Progressive Idea of the Week: Spend more on traditional and charter public schools.

This week the Arizona State Legislature in a narrow vote just gave most of the wealthiest one percent a tax break by passing a school voucher program that allows them to take a little over $5000 in state revenues that would have been allocated to go to their child's public school and establish an education savings account that could be potentially applied to a private school program of the families choice, even if that school has a religious component to their program. Now, this purpose of this blog posting is not to disparage private schools. There are many good private schools in Arizona and the country that offer exceptional educational programs. The issues here are two-fold. First, is it constitutional for the state to allow the shifting of public funds to private entities that promote religious views? Do not think it will pass the judicial smell test even in courts that are slightly right wing. The second is how will this program help most of the families of middle and lower classes who do not have the means to pay the full tuition for most private schools. The short answer is it does not as this program mainly serves to help families with means who can now send their children to private schools on a discount courtesy of public state funds.

It should be the goal of Progressives to continually advocate for greater spending on traditional and charter public schools for all our children.

Please look at the two charts below. Please look at the states that have the highest grades and see what they spend on their education programs. In the great majority of the cases, the states that spend more get a better return on education performance. States that do not spend more do not get the return in achievement that they would like.  Traditional and Charter Public Schools continually have to beg their communities for financial assistance. Teachers often have to spend for supplies for their classes. Quality safe and free public education is a right that should be embraced by all political spectrums. Funds should be increased at the state level to go into the public school classroom and not towards expanding access to "God's Kingdom" like our current Secretary of Education champions.