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Education budget cut
Effect of cutting education budget
Education budget cut
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All throughout the United States for the past several years, states are “hurting because of falling state revenues,” (Emeagwali), and schools are trying to cope with tremendous budget cuts that are resulting in less funds provided for educational services. These cuts are putting pressure on everyone invested in the education system, including students, teachers and any other administration within them (qtd. in Johnson 2), and the reduced budget is not solely affecting any particular level of schooling either. All levels of education, ranging from primary learning to advanced, have been affected (Emeagwali). Additionally, it is not just one or two states having to adjust their budgets; by 2002, “at least 40 states [had] been forced to consider budget cuts,” and these cuts have taken their toll on the amount of funding designated towards educational opportunities (Feldman). As pressures hit hard on state governments, a rise in educational budget cuts has resulted in deleterious effects on the level of education provided to students. As a result, researchers and infuriated teachers and parents have begun supporting education as it is ignored by government administration.
Budget cuts are continuously present and affect the way state governments are able to manage their funds. Researcher Michael A. Rebell has found, “‘A survey of forty-six states with available data indicated that… thirty-seven are spending less on education in 2011-2012 than they did last year, thirty are spending less than they did in 2008, and half of them have cut funding by more than ten percent since the 2008 recession’” (Rebell, “Safeguarding the Right” 1859). In all states, budget cuts are resulting in a reduction in the quantity of resources, educat...
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...s still the shame of the city. Could affluent families who love a revived New York be the force that reclaims the schools?." Contemporary Women's Issues Database. 01 Jun. 2002: 22(8). eLibrary. Web. 06 Jan. 2014.
Oliff, Phil, Chris Mai, and Vincent Palachios. "States Continue to Feel Recession's Imact." Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Matrix Group International, Inc., 27 June 2012. Web. 16 Jan. 2014. .
Ramírez, Eddy. "Budget Cuts Hit The Classrooms." U.S. News & World Report 145.10 (2008): 68. MAS Complete. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
Rebell, Michael A. “Safeguarding The Right To A Sound Basic Education In Times Of Fiscal Constraint.” Albany Law Review 75.4 (2012). 1855-1976. Academic Search Complete. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.
--. "The Recession--And Students' Rights." Educational Leadership 69.4 (2011): 12. MAS Complete. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
California is one of the largest states in the country and has one of the biggest state budgets, but in the past several years, its school system has become one of the worst in the nation because of enormous budget cuts in efforts to balance the state’s enormous deficit. The economic downturn at the end of the 2000s resulted in even more cuts to education. It is in environments like this one in which students from poor backgrounds become most vulnerable because of their lack of access to support in their homes as well as other programs outside of schools. Their already financially restricted school districts have no choice but to cut supplementary programs and increase class sizes, among other negative changes to public schools. The lack of financial support from the state level as well as demands for schools to meet certain testing benchmarks by the state results in a system in which the schools are no longer able to focus on students as individuals; they are forced to treat students as numbers rather than on an individual case by case basis.
The gap between the nation’s best and worst public schools continues to grow. Our country is based on freedom and equality for all, yet in practice and in the spectrum of education this is rarely the case. We do not even have to step further than our own city and its public school system, which many media outlets have labeled “dysfunctional” and “in shambles.” At the same time, Montgomery County, located just northwest of the District in suburban Maryland, stands as one of the top school systems in the country. Within each of these systems, there are schools that excel and there are schools that consistently measure below average. Money alone can not erase this gap. While increased spending may help, the real problem is often rooted in the complex issues of social, cultural, and economic differences. When combined with factors involving the school itself and the institution that supports it, we arrive at what has been widely known as the divide between the suburban and urban schools. Can anything actually be done to reverse this apparent trend of inequality or are the outside factors too powerful to change?
Lockwood, Andrew. School Finance Reform in Michigan Proposal A: Retrospective. Lansing: Michigan Department of Treasury, 2002.
“American schools are literally falling apart” as a result of Nixon’s “block grants” and Bush’s budget cuts during their respective presidencies (pg. 161-2). Libraries have closed, or decreased their hours of operation. Decades old textbooks continue to be used, with few sources of current information present for the students because their libraries cannot afford to remain open. Schools are so overcrowded they hold class anywhere, from additional buildings to the
New York City is claimed to be one of the greatest cities in the world. Many are blinded by the breathtaking skyline, the endless opportunities, and the hustle and bustle of the streets. As one of the economic capitals of the world, it is surprising to hear that about 30 percent of children currently residing in New York City are living in poverty (Cheney). New York City has evolved into a city for the wealthy by eliminating inexpensive housing and jobs, forcing many families to the streets (Elliot). Many are unaware of how prevalent child poverty is.
With this many students, both state and federal representatives have made efforts to adopt reforms designed to make a solution to the funding inequality. The disproportion of funds first and foremost effects the amount of programs offered to children that vary from basic subjects such as: English, Math, and Science. This created the motivation to improve the quality of education for low-income neighborhoods by targeting resources other than property taxes and redirecting the states budgets. The goal the school districts all shared was the need to increase instruction, add after school activities, promote a well-rounded education, physical innovations to facilities and classrooms, and to update the academic resources. The popular demand that the funding to public education needs to correspond throughout all the school districts. Wealthy tax payers often argue that a region that depends on property taxes is the “American way.” This argument derives from the ideology that American success relies on perseverance and hard work, but if the playing field is uneven the higher born student has an advantage. “High property taxes—the burdens and perverse incentives they create, the rage they generate, the town-to-town school funding inequities they proliferate—…represent an endless New England nightmare…” (Peirce and Johnson, 2006). In the attempt to
When compared to military (54% of the FDR), education only accounts for about 6% of federal spending, which amounts to around 70 billion dollars. According to the Congressional Budget Office that money is then allocated to the states where in some cases it may only cover “10% of the state’s total educational costs”. If funds were allocated from defense to education the federal government could relieve what is for some states a 90% burden of coverage of federally regulated schools. Funds could be used to increase teacher pay, reduce school crowding, and give states with a smaller budget increased funding towards there school systems. In addition to improvements in education this same concept could be applied to other areas of the public sector like infrastructure.
School funding is systemically unequal, partially because the majority of school funding comes from the school district’s local property taxes, positioning the poorest communities at the bottom rung of the education playing field. A student’s socioeconomic status often defines her success in a classroom for a number of reasons. Students who live below the poverty line have less motivation to succeed, and their parents are less inclined to participate in their child’s education, often because the parents cannot provide support for their children. Although it’s logical that school districts from poorer communities cannot collect as much funding as the richer communities, persons stuck in these low-income communities often pay higher taxes, and still their school dis...
Allan and Davis mention the spike of college cost since 1995 has increased by 150 percent; student debt has increased 300 percent since 2003, and with education, second to the mortgage industry in the nation’s debt, America needs to redirect their attention to the future and focus on education (Allan n. pg). Budget cuts from national to state
It is not right to cut the education funding budget because it will result in increasing tuitions and most importantly job layoffs; “ it’s getting more difficult as a student…. It’s going to be a big harder to pay for the costs of tuition, and top that with textbooks, it’s going to be tougher….We can’t really afford a whole bunch of cuts, we’re kind of struggling. Peterson said” (Dao). This indicates that university teachers have a higher chance to get layoff; “if layoffs are part of that, then layoffs would be part of that — we're not taking that off the table at all," Doherty said” (CBC News). To conclude, the government might not see the effects to their bad judgement but it directly affect the citizen's life; job layoffs and an increase in tuition will make citizens or students life much more
The American public school system faces an education crisis. According to Benjamin Barber, American children barely surpass the lowest standards set for education, especially in literacy, throughout the county’s history. Barber supports the existence of this crisis in his essay “America Skips School”, but argues against a solution to remedy the numerous problems facing the system. Although he acknowledges no solution, Barber suggests a smarter flow of financial resources will address many of the issues, however, he fails to acknowledge the distribution of this money. Barber’s suggestion for smarter financial resources for schools can be effectively implemented through a structured committee focused solely on the distribution of money.
Margaret E. Goertz. Peabody Journal of Education, Vol. 80, No. 2, Federalism Reconsidered: The Case of the No Child Left Behind Act (2005), pp. 73-89
An article written in 2015, by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities explains that “States cut funding deeply after the recession hit. The average state is spending $1,805, or 20 percent, less per student than it did in the 2007-08 school year” (Mitchell and Leachman). With approximately 20 percent less per student given to educational institutes over the course of time, this will amount to a great deal of money lost and schools will need to adjust accordingly. Unfortunately, one of the ways that educational institutes are working to correct this is by increasing college tuition for students. When you do this, it is much harder for scholars to justify attending institute. Some individuals will argue that you are able to get financial aid. However, this does not turn out to be so for must students. This, again, is a setback in getting an education. An article writing by Michael Mitchell and Michael Leachman states that “In Arizona, published tuition at four-year schools is up more than 80 percent”. With this increase of education, how do students know where the money is being spent. Scholars would like to know that the cost of their education is not being spent incorrectly and are curious as to why the cost of education is increasing when there is no increase for them in the
As colleges’ funds dry up, colleges must turn to the public to further support higher education. By raising state taxes, colleges can collect funds to help improve the school’s budgets. The state provides funds from the taxes for colleges to receive a certain amount for each student currently enrolled. All community and traditional four year colleges collect these funds in order to maintain the school’s budget. As reporter, Eric Kelderman states, “less than a third of colleges’ budget is based from state taxes”. The school’s budget is how colleges are able to provide academic support programs, an affordable intuition, and hire more counselors. Colleges must now depend on state taxes more than ever for public colleges. Without collecting more funds from state taxes, as author, Scott Carlson explains how Mr. Poshard explains to senators “our public universities are moving quickly toward becoming private universities…affordable only to those who have the economic wherewithal to them” (qtd. in.) Public colleges must be affordable to anyone who wishes to attend. If colleges lack to provide this to students, it can affect dropouts, a student’s ability focus, and cause stress. The problem of lack of funding is that colleges have insufficient funds. Therefore, the best possible solution for the problem of lack of funding would be increasing and collecting more funds from state taxes.
“The majority of states have funding systems with “flat” or “regressive” funding distribution patterns that ignore the need for additional funding in high-poverty districts” (Strauss 2014) Schools that already had little money and poor student achievement began to crumble. ” the highest-poverty districts spend more than 30 percent less per student than the lowest-poverty ones. In more than half of the states, there are hundreds of high-poverty schools that receive less funding than schools that serve more-affluent students.” (Semansky 2015)