Starving Schools is Bad Strategy

June 06, 2011 at 1:06 PM

By RAY MAYFIELD

Recently there have been several Letters to the Editor in the Star Democrat on school funding, most of which have called for funding decreases.

The amount of money spent per pupil is admittedly but one simple measure that assumes that the more spent, the better the outcome in terms of student achievement.  There are other factors such as parental involvement, the quality of the teachers and school leadership and the socio/economic level of the community.  But funding is important!

I don’t profess to know what the proper level of funding should be.  Maryland is generally regarded as having high quality schools.  But we all know that they – as well as schools throughout the nation – could be better.  

Those parts of the nation that have starved their school systems are racing to the bottom.  Texas, for example, prides itself in its ever lowering taxes.  Recent evaluations find that Texas schools have now achieved the distinction of being the worst performing in the nation.  

We know that the quality of schools is an important decision factor in attracting high tech industry and for drawing young professionals such as doctors and engineers.  Quality education for their kids trumps cheap taxes.

 Moreover, communities that feature high performing schools have significantly higher property values.  Just ask a real estate agent about how the quality of schools affects your property values.

Starving the schools is poor strategy if we really do care about the quality of life on the Eastern Shore.

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