Over the past ten to 15 years there have been tremendous amounts of money cut from the national public education system. Because of this, it is necessary for parents, like myself, to step in and raise funds so that our children can receive a basic education. Many parents at my son’s school put in a minimum of 10 to 20 hours a month and some much more just so that we don’t lose current student-teacher ratios and enrichment programs.

At one Parent Council Meeting a friend of mine leaned over to me during the second full hour and said “I will never be able to work again with all the responsibilities we have on Parent Council.” My answer was “Yes you will. You will be raising money for the public schools full-time. You just won’t get paid for it.” We both just laughed and continued participating in the meeting.

All laughing aside, I am just glad that I am able to be a stay-at-home parent who can contribute and help the public school system raise money for all the integral programs that make for a successful public education for all children, not just my own. Not only does it help the kids, but also it gives me the opportunity to meet and build friendships with so many amazingly smart and creative parents. Despite the positives, I am often left wondering why our country has decided to lessen the budget priority for education over the past 15-20 years.

While experts bandy about the fact that per pupil spending has doubled, a Economic Public Institute study entitled Where’s the Money Gone? Changes in the Level of Compostion of Education Spending by Richard Rothstein with Karen Hawley Miles shows the error of these claims. Between 1967 and 1991:

*....real per pupil spending, appropriately adjusted for inflation, grew by 61% between 1967 and 1991, a growth rate 40% less than conventionally reported;

* The share of all spending received by regular education (what most people think of as a schools normal academic function) declined from 80% in 1967 to 59% in 1991; nonetheless, per pupil expenditures grew 28% over the period; regular education received 26% of the net new money spent in 1991;

* Special educations share of all expenditures rose from 4% in 1967 to 17% in 1991; special education received 38% of the net new money spent in 1991;

* About 8% of net new money went to expansion of the school lunch and breakfast programs. Another 7% went to attendance, dropout prevention, alternative instruction, and counseling;

* In both 1967 and 1991, about two-thirds of regular education funds were spent on teachers' compensation;

* In regular education, higher average teacher salaries were mainly due to teachers greater experience (age) and credentials (e.g., masters degrees) in 1991 compared to 1967. Real salaries for teachers of similar experience and training did not significantly increase during this period and declined in many cases.

A followup was made to the report to include data from 1991-1996:

* The share of spending on regular education is shrinking. By the 1996 school year, regular education accounted for only 56.8% of all school spending, down from 58.5% in 1991.

* Special education spending grew to 19.0% of all school spending in 1996, up from 17.8% in 1991.

* School lunch and breakfast programs grew to 4.8% of total school spending in 1996, compared to 3.3% in 1991.

* Bilingual education programs grew to 2.5% of total school spending in 1996, up from 1.9% in 1991.

* The shift of spending away from the regular education program continues a trend observed over the 1967-91 period. However, in an era of stagnant overall school spending, such as the 1990s, this shift has translated into an actual reduction in regular education spending per pupil in several school districts.

When are we as a country going to understand that if we ask our schools to do more, we have to give them more? When are we as a country going to decide that by under-funding education we send a message to our children that they are not valued? This in turn leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy where our children do not strive to achieve to their fullest potential. Until we decide as a nation to start funding our public education system appropriately, I know there will be parents out there willing to spend the majority of their free time to make sure our children do not receive a substandard education. It is just sad that it has come to that.

Tara Parrillo
Contributor
The Sacramento Executive