What Are the Real Problems with American Public Schools?

By Roberta

Part 3
Growth and Stagnation of the Economy

In this installment I will discuss the impact the poor economy will have on schools, education, children, and the future of America.

From my previous posts we know three things: 1.) Public schools must deal with the tremendous societal problems in America on a daily basis; 2.) Huge disparities in per pupil expenditures exist in American public schools; and 3.) Despite these two facts test scores are rising in American public schools.

In public schools the first sign of a stagnating economy is an increase in student enrollment. Parents who normally would send their children to private schools transfer them to public schools because they can no longer afford costly private schools. So in hard economic times public schools must deal with increases in enrollment which leads to higher class sizes. This sudden surge in students during periods of economic stagnation comes at a time when schools too feel the economic pinch due to local and state budget cuts caused by decreases in tax revenues.

As of late June 2009 twenty-four states had already enacted budget cuts for K-12 education for the coming school year. An additional eighteen states may still enact budget cuts. (Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities) Many states have already cut services for the deaf, disabled, special education, breakfast programs, health clinics, gifted and talented programs, field trips, summer school, math and science initiatives, and after school programs.

Budget cuts will result in teacher layoffs just as there is an increase in student numbers. But it is not just teachers who are affected. Layoffs affect all school employees from bus drivers, to janitors and maintenance workers, nurses, adult literacy staff, guidance counselors, and food staff to name a few.

And public schools do not exist in a vacuum. Layoffs in schools have a domino effect in a community. Contracts with local vendors who supply paper, pencils, office supplies, telephones, books, computers, milk and food, gasoline, and cleaning supplies are just some of the outside businesses that are negatively affected by school budget cuts.

Additionally a poor economy can negatively affect reading and math learning for many children. A recent study of Baltimore students by Johns Hopkins researchers showed that 65 percent of the achievement gap between poor and affluent children can be explained by unequal summer learning experiences during the elementary school years. So cuts in summer school programs affect children's achievement.

Loss of after school programs make it harder for families where both parents work. Some schools have switched from a five day week to a four day week which also causes problems when both parents work. Many schools are also cutting courses to save money.

Financial aid for higher education is also adversely affected by a slumping economy. Student aid programs are harder to find, and loans become not just harder to get but more expensive when interest rates go up.

All of these school budget cuts cause additional monetary strains on family budgets.

One of the worst problems of this recession/depression is the effects on children due to the collapse of the housing bubble. "Research shows that stress on young children resulting from moving between homes multiple times can reduce high school graduation rates by as much as 13%," said Sara Watson, director of the Partnership for America's Economic Success and senior officer at The Pew Charitable Trusts. "The current housing crisis is affecting growing numbers of children and families, and society will be paying for those impacts for years to come." (Source: Hidden Costs of the Housing Crisis (report)

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found that students with two or more school changes in the previous year are half as likely to be proficient in reading as their stable peers; mobile 3rd graders are twice as likely to perform below grade level in math.

Teachers and schools will share in the pain of a shrinking economy and budget cuts. However, we must also keep in mind that old adage: penny wise and pound foolish.

Education budget cuts are often penny wise and pound foolish because public education is an investment in our future. Most economists agree that human capital is central to economic growth. As the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education says, "Education is one of the most effective interventions for improving our social and economic future-for individuals, communities, states, and the country as a whole."

In his book, Smart Money: Education and Economic Development, William Schweke tells us that there is, "A compelling body of research that links primary and secondary education to economic development and growth, showing that people are a type of economic asset - "human capital" - and that increased investment in health, skills and knowledge provides future returns to the economy through increases in labor productivity. Education increases workers' average earnings and productivity, and it also reduces their incidence of social problems, such as drug abuse, crime, welfare dependency, and lack of access to medical care, which can put a hefty drag on the economy.

The press release for his book states: "As state and local governments make tough funding choices with tight budgets, a new Economic Policy Institute report shows adequate and effective funding of education is the best way to achieve faster growth, more jobs, greater productivity, and more widely shared prosperity."

Schweke's book highlights some interesting tidbits.

*A Bank of America and United Way report found the public saves $7.16 for every original dollar invested in high-quality child care.

*A state's economic performance correlates to past investments in such areas as
education, according to a state report card assessment by the Corporation for
Enterprise Development. Eight out of 11 states with the highest grades for local
investment received an "A" or "B" in overall economic performance.

*The corporate Committee on Economic Development found that investing $4,800
per child in preschool education can reduce teenage arrests by 40%.

Schweke does not just advocate throwing more money at schools, but supports using funds wisely, and gives many suggestions for doing so in his book.

As we deal with America's economic downturn, decision makers must keep things like this in mind when making cuts to education budgets. Investment in our public schools an important factor in America’s economic performance and could lead to a shorter downturn.

As John F. Kennedy said nearly fifty years ago, "Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource."