Ryan Cope

Hilarides
English 4
4-13-15

6 Things You Should Know About Decreased Funding in Education

The children do not seem to be getting any brighter, maybe because schools are
getting less and less money each year. The decrease in funding to schools is affecting
the education to the students. One school in Chicago had lost its pool because the roof
over it had collapsed (Jackson). While another in Chicago, has an Olympic sized fast
pool (Jackson). Its amazing what money can get a school and the students enrolled in
it. The more money a school has the more programs and education a kid will benefit
from. Nobody wants their kid to get the bare minimum education, so we need to fix this
problem before it gets any worse.
1. Decreased school funding leads to a decline in average GPA.
Do you ever wonder why small towns seem to have less educated people in
residence there? This might be because there local school doesnt make a lot of money
or get much funding. Schools with less funding seem to produce kids that are undereducated. An example of this comes from Cook County Jail, they offer high schoollevel courses to their inmates (Jackson). Chicago spends an average of $18,615 a
year on each inmate, compared with an average of $6,941 on each public school
student (Jackson). Although they are in jail they scored a little better than the average
for all Chicago public schools (Jackson). When a school has decreased fundings they
cant afford to pay teachers, and research suggests that teacher quality is the most
important school-based determinant of student success (Leachman). This means that

the kids in a higher funded school has better quality teachers. Loss of funding equals
loss of teachers which ultimately ends with a decline in GPA.
2.

Decreased funding leads to loss of school programs.

Schools with a small or decreased funding have less programs than the ones

that have high funding. Most schools have sports but not every school has every sport.
Some schools only have a football team and a basketball team when others have
soccer, basketball, baseball, football, lacrosse, and track. A school in Chicago knows
how they can loss programs all too well. The school's name is DuSable High, it does not
have a pool because the roof over had caved in (Jackson). DuSable doesnt compare to
Neuqua Valley High, a $62 million school (Jackson), and its Olympic-sized fast pool
(Jackson). These schools are a good example on how a decrease in funding leads to a
loss of school programs. When a school cant afford a program it currently has, it has to
drop that program to save money. Also if a school cant afford to start new programs its
kids will never have the chance to do anything. A decrease in school funding leads to a
loss in school programs and student involvement.
3.

New state budgets are providing less funding for schools.

States across America are cutting down on their funding to education due to the

new budget plans. Some states are spending this money on various other things like
fixing roads or health insurance. Michael Leachman says that, at least 35 states are
providing less funding per student in the 2013-14 school year than they did seven years
ago (Leachman). That is a bunch of states that have cut their funding to schools. This
hurts the schools because they rely heavily on the states funds. After inflation that state
is collection 2.1 percent less in property tax revenue (Leachman) this year than last

year. This is money that is normally given to schools that the schools cant make up
very easily on their own (Leachman). Schools would have to raise the property tax and
thats not politically easy to do either. More than half the states have cut school funding
per student due to low economic growth.
4.

Decreased school funding damages the economy.

When a school gets less money for the year they cant afford to pay as many

teachers as they did before. This makes less jobs in the community and eventually
affects the economy. Research says, job losses shrink the purchasing power of
workers families, which in turn affects local businesses (Mai). Less jobs means less
payment, which means less spending on goods and less money going back into the
economic system. That can affect the economy in the long run as well. Cutting funds will
cause worse education and to prosper, businesses require a well-educated workforce
(Mai). So the future of some businesses will suffer because of the lack of knowledge in
its new employees. Schools are shaping the future workforce and our economy is
dependent on them, when they are less educated the economy will suffer.
5.

School districts can consolidate to help save money.

If two school districts merge together or make big purchases jointly they can cut

down on spending. Consolidating schools is when two districts merge together under
one superintendent to help save money in the budget. The benefit is that they only have
to pay one superintendent, but they still get all the funding that both the schools would if
they were still separate. Some research and literature says a number of states
encourage districts and regional agencies to enter into cooperative purchasing
agreements (Education Northwest). A purchasing agreement would mean that both of

the schools buy a product together and they split it, which can save them money by
purchasing in bulk. Consolidating schools can save schools the money they wont be
funded if it is done properly.
6.

An online competition fundraiser could help local schools.

Most schools would never think about using internet games to raise money, even

though most students would be more willing to do that than sell cookies. Stockholm
School of Economics started a competition with big, known schools such as: the
University of California and Stanford (Marc). It is an online competition, kind of smart
with todays technology. Its a donation platform that combined social gaming and
spirited competition (Marc). People play
these games and donate to the school
when they play, the competition brings
them back with their friends and it starts a
circle of donations. The real competition is
between the schools, to see who can get
the most participators. It has gotten so big that universities in the Baltics and beyond
are looking to replicate the campaigns success (Marc). Think of it in reference to
Harvard, Yale, and other Ivy League schools. If all the college rivalries could do this to
raise money it could not only get the students involved but all the fans and alumni
involved too. An online competition would cause a major increase in funding and could
be spent on very useful things, including lower tuition for students.

Works Cited
Borosage, Robert L. "Federal Spending on Education Should Not Be Cut."
Education. Ed. Nol Merino. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014.
Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Sending Kids the Bill for the Mess Left by
Wall Street." Huffington Post. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web.
28 Apr. 2015.

Jackson, Jesse. "Increased Funding Would Improve Public Education."

Education. Ed. Mary E. Williams. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2000.
Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "New Schools Now." Liberal Opinion Week.
1998. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.

Leachman, Michael. "Most States Funding Schools Less Than Before the
Recession." Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Center on Budget and
Policy Priorities, 20 May 2014. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.
Marc, Jenny. Using Social Media to Shake Up College Fund-Raising. The New
York Times. The New York Times, 27 Oct. 2014. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.

"What Does Research Say About School District Consolidation?" Education

Northwest. Education Northwest, July 2011. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.

Zelon, Helen. "Private Funders Struggle to Make an Impact on Education Reform."

Do Schools Prepare Students for a Global Economy? Ed. Judeen Bardos.
Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "In Public School

Reform, What Can Private Money Buy?" City Limits 26 Sept. 2011.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.