What is "Fair" Public School Funding?

[DGS49]

Josh Shapiro supports overhaul of school funding in PA

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro has backed a high-profile lawsuit calling for an overhaul of Pennsylvania’s school funding system.

philadelphia.chalkbeat.org

In Pennsylvania, the bulk of public school funding is raised at the local (school district) level through real estate taxes. A small percentage comes from the Feds, and about 35-40% comes from the State.

Perversities abound. When measuring funding on a per-student basis, the big cities with the (statistically) worst academics get the most money, second come the affluent suburbs with high real estate values, and third come rural districts with the highest real estate tax rates, due to low population density. Academically, the big cities do have various forms of "scholar" programs that facilitate SOME urban students getting an education that rivals a good private school, but as the cancer of DEI attacks them, their excellence is in serious danger.

In parallel with funding issues and issues of "equity" is a general movement in Academe to de-emphasize standardized testing, the results of which perennially embarrass both POC communities and public school teachers as a group. So any attempt to measure whether funding initiatives are succeeding in raising up the "worst" districts and schools is hampered by reluctant to quantitatively measure the academic status quo, over time.

So two questions are begged, so to speak. What if funding were "normalized" throughout the State, with every district spending the same amount per pupil (with an adjustment for the lowest population-density districts)? Would the Leftists consider that "fair," and what would that do to/for educational "outcomes"?

[Nothing].

The second question is, if not per-student spending, what other criterion could be used to give every student in the State school system a reasonably equal education - whatever that means?

[I haven't a clue].

One suspects that Leftist politico's would likely just like to throw more and more money to underperforming districts, while ignoring the fact that it doesn't do any good. But that's just my own prejudices coming out.

Here are some numbers:

U.S. Public Education Spending Statistics [2022]: per Pupil + Total

Find out how much the U.S. spends on public education and how the costs break down per student, by state and by level of government.

educationdata.org

So what do you think? What spending principles would result in the "fairest" allocation of funds to the largest number of public school students?

 

[Thunderbird]

Josh Shapiro supports overhaul of school funding in PA

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro has backed a high-profile lawsuit calling for an overhaul of Pennsylvania’s school funding system.

philadelphia.chalkbeat.org

In Pennsylvania, the bulk of public school funding is raised at the local (school district) level through real estate taxes. A small percentage comes from the Feds, and about 35-40% comes from the State.

Perversities abound. When measuring funding on a per-student basis, the big cities with the (statistically) worst academics get the most money, second come the affluent suburbs with high real estate values, and third come rural districts with the highest real estate tax rates, due to low population density. Academically, the big cities do have various forms of "scholar" programs that facilitate SOME urban students getting an education that rivals a good private school, but as the cancer of DEI attacks them, their excellence is in serious danger.

In parallel with funding issues and issues of "equity" is a general movement in Academe to de-emphasize standardized testing, the results of which perennially embarrass both POC communities and public school teachers as a group. So any attempt to measure whether funding initiatives are succeeding in raising up the "worst" districts and schools is hampered by reluctant to quantitatively measure the academic status quo, over time.

So two questions are begged, so to speak. What if funding were "normalized" throughout the State, with every district spending the same amount per pupil (with an adjustment for the lowest population-density districts)? Would the Leftists consider that "fair," and what would that do to/for educational "outcomes"?

[Nothing].

The second question is, if not per-student spending, what other criterion could be used to give every student in the State school system a reasonably equal education - whatever that means?

[I haven't a clue].

One suspects that Leftist politico's would likely just like to throw more and more money to underperforming districts, while ignoring the fact that it doesn't do any good. But that's just my own prejudices coming out.

Here are some numbers:

U.S. Public Education Spending Statistics [2022]: per Pupil + Total

Find out how much the U.S. spends on public education and how the costs break down per student, by state and by level of government.

educationdata.org

So what do you think? What spending principles would result in the "fairest" allocation of funds to the largest number of public school students?

The U.S. spends a lot on education, more than Canada, Germany, France, Japan. I don’t think the problem is lack of money. The problem is American education is suffocated by the weight of a massive bloated corrupt inefficient bureaucratic monopoly. There’s no accountability. We desperately need reform, especially school choice.

Spending on tertiary education

Spending on tertiary education is defined as the total expenditure on the highest level of education, covering private expenditure on schools, universities, and other private institutions delivering or supporting educational services.

data.oecd.org

National School Choice Awareness Foundation

As a nonprofit organization, we raise broad national awareness of school choice so that more parents can access effective education options for their children.

schoolchoiceawareness.org

 

[pknopp]

What's fair? What the people of Pennsylvania decide.

 

[rightwinger]

Good question but it is hard to apply a “one size fits all” to all schools.

Some schools have expenses that may not be seen statewide

Added security
Transportation
More students who don’t speak English
More students with special needs

 

[Polishprince]

Good question but it is hard to apply a “one size fits all” to all schools.

Some schools have expenses that may not be seen statewide

Added security
Transportation
More students who don’t speak English
More students with special needs

Rural students in Pennsylvania often don't speak English- we have a large Dutch population in the hinterlands riding their buggies and speaking German.

 

[rightwinger]

Rural students in Pennsylvania often don't speak English- we have a large Dutch population in the hinterlands riding their buggies and speaking German.

Pennsylvania Dutch are not Dutch
They are Deutsch which is German

Deutschland​

 

[SweetSue92]

Good question but it is hard to apply a “one size fits all” to all schools.

Some schools have expenses that may not be seen statewide

Added security
Transportation
More students who don’t speak English
More students with special needs

Wait---

Are you saying importing a bunch of students who don't speak English is a liability? Or is an expense?

WHOA

 

[Unkotare]

Wait---

Are you saying importing a bunch of students who don't speak English is a liability? Or is an expense?

WHOA

"Importing"?

 

[rightwinger]

Wait---

Are you saying importing a bunch of students who don't speak English is a liability? Or is an expense?

WHOA

We have always had students who don’t speak English
Where have you been?

 

[SweetSue92]

We have always had students who don’t speak English
Where have you been?

And they are an expense. Why should Americans pay for non-Americans invading our borders to learn English on our dime?

 

[rightwinger]

And they are an expense. Why should Americans pay for non-Americans invading our borders to learn English on our dime?

Lots of things are expenses

Even useless music classes
Why should we pay to teach someone to play a stupid instrument or sing horribly ?

 

[SweetSue92]

Lots of things are expenses

Even useless music classes
Why should we pay to teach someone to play a stupid instrument or sing horribly ?

Maybe you live in an ignorant backwater that thinks the arts are useless, I don't know. My community highly supports it. As witnessed by the fact the arts has been INCREASED in my district in recent years.

Poor RW, reduced to arguing against arts education. Go suck a lemon, miserable one

 

[rightwinger]

Maybe you live in an ignorant backwater that thinks the arts are useless, I don't know. My community highly supports it. As witnessed by the fact the arts has been INCREASED in my district in recent years.

Poor RW, reduced to arguing against arts education. Go suck a lemon, miserable one

The arts?
Who needs to pay music and art teachers like real teachers?

 

[SweetSue92]

The arts?
Who needs to pay music and art teachers like real teachers?

Is this just you sucking a big old lemon RW, because I have you so soundly defeated?

or is this the official position of Democrats/liberals/Leftists?

The arts are useless?

Gosh. DO take that to your people, won't you? DO IT

 

[SweetSue92]

The arts?
Who needs to pay music and art teachers like real teachers?

C'mon RW, DO IT

"Hi, I'm RW the ineffective but prolific Democrat troll, and our new position is the arts are worthless and only reading, writing and arithmetic matter"

I BROKE HIM

 

[rightwinger]

Is this just you sucking a big old lemon RW, because I have you so soundly defeated?

or is this the official position of Democrats/liberals/Leftists?

The arts are useless?

Gosh. DO take that to your people, won't you? DO IT

Lets be honest about music and art teachers

They don’t teach anything of value. The PTA could get a local mother to volunteer to teach the same useless skills

Music and Art could be offered as an after school activity for those who are interested. Save the real school day for subjects that really matter.

 

[SweetSue92]

Lets be honest about music and art teachers

They don’t teach anything of value. The PTA could get a local mother to volunteer to teach the same useless skills

What you don't realize is how pathetic this makes YOU look. Sweetheart, not only have I heard this for 30 years, I have heard it and fought against it AND PREVAILED. I have built programs from the ground up. I have opened schools and designed music rooms and started careers. In music.

You trying to get under my skin by this ridiculous buzzing means nothing to me. OF INTEREST to me is that this is a sellout to your people. This is not the stuff DEMOCRATS believe. This is the stuff of conservatives--the three Rs.

Are you a conservative now, RW?

Do you want to tell your own people the arts are inconsequential?

DO IT

 

[rightwinger]

C'mon RW, DO IT

"Hi, I'm RW the ineffective but prolific Democrat troll, and our new position is the arts are worthless and only reading, writing and arithmetic matter"

I BROKE HIM

Reading, writing, arithmetic, computer skills, science, history

Music and art?

 

[SweetSue92]

Lets be honest about music and art teachers

They don’t teach anything of value. The PTA could get a local mother to volunteer to teach the same useless skills

Music and Art could be offered as an after school activity for those who are interested. Save the real school day for subjects that really matter.

Goody! RW is a conservative now. Excellent! First, you don't believe people can change gender identity by the day, and NOW, you don't value the arts!

Wow

 

[rightwinger]

What you don't realize is how pathetic this makes YOU look. Sweetheart, not only have I heard this for 30 years, I have heard it and fought against it AND PREVAILED. I have built programs from the ground up. I have opened schools and designed music rooms and started careers. In music.

You trying to get under my skin by this ridiculous buzzing means nothing to me. OF INTEREST to me is that this is a sellout to your people. This is not the stuff DEMOCRATS believe. This is the stuff of conservatives--the three Rs.

Are you a conservative now, RW?

Do you want to tell your own people the arts are inconsequential?

DO IT

You are stealing from the taxpayer