Attitude Shift

As I sat in the House Education Committee meeting, I overheard an individual state to his neighbor, “Education money should follow the student where ever they go to school.”

This is an assumption that the State will fund, at least in part, each student’s education. If this assumption is universally accepted, it will have long-range impacts on public schools. It represents a subtle shift in the concept of public education.

The establishment of public education in the 1890’s put a school system in place that would service children in their neighborhoods. It was clearly understood that we have a stronger community and a brighter future when our children are educated. We can take pride that we offer education to all comers. Over time, programs have been created to address the many different abilities and challenges of an increasingly diverse population.

At the same time, there has never been a requirement that families must choose the public schools for their children’s education. Just as you are free to choose a private doctor for medical care, you are free to choose a private school for education. The County Health Department remains an option funded by tax dollars.

In more populous areas, more options for education do spring up. But often in the very rural regions of the state, public education is the only option and it is a much more expensive program to offer. They do not enjoy economy of scale, or as you may have heard: things are “cheaper by the dozen.”

When attempts to properly and equitably fund education resulted in creating the WPU, or “weighted pupil unit”, it also created the idea that each child in the state was entitled to education money in the amount of this WPU. It was not a stretch to decide that each child should receive the amount of money the state would spend toward educating him/her in public schools.

I am very committed to public schools and I appreciate that they provide quality teachers, innovative programs, and diverse opportunities for my children. I want my children to mix with others in their neighborhood. I want them to understand their communities by seeing themselves and their neighbors as one unit. Because of this, I am anxious to step up and help all I can to improve the education that public schools provide. It doesn’t mean I think all families must or should choose public education for their children nor that I think public funds should go to the alternative schools they may choose.

The issue boils down to whether we are financing public education or funding the education of each child. These two attitudes are subtly different but are colliding in the Legislature.