state to give more money to school districts. To sell this idea to policymakers and taxpayers, these groups often claim that schools need "adequate," "stable," and "equal" funding. These talking points give rise to some common myths about school funding in Michigan.

The short video below examines one of these myths: The Unequal Funding Myth.

[Above My Pay Grade]

I grew up in one of the top school districts on Long Island. I now live in an area next to one of the 2 or 3 worst districts (out of hundreds) in the area.

The last I checked the per student spending was practically the same. In fact, I believe the horrible district spent slightly more. Of course, the majority of the funding came from the Federal and NY State governments, meaning that taxpayers around the state and around the nation are paying for this mess.

While money is certainly not irrelevant, it is FAR less important than what goes on in the homes of the children, and how the schools are run. If the majority of people in a community strongly value their children’s education and take actions to ensure it (making sure they do their work, electing good school board and demanding accountability, ete.) the children will be well educated. If not, things won’t turn out so well.

[CastleMan95]

Your comments are spot on. As of a few years ago here in Mass., the city of Boston spent almost exactly the same amount of $$ per pupil as the top rated public school district in the state. In fact, nearly ALL the worst school districts here spend amounts either equal to or above the state average on a per pupil basis. If families do not value education, no amount of $$ will be able to overcome that.