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Recommended: Unequal funding for schools

At the very least the United States has 51 funding systems for providing an education. All vary in the degree of spending and the type of spending students receives in the United States. Underfunding schools affects the poorest members of society the hardest, it has been a major problem in American politics for three decades, and it has led to decline of public education. Although underfunding schools threatens American education and society there are ways in which to alter the course of a failing education system. To begin with, the problem with the American system of funding schools is the variations that exist among different districts or states. Underfunding exists because the United States federal government allows it to exits by allowing state and local governments to decide what their contribution to education will be. Such variation is exemplified by the state of Hawaii, “the whole state is a single school district and only 2% of funding comes from local sources”(Connell) and the state of New Hampshire, “the state shares only 8% of the costs of public education, so schools depend almost entirely on local property taxes”(Connell). Each state has its own funding policy and even among districts there are wide variations in spending. Urban and suburban schools with a high student population who qualify for free or reduced typically receive less funding for schools than their counterparts due to the differences in each districts’ local property taxes. Variation of this type and of this degree hinders American education. Moreover, the importance of funding schools has been one of the major issues for America for three decades. Since the 1980’s both American citizens and government officials have taken an interest in the expendi... ... middle of paper ... ...can be. It is an embarrassment when the nation claims to be a developed nation when a majority of its inhabitants receive a subpar education that in most nations would not be tolerated. Communities like those around and in Chicago need to stand up and demand changes to government funding so we can claim once more that the Unites States is a developed country that can compete with the rest of the world. Works Cited Biddle, Bruce J., and David C. Berliner. "Membership." Educational Leadership:Beyond Instructional Leadership:Unequal School Funding in the United States. N.p., May 2002. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. Connell, Noreen. "Under-funded Schools." Dollars and Sense: Real World Economics. N.p., 1998. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. "Fast Facts." Fast Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. "Who Pays for Education?" Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

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