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Cost
The most cost effective way to educate is by home-schooling. In NC
about 4% of our school -age children are educated by home schooling.
These home schoolers save the taxpayers over $422 million annually.
Next in the cheapest category is private schools which are not funded
by the taxpayers but through tuition, grants and other non-taxpayers
funds. Next comes charter and public schools which are both
taxpayer funded. Private schools do cost the customer a
tuition fee this is about $7,000 annually but varies by school.
When we look at how much it costs to educate a student in the public
school system we see a direct cost of approximately $8,600 per student
but this does not take into consideration other costs such as
depreciation on buildings, interest on construction bonds, money given
through grants and federal dollars. Many public schools get
grant money through non-profit organizations for special projects.
If you factor in retirement and benefits paid to retirees, although my figures
can be disputed it is a fair estimate that the cost to educate a student
in the public schools tops $10,000 per year. Education is the
single most costly program in the state with over 40% of tax dollars
going to educate our youth. As more and more schools districts
look to find ways to get even more tax dollars the trend is clearly
upward and without some smart ways of spending tax dollars the cost
of public education is on its way through the roof. Taxpayers
have recently rejected all tax increases so the politicians must find
ways to educate more efficiently and effectively. If we continue down
the road of tax more and spend more for public education the system
will soon( if not already ) be in crisis. We must change now to insure
we can educate into the future.
The Best Way
You get what you pay for no longer works in our society.
Gretchen Wilson sings that Victoria Secret stuffs looks real nice
but she can buy the same darn thing on a Wal-Mart shelf half price and
still look sexy. Don't fall into the trap that the more we
spend on education the better it gets because this is simply not true.
In fact in many cases too much money is the problem rather than the
solution. There is no dispute and it can be shown by statistics
that home schooled children perform better on standardize tests than
those in public schools. On college entrance exams home schoolers
performed 12% better than those educated in public schools.
Those arguing against home schooling tell us the children do not
develop social skills as do their public school counterparts but this
is subjective and there is no data that supports this hypothesis. Private
schooled young adults also perform much better than their public
school counterparts. Public schools in NC graduate only about 70% of
those that enter high schools, home schoollers almost always
graduate and the drop out rate in private schools in less than 5%.
Statistical data will show that home schooling followed by private
schooling provides the "best" education for our youth. Private
and home schooled children face less crime, less drugs and less
gang activity than their public school counterparts.
Conclusions
The best and most effective way to educate may not be practical for
all. Many parents will not have the time or skills to educate
their own children. Currently only the highest income parents
send their children to private schools, leaving the poor to fight the
battle in the public schools. Taxpayers weary of ever increasing taxes
are rejecting all tax increases even those for public schools and
politicians who support tax increases are in for a surprise in the
upcoming elections. The "best" may not be possible for all
students but
with a better defined policy of education we can level the playing
field and insure that parents have the choice on where and how to
educate their own children. Some private schools would educate
students in specialty programs such as mechanics, service repair work,
music and the arts, parent and children would go where they can learn
what they want to be
and learn what they want to learn while still getting a better basic
education.
My proposal
I would give tax credits to those that home school their own
children. They save the taxpayers millions of dollars and they
should be compensated for their time and expense to educate their
children. I would also give dollars to parents that want to
educate their children in a private school. The money to educate
a child would follow that child and all parents would have a
choice as to how to educate their own children. Some
would say that some public schools would be forced to close because of
lack of funds but better private schools would spring
up and educate our children cheaper and better. The trend is
clearly away from public schools and in the years to come more and
more children are going to be home schooled and educated in private
schools. Private schools will spring up everywhere and these
schools will pay property tax and not be a tax burden. We have
seen in the past that government doesn't do anything very well and
the private sector does a better job and for less money than the
government can do.
My proposal provides a proper mix with public and private education
and in now way intends to do away with the public school system.
Completion will make the public as well as the private school system
better.
You may not like this proposal but the way of the future is the
direction I am going and I intend to lead the state to a better
education system. Without proper leadership the state's education
system will continue to be in more and more chaos with our youth
being the victim of a failed system. |
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