Are handouts and students fees the answer?
Of course not!
Funds for public education are being slashed, teachers are being laid off, and services that help struggling students succeed are being dismantled. The nonpartisan Center on Education Policy recently reported that 84 percent of school districts anticipate funding cuts in the 2011-12 school year. To compensate, states and school districts are relying more and more on philanthropy to fund basic education services. The generosity is appreciated, but policymakers should not get off this easily.
Are handouts and students fees the answer?
Of course not!
Funds for public education are being slashed, teachers are being laid off, and services that help struggling students succeed are being dismantled. The nonpartisan Center on Education Policy recently reported that 84 percent of school districts anticipate funding cuts in the 2011-12 school year. To compensate, states and school districts are relying more and more on philanthropy to fund basic education services. The generosity is appreciated, but policymakers should not get off this easily.
Private philanthropy can play a leadership role in drawing public attention to problems and focus public will on solutions. But it’s not a substitute for meeting our responsibility to fund educational opportunity for all. Public schools have been and continue to be the lifeline to opportunity for Americans, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. That is why education has been a public policy priority dating back to our founding fathers.
Help us spread the word that handouts are not the answer to funding our public schools. Forward this blog post and link to the Aug. 25 New York Times op-ed that urges all of us to hold elected officials accountable for meeting their constitutional obligation to fully fund public education.