Public Education Funding

Public education funding offers a student the opportunity to learn in an environment that is funded by the government. There are 3 different sources that make up public education funding: federal, state and local.

The federal government mandates that each state must provide public education to each student enrolled in school. According to a statement made by United States President Thomas Jefferson, “education should be available to both rich and poor children at the expense of the government. “ The state sets up rules and regulations to be followed by each school to ensure that a student’s educational needs are met in and outside the classroom whether through academics and sports activities. Local governments usually foot the bill in public education funding through property taxes. The idea of paying property taxes to support public education funding has been around for years but recently is being challenged due to a change in an individual’s or a family’s economic status and the ability to afford the high taxes to pay for public education funding.

When it comes to public education funding, the issue of equality has always been a touchy subject. The issue of equality has been raised throughout many court systems. From the Brown v Board of Education ruling in 1954 on “separate but equal schools for African Americans” is not evidence of equality to numerous lawsuits in 2000 from poverty school districts charging that the students are not receiving their fair share of education, the debate in equality in educating students will always be on the minds of every citizen. Many towns react to the fact there is no equality when it comes to paying for public education funding and that the state should intervene when it becomes necessary. Unfortunately, there has been no development on how to separate the need for public education funding for different performing schools.

The challenge in public education funding is to make sure that all 3 levels of government are focusing on one primary goal. The goal is to ensure a quality education for every student. On the federal level, the government must evaluate the programs that are being taught and determine which programs should continue to receive the benefit of public education funding. On the state level, the government must take the necessary steps to see if schools are performing according to state standards and if not should make recommendations or change programs to get the school operating at a federal mandated level. On the local level, elected officials should work with taxpayers to find alternate sources to support public education funding without causing economic hardship for families.