Free Republic

In the contentious world of education politics, the need to spend more on public schools stands out as a rare point of agreement. Our recent national survey of American adults ... found that those who support increased spending on public schools in their district outnumber those who want spending to decrease by a five-to-one margin. [A] solid majority (59 percent) of Americans express confidence that spending more on the public schools in their district will increase student learning. ... Do Americans have an accurate grasp of how much is currently being spent on public education? ... [A]mericans dramatically underestimate the...

On June 30, the board of education and the town council in Enfield, Conn., convened to hear the results of a citizen cost-cutting committee. Among its other recommendations, the 17 residents recommended replacing some public school teachers with low-cost college interns, restricting the use of school vehicles, and increasing employee contributions to benefit plans. These may seem modest steps toward fiscal responsibility -- but they are emblematic of a significant change in this very blue state: growing disenchantment with the price of government, especially of public education. [Cross Country] Corbis Over the past two and a half decades, the student...

Take a deep breath. Now exhale. Does that make you feel like you deserve a raise? If so, you understand the concept of the so-called "breathing bonus." And you also understand one of the main reasons New Jersey has the most expensive public school system of any state. One of the few useful results to come out of those legislative committees on property tax reform was an admission of just how costly it is to put a kid through New Jersey's public schools: $16,000 a year. That figure was included in the report of the Joint Legislative Committee on Public...

I got a phone call last week from the head of one of the many departments in the Clark County School District which I had mentioned in my March 16 essay on elephantine school districts, headlined "Mission Creep." "Do you even know what my department does?" demanded the fellow, whose listing in the district's administrative phone directory says only "Warranty Department." I had no idea, I said. And, I continued, that was the whole point of the listing: The sheer number -- hundreds -- of bureaucrats being paid $60,000 and $80,000 and more per year, leeches living off taxpayer funds...

<p>The Capitol was stunned when the Legislature's budget office this month forecast a staggering $21 billion deficit over the next 19 months.</p> <p>Gov. Gray Davis upped the ante, at least rhetorically, on Thursday when he declared, after talking with legislative leaders: "We believe the $21 billion shortfall is on the low side. They can assume the $21 billion number will go up."</p>