Hang on to your wallets, it’s budget time. In Washington, Raleigh, and town halls everywhere, government officials are busy compiling their wish lists (funded by us, the taxpayers). Expect K-12 funding, a perennial line item favorite, to continue increasing at a much higher rate than the cost of living.
Yet, the magic mantra, “more money for education” continues to cross the lips of bureaucrats everywhere, begging the obvious question, “Do we really need more money for public schools?” In 2004-05, North Carolina spent $6.5 billion on K-12 education—from the state budget alone. Add to that roughly a billion dollars from the federal government and over $2 billion from local governments. Definitely not pocket change.
An infinitely more “profitable” enterprise for bureaucrats would be to answer the question, “How are our education dollars being spent?” In Mecklenburg County, some $300,000 over three years will go to fund the United Agenda for Children, a local action plan for improving the lives of children ages 0-21. While this program has some laudable goals, this money might be better spent on student instruction or classroom materials—especially since the Board of Education there has asked for a 20 percent increase in funding.
Meanwhile, Bertie County Commissioners recently requested a detailed audit of all education expenditures, asking auditors to specify potential areas for savings. While the audit has indeed been controversial, taxpayers now know where every dollar is spent. Auditors estimate that if all of their recommendations are followed over the next five years, the school system will save $7.7 million.
People are questioning the distribution of education funds in other states as well. Chris Patterson, Director of Research at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, writes:”What enterprise do you suppose wrote checks amounting to $1.6 million for lawyers, $375,000 for various chambers of commerce, $311,000 for professional association fees, $90,000 for Franklin Covey (personal effectiveness and productivity training), $14,500 for Billie Arbuckle Adventures, and $2.7 million for Young Audiences of North Texas (arts and cultural programs)?” You are right if you guessed a school system.
While budgetary harmony may continue to elude us, at least with respect to how much we spend, the above examples clearly demonstrate the need for greater accountability in education expenditures. In the final analysis, how much we spend matters less than how we spend it. All of which makes educational choice—a straightforward and sensible way of attaching education dollars to students rather than schools—sound like smart spending.
To learn more about education funding or school choice, as well as the latest education news, visit the Alliance online at a www.nceducationalliance.org. Check out the “Headlines” section of our home page, updated daily with articles from every major newspaper in the state. At the Alliance, we are committed to keeping you informed and empowered as we join together to improve education for the children of North Carolina.