Embedded Files
By: Sophia Renee Marquez Berestecky
Public education in the United States has been around for hundreds of years - first beginning in urban cities, then expanding hierarchically down to rural farm areas. By the early 1900s, public schools were supposedly universal and attendance was required to some degree in all states. Of course, throughout the first half of the twentieth century, segregation was rampant and there had been no true equity in the public school system.
With the changing times, laws have evolved and new ones have been introduced. Recently, the discussion about the use of Artificial Intelligence in schools has been a hot topic as the technology becomes more mainstream.
Unlike AI, public school funding has been a broadly discussed topic since the beginning of this form of education. It’s experienced different degrees of federal assistance throughout history; but now, funding mostly remains a local discussion that is then brought to higher positions. There’s also a base federal budget that targets specific needs like lunch subsidies, special education, and schools with higher percentages of impoverished students. This money comes in the form of grants.
Sources: The Sycamore Institute and the Economy Policy Institute
Each school district has a different number of schools to look after, demographics, and general needs so the place where funding is considered needs to have lower access for the people this affects. Local school board meetings in Chattanooga serve as the starting point for proposed budgets. Generally, the majority of money comes from local property and sales tax at about 50%; the rest comes from the Tennessee Department of Education, with about 10% of that money being federal. The federal money is what targets specific programs.
Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press
School board members are responsible for deciding on the budget for their school district and bringing that proposal to the county commission. Understanding the way this works is becoming increasingly important as partisan elections are bleeding into school districts. Ballotpedia has said that more than 90% of school boards are elected without party affiliation. However, in some places, more and more schools are amending rules and allowing partisan races.
Mostpolicyintiative.org on school board elections wrote, “In 2021, TN enacted legislation to allow school elections to be optionally partisan and allow political parties to nominate candidates.” Currently, there is an apparent divide within politics in this country. Consequently, contradicting opinions are arising everywhere.
President elect Donald Trump has stated various changes he wants to make relating to education including: curriculum restrictions, voucher support, and the destruction of the Department of Education. In the past, Ronald Reagan attempted to get rid of the Department but failed. Bbc.com in an article titled “Trump’s pledge to axe the Department of Education explained” said “Even in the House of Representatives, Trump would struggle to gain necessary support.” With Trump’s second term, it is unlikely he will be successful in doing this either. But his support for school choice could end up pushing its popularity.
The voucher bill is a program meant to provide taxpayer-funded scholarships to families to cover tuition for private school. The money for the scholarships comes from state funding as well as tax money. The big debate with this is the age-long discussion of separation of church and state. Most private schools are religious and this bill would direct taxpayer money to them instead of public education. Private schools also reserve the right to deny a student if they’re disabled or queer, creating an expansion of options but a limiting of rights for some students.
A district-wide program meant to provide opportunities only for certain, already-privileged children shouldn’t be considered something that would be in the best interest of Hamilton County’s students. A program that would favor the funding of private schools over that of public schools is not a program that would serve the already-underpaid teachers in this district. Since its institution in this country, public education has endeavored to be universal and equitable - a chance for all children to learn and develop their skills. Returning to the separation of church and state argument, America is not run by a theocracy. And although certain laws have been influenced by religion, the correlation is less direct nowadays.
The American public school system is ever-evolving. But as the landscape changes, there has also been a return to certain aspects - specifically those of segregated America. Queer and disabled students shouldn't need to attend underfunded public schools because the money was directed towards a private school that rejected them. Networkforpubliceducation.org in a conversation titled “Policy Dialogue: The Meaning and Purpose of Public Education” said “In the beginning, the purpose was to create a literate American citizenry to be able to participate in democracy.” Education was designed to benefit the time ahead. Whether it be the future entrepreneurs and artists, or the politicians and leaders of the government. It was made to benefit everyone.
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