Are We Really Surprised?

So we’ve come to the point of closing schools because we don’t have the cash to run them.

Is anyone surprised? Really?

After all, we’re the ones who elected the folks in the Legislature — you know, the people who fund our schools. A lot of them got there with slogans like “Starve the Beast”, with “beast” being any government entity that takes taxes to run. Since none of us likes paying taxes for “unnecessary” government programs, we were totally hip to the battle cry. Until, of course, we realized that the “unnecessary” government programs included some things we actually kind of need.

Like schools.

The fact is, Texas —and the nation in general— is in a world of hurt, financially speaking. Sure, we can blame lots of folks for the situation, but the bottom line is the bottom line. And right now, ours is dire: the Texas Legislature is facing a $15-to-27 billion shortfall this year, and to deal with it, the House has proposed chopping $5 billion from schools.

Not good. But then, also not a shocker.

It’s not like Texas is a nationwide model for public education funding. We certainly don’t lead the nation in per-pupil spending for public education. Indeed, as our public school enrollment has mushroomed, our per-pupil spending has slumped. We’ve skyrocketed from 3.2 million kids enrolled in Texas public schools in 1987 to 4.75 million in 2008-09 (the last school year for which statistics are available from the Texas Education Agency). During that time, we’ve gone from being ranked 25th nationwide in per-pupil education spending in 1991 to 37th in 2008-09. Currently, we spend $9,227 per student —$1,359 below the national average, according to the National Education Association.

Of course, we shouldn’t automatically jump to the conclusion that high spending equals high performance — it doesn’t. After all, Texas students did quite well on the National Assessment of Education Progress in 2009 (the last year for which results are available). In fact, African American 8th graders in Texas tied with those in Massachusetts for first place in math.

Then again, U.S. students lag far behind their international peers in math and science so I’m not necessarily sure how meaningful our American assessment tests really are.

Which brings me to the crux of the problem, and it isn’t money. It’s will.

We Americans like to brag about being the “best” country in the world, and that’s true if we’re talking about our entertainment and fast food exports. But when it comes to education, we’re sadly mediocre. On the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment, an international assessment of academic skills, American kids scored near average for reading and scientific literacy, and below average for mathematics literacy; on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, U.S. 4th graders ranked 11th in world —behind not only Japan and China, but also Kazakhstan, Latvia and the Russian Federation— while 8th graders did only moderately better.

You may be tempted to blow off these numbers, especially in light of a recent Brookings Institution report (The 2010 Brown Center Report on American Education) that points out the U.S. has always been mediocre educationally, at least when it comes to international testing. But ignoring our international educational standings would be a mistake. Because a generation or so ago, graduates of American high schools only had to worry about competing with other Americans for jobs. That’s not the case these days — and our sorry approach to education will, quite literally, be our downfall.

Sadly, I’m not so sure many of us really care. Oh yes, we pay great lip service to the importance of education, but our actions speak louder than our words.

We happily provide our kids with every form of entertainment possible — DS, Wii, Xbox, videos — but complain when they receive too much homework. We decry with smug superiority the dangers associated with parenting a la the Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, but fail to see it as a blueprint many other cultures are following — with success. And when it comes to supporting schools….well, let’s face it: most of us treat schools like glorified daycare centers, griping about teacher salaries as though we’re hiring a kid down the street to watch our children while we get our nails done rather than paying a professional to educate the next generation of people who will run this country.

And then there’s the irony of our public spending: the city of Arlington, for example, spent $325 million in public money to build a new stadium for the Dallas Cowboys while its school district faced a looming deficit (Arlington ISD currently is $13 million in the hole). We justify this insanity by reasoning that the Cowboys stadium will generate heaps of tax money, but conveniently forget that excellent schools generate something far more important: human capital — which, incidentally, also results in heaps of tax money, assuming those people are educated enough to be employed. Of course, it takes many, many years to reap that dividend and we prefer a quick fix.

I know I sound angry, and that’s because I am.

I’m furious that it takes the very real threat of school closures for us to realize that school funding hasn’t kept pace with our state’s, or our nation’s, academic needs. Livid that kids may end-up warehoused in mega-schools to cut costs. Enraged that education is viewed as a “cost” rather than an “investment”.

There’s an old biblical saying: where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

It’s time to put our hearts in the right place.

Our kids —our country— deserve nothing less.