3/8/05
Direct answers given to questions on education
by Joe Nathan
Parents, teachers and students had plenty of questions at this weekís pro-education funding rally at the Minnesota State Capitol.
Did the 5,000-6,000 parents, teachers and students who demonstrated convince legislators to spend more money on education? Will more funding mean an end to education cuts? Does more money produce better schools? Those were peoplesí most frequent questions. Here are some direct answers.
1. Will more money be spent on public education? Yes. The only question is how much more. Both Republicans and Democrats are feeling plenty of pressure from folks all over the state to put more money into education. That includes the governor.
2. Will more funding end program cuts, teacher layoffs and building closures? Not necessarily. And itís not just because we do not yet know how much additional money will be allocated. It is said that 70-80 percent of the money spent on K-12 education is spent on people ñ primarily teachersí and administratorsí salary and fringe benefits. Teachers expect salaries to go up. Health care costs are going up dramatically in many places.
So more money could be allocated, and school boards still could make cuts.
This has happened before, and might well still happen.
Some years ago a Minnesota Association of School Administrators committee warned that school districts were having a great deal of difficulty controlling costs, even when education funding was increased. Thatís in large part because administrators felt most communities did not want to face a teacher strike. So salary and fringe benefit settlements often were larger than legislative increases.
Many districts increased local property taxes. This increased inequalities across districts, as some communities raised property taxes and others refused.
Governor Jessie Ventura convinced legislators to increase the percentage of education funding from the state. But after September 11, tax revenues declined. Governor Tim Pawlenty convinced legislators that income and sales taxes should not be increased. Meanwhile, education costs kept increasing. School boards felt they could not cut back on teacher salaries. So other cuts were made. Now, the last, vital questionÖ
3. Does more money produce better schools? Sometimes. It depends on how money is spent.
Over the last 15-20 years, Minnesota students had among the nationís five best graduation rate and test scores, even though the state ranked between 14th and 25th in funding per pupil. There are many reasons. But higher spending does NOT inevitably produce better achievement. Minnesota led the nation in other things, like Post-Secondary Options, the charter public school movement and open enrollment. Despite vigorous initial opposition from unions and school boards, these changes helped many students.
Iíd like to see more spent on education, along with some reforms. The governor is right to suggest financially rewarding excellent teaching, although Iíd prefer a program rewarding entire schools making progress, rather than focusing on individual teachers. More money for excellent early childhood education programs also is a wide investment.
If people pushing for more money, and for improvements in education listen to each other, weíll make progress. Hereís hoping that happens.
Joe Nathan directs the Center for School Change at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. He can be reached at jnathan@hhh.umn.edu.
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