DKSuddeth
Senior Member
Texas Spends More On Inmates Than Students
State Ranks 33rd Nationwide For School Spending
DALLAS -- As state lawmakers in Austin haggle over funding for school children, an NBC 5 investigation discovered that Texas spends far more on convicts than students, and far less than most other states.
Our discovery was not news to Stanley Kendall, who has been teaching for more 20 years, mostly in Texas but also in his native Indiana.
Comparing the two states, Kendall said it's obvious to him that Texas spends less on education.
"They're cutting teachers, they're making our class sizes bigger, they're wanting us to cut out programs to help kids at risk," he said.
In fact, NBC 5 verified that's true. Texas ranks 33rd in the nation for spending per pupil. Indiana ranks 18th.
NBC 5 also learned that Texas spends far more on the average prison inmate than the average school child.
The state spends $16,063 per inmate and $7,088 per student.
According to teachers like Aimee Bolender, president of the Alliance AFT teacher's union, that spending practice is backwards.
"Students would have a better education and the chance of them becoming prison inmates would be much less," Bolender said.
State Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, maintains that the prison comparison is unfair, but agrees that schools need more money.
"I know they would not like to see one of those prisoners who's killed somebody come out of prison because we didn't have the $16,000 to keep them behind bars," Shapiro said.
According to lawmakers, they're looking for funding during the current special session.
"We shouldn't just talk the talk, we should be walking the walk," state Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, said. "We've got to fix public education. We don't need to put a bandage on it, we need to fix it."
The talk at the capitol includes reducing local property taxes, spreading franchise taxes to businesses that don't pay now and broadening the sales tax.
Teachers remain skeptical. "I expect it to be a shell game. I expect money to be moved, but not actually enhanced," Bolender said.
Shapiro favors the governor's plan for teacher pay performance incentives based on students' tests.
However, Bolender and others oppose that idea.
"That's ridiculous. Teachers do not support that. It's not viewed as fair," she said.
"We teachers, if they would talk to us, we could give them some ideas," Kendall said.
Meanwhile, the District of Columbia spends the most per pupil per year, around $13, 000, followed by Connecticut and New York.
NBC5i
State Ranks 33rd Nationwide For School Spending
DALLAS -- As state lawmakers in Austin haggle over funding for school children, an NBC 5 investigation discovered that Texas spends far more on convicts than students, and far less than most other states.
Our discovery was not news to Stanley Kendall, who has been teaching for more 20 years, mostly in Texas but also in his native Indiana.
Comparing the two states, Kendall said it's obvious to him that Texas spends less on education.
"They're cutting teachers, they're making our class sizes bigger, they're wanting us to cut out programs to help kids at risk," he said.
In fact, NBC 5 verified that's true. Texas ranks 33rd in the nation for spending per pupil. Indiana ranks 18th.
NBC 5 also learned that Texas spends far more on the average prison inmate than the average school child.
The state spends $16,063 per inmate and $7,088 per student.
According to teachers like Aimee Bolender, president of the Alliance AFT teacher's union, that spending practice is backwards.
"Students would have a better education and the chance of them becoming prison inmates would be much less," Bolender said.
State Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, maintains that the prison comparison is unfair, but agrees that schools need more money.
"I know they would not like to see one of those prisoners who's killed somebody come out of prison because we didn't have the $16,000 to keep them behind bars," Shapiro said.
According to lawmakers, they're looking for funding during the current special session.
"We shouldn't just talk the talk, we should be walking the walk," state Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, said. "We've got to fix public education. We don't need to put a bandage on it, we need to fix it."
The talk at the capitol includes reducing local property taxes, spreading franchise taxes to businesses that don't pay now and broadening the sales tax.
Teachers remain skeptical. "I expect it to be a shell game. I expect money to be moved, but not actually enhanced," Bolender said.
Shapiro favors the governor's plan for teacher pay performance incentives based on students' tests.
However, Bolender and others oppose that idea.
"That's ridiculous. Teachers do not support that. It's not viewed as fair," she said.
"We teachers, if they would talk to us, we could give them some ideas," Kendall said.
Meanwhile, the District of Columbia spends the most per pupil per year, around $13, 000, followed by Connecticut and New York.
NBC5i
:
