Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Walters: Will Spending More Fix Our Schools?
dan_walters
By Dan Walters, CalMatters Commentary
Published 4 years ago on
November 3, 2019

Share

Former state legislator Ted Lempert is personally and professionally committed to improving the wellbeing of California’s children.
Lempert, the president of Children Now, has tirelessly advocated to improve children’s futures and last week released a lengthy report comparing California to other states and concluding that we are woefully underspending on education.


Dan Walters
Opinion
“Since the 1960s, and accelerated by the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978, California has experienced a decline in adequate funding for the public education system that has created a jarring reality for its 6.2 million students,” the Children Now report asserted.
“California is at the bottom of the country in terms of the amount of supports it provides to its students,” Lempert said in a statement. “If, as a state, we’re serious about providing an equitable, high-quality education for all kids, state leaders must invest more in education, starting early on in order to prepare them for success in high school and beyond.”
The report is clearly timed to support drives to place two tax increase measures on the November 2020 ballot, one that would increase property taxes on commercial structures, and another that would increase corporate and personal income taxes.

California’s Test Results Have Shown Virtually No Overall Improvement

If both passed, schools would see about $20 billion a year in additional financing, or roughly $3,000 for each of the state’s 6.2 million K-12 students.
Proponents of the measures, unions for the property tax proposal and the California School Boards Association for the income tax hike, will echo Children Now, telling voters that our schools will once again shine if they have billions of more dollars to reduce class sizes, hire more teachers and expand support services.
But is it true?
By happenstance, the report was issued just as the federal government released scores from the latest round of national academic testing of 4th and 8th graders in reading and mathematics.
California maintained its mediocre status in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests, up a little in some categories, down a little in others, with huge gaps separating poor and English-learner students from more affluent white and Asian classmates.
California’s test results have shown virtually no overall improvement even though we have increased per-pupil spending by about 50 percent in recent years. Nevertheless, Children Now and others contend that our academic shortfall would be closed by spending more.

An Adequate Amount of Money Is Obviously Needed for Education

However, there’s almost no correlation between spending and NAEP standing in 8th-grade reading, which is particularly important because reading comprehension is vital to success by students about to enter high school.
The District of Columbia tops per-pupil spending from all sources, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, at $23,091, followed by New York at $21,974, Connecticut at $19,322 and New Jersey at $18,920.

An adequate amount of money is obviously needed for education, but contrary to the assertions of Children Now and other advocates, it’s not the only factor, and shouldn’t be oversold. Our educational dilemma is much more complicated than that.
Utah is dead last at $7,179, with Idaho ($7,486) and Arizona ($8,003) slightly higher. California is already closing in on the top ranks at $17,160, according to the 2019-20 state budget.
Although the District of Columbia spends the most, its 8th-grade reading score of 250 is 12 points under the national average and one of the nation’s lowest. New York is second in spending but its reading score, 262, is identical to the national average, and just three points higher than California’s 259.
No. 3 Connecticut and No. 4 New Jersey are both markedly above average, but so are No. 51 Utah and No. 50 Idaho.
An adequate amount of money is obviously needed for education, but contrary to the assertions of Children Now and other advocates, it’s not the only factor, and shouldn’t be oversold. Our educational dilemma is much more complicated than that.
CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary
[activecampaign form=31]

DON'T MISS

When Newsom Gives His State of the State, He Should Be Candid About California’s Economy

DON'T MISS

CA’s Liberal Government Has a Long History of Caving to Special Interests

DON'T MISS

Corrupt Process? Bullard, Edison Parents Blast Handling of Superintendent Search

DON'T MISS

Can Merced Schools Find a ‘Rock Star’ Superintendent? Here’s Where the Long Search Stands

DON'T MISS

Locals Urge FUSD To Keep The Process Transparent

DON'T MISS

Newsom, Legislators Opt for Gimmicks and Wishful Thinking to Close California’s Budget Deficit

DON'T MISS

Which Valley Students Showed Their Brain Power at California Academic Decathlon?

DON'T MISS

Courage to Embrace Change: El Rio Reyes Conservation Trust Boldly Rebrands as Kings River Land Trust

DON'T MISS

Committed to Politics or Committed to Fresno’s Children?

DON'T MISS

Fresno Councilman Threatens to Sue FUSD Over Students’ Lost Instruction Days

No data was found

California Law Enforcement Agencies Obstruct Transparency Efforts in Use-of-Force Cases

2 hours ago

Fresno County Tackles Animal Overpopulation with New Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Program

3 hours ago

Fallen Crypto Mogul Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison

3 hours ago

When Newsom Gives His State of the State, He Should Be Candid About California’s Economy

3 hours ago

No Police Charges for Taylor Swift’s Dad Over Paparazzi Incident in Sydney

3 hours ago

Biden Administration to Lend $1.5B to Restart Michigan Nuclear Power Plant, a First in the US

4 hours ago

Tonight’s Biden Fundraiser With Obama and Clinton Already Nets a Record $25 Million

4 hours ago

Supermom Carmi Is Ready to Be Embraced by Her Forever Family

Animals /

8 hours ago

Ukrainian Navy Says a Third of Russian Warships in the Black Sea Have Been Destroyed or Disabled

16 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: How Going to Work for Trump Turned Devin Nunes Into a Millionaire

20 hours ago

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

OAKLAND — A former correctional officer at a federal California women’s prison known for numerous misconduct allegations was sentenced...

1 hour ago

1 hour ago

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

2 hours ago

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

2 hours ago

Canadian School Boards Sue Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for Disrupting Students’ Education

2 hours ago

California Law Enforcement Agencies Obstruct Transparency Efforts in Use-of-Force Cases

3 hours ago

Fresno County Tackles Animal Overpopulation with New Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Program

3 hours ago

Fallen Crypto Mogul Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison

3 hours ago

When Newsom Gives His State of the State, He Should Be Candid About California’s Economy

Photo of Taylor Swift
3 hours ago

No Police Charges for Taylor Swift’s Dad Over Paparazzi Incident in Sydney

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend