Monday, February 9, 2015
“The governor doesn’t think that’s acceptable, that we should be that far below the national average."Y'know, Daniel, I agree. The fact that our per student funding is so far below the national average isn't just unacceptable, it's scandalous. Oh wait, that's not what you were talking about? You were talking about the percentage of school funding that goes into the classroom? Let me finish the quote:
“The governor doesn’t think that’s acceptable, that we should be that far below the national average and that little money is getting into the classroom,” Scarpinato said. “What [Ducey’s] Classrooms First Initiative is about and what his budget reflects is getting more money into the classroom.”Ah, I understand. It's perfectly fine that our per student funding for education is so much lower than almost every other state's, but it's absolutely unacceptable that the percentage going into the classroom is lower. A logical economic analysis would say, when you have fixed costs like transportation, maintenance and other necessary non-classroom services and have to make cuts, you're forced to do your trimming where you can — like, say, the number of teachers you hire. After all, you can always cram a few more desks and students into a classroom and hold onto battered, out-of-date textbooks another few years to save money if there's no other way to trim costs.
Tags: Daniel Scarpinato , Governor Ducey , Education funding , Classroom funding