Education

County Supervisors,

It was with much consternation that I witnessed the performances at last evening’s (April 3, 2014) public budget hearing. As I sat and listened to person after person, group after group (with very few exceptions) come before the Board of Supervisors with “hat in hand” and ask for money for their worthy causes – specifically those touting the necessity of raising taxes in order to provide for the “benefit” of the children and the public school system – I found myself asking: When did the government become the panacea for all that ails society? I therefore ask you now: Are you poised to allow this dependence to continue?

As a disclaimer, I am a homeschooling father of two daughters and I won’t debate the merits of whether public education is a “good thing” because Article III, Section 1 of the Virginia Constitution mandates that there be “free public elementary and secondary schools for all children of school age throughout the Commonwealth.” However, that same section of the Constitution goes on to say that the General Assembly (GA) shall “shall seek to ensure that an educational program of high quality is established and continually maintained.” Ultimately, what that means is that the GA will set the Standards of Learning (SOL) that the County schools will have to adhere to…and pay for (albeit the State will chip in a few dollars).

       With that said, and at the risk of sounding like an uncaring individual, the last thing the schools need is “more money.” Yes, yes…money pays for special programs like ESL. But, let me tell you two things:

1. More money does not guarantee a better education; and
2. To my knowledge, “special programs” aren’t mandated.  Why is this seen as some kind of right?

As to my first point, multiple studies have been done to determine if raising the amount of expenditures for education translates to increased performance. NEWS FLASH…it doesn’t. There is absolutely NO correlation to dollars spent vs. performance achieved. In fact, if anything there is a negative correlation – the more money that is spent on education, the longer students’ performance remains stagnant or even declines. Additionally, there is every indication that SOL/Common Core is an abject failure in helping students “succeed.”

The Heritage Foundation, the Cato Institute and the website BestEducationDegrees.com have all conducted these studies and have published results showing that while we may love our children, and want the best for them, “Love isn’t the only thing money can’t buy. It can’t buy you an improved public school system either.” And, the Heritage Foundation concluded, “Long-term measures of American students' academic achievement, such as long-term National Assessment of Educational Progress reading scale scores and high school graduation rates, show that the performance of American students has not improved dramatically in recent decades, despite substantial spending increases.”

Per the FY 2014 School Board Adopted Budget, the school division’s estimated Average Daily Membership (ADM) for FY 2014 is 23,127 or 11.5 less than the FY 2013 projected ADM. Furthermore, the School Board’s Adopted Budget for FY 2014 for all funds totals $274,119,871 – an increase of $2,978,093 or 1.1% more than the FY 2013 Adopted Budget.  This translates to an FY 2014 expenditure of $11,852.80/per pupil.

 By comparison, Fredericksburg Christian School’s tuition averages $8,734/year; and Faith Baptist School’s tuition averages $5,166/year (both schools offer discounts if more than one child from the same family attending). Thus, it begs the question, for the cost per pupil are we getting the assurance of “high quality” education that is mandated by the State Constitution; and is it being “continually maintained”? I would question anyone who says yes to those two questions. Perhaps the County should look to school vouchers as a better use of tax payer funds with regard to education.

As for the need for the “special programs,” allow me to share a personal anecdote from my family.  My wife is a native of Puerto Rico and moved to the states when she was in elementary school and the only words she knew how to say in English were "hello; good morning; good afternoon and goodnight."  Her mother was a single parent who had my wife when she was only 16, but she was wise beyond her years and worked multiple jobs to support them both, so their only option was the public school system. 

The public school wanted to place my wife in “special classes” (such as the ESL classes that were so highly touted last night) when she arrived.  Her mother would have none of it. She told the principal, "If you treat her like a victim, she will act like one!" At the age of 23 her mother fought the system and demanded that her daughter (who spoke no English) be placed in the "regular" classes with the rest of the kids. While it was a struggle at first, by the end of the school year she was on the honor roll and proceeded to be on that school's honor roll during subsequent years there. Ultimately, my wife graduated from college (Magna Cum Laude) and became a program director at such esteemed companies as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Sprint and others – all without a single “special class” to help her “fit in” during her formative education years.   Such special programs are not necessary for our students to succeed (nor are they a “right” to be had); they are a drain on the precious few dollars we have to put towards education – much like other “entitlement programs” at the Federal level.

In closing, I ask you all to not make an emotionally-charged decision to raise taxes because “everyone cares about our children,” but to consider the words of Nobel recipient and economist Friedrich A. Hayek, “We shall never prevent the abuse of power if we are not prepared to limit power in a way which occasionally may prevent its use for desirable purposes.” The teachers and their union wield considerable power in this County and they will do everything they can to portray those who reduce school funding as not caring about the children. If you care about the children, and the financial future of this County, look to the decades-ling research that proves that by giving schools more money it does not translate to better-educated students. The prudent thing to do is to look for alternative ways to provide the educational services students need without doing it on the backs of the taxpayers.  There will come a day when there will be no more taxes to increase – what will you do then to provide services? Many of the Founding Fathers quoted from last night had no formal education to speak of; yet, they were smart enough to create a Republic that has endured for centuries. Our children won’t perish because they won’t get access to a special program. Perhaps it’s time to reassess how education is presented and I encourage you to view Sir Ken Robinson’s short take on the institution of education.

Thank you for your service to our County and for taking the time to review my comments.

Respectfully,
J. Austin Powell