Editorial: Let’s boost money for education

Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2002 | 8:37 a.m.

On Tuesday President Bush signed into law a bill that seeks to improve education in a variety of ways, from increased competency testing of students to more funding for schools. On the funding front, the federal government will spend $26.5 billion on K-12 education in the next fiscal year, about $8 billion more than it does annually now. This is an improvement, but it shouldn't be forgotten that the lion's share of financial responsibility for education still falls to the states. In Nevada the federal government provides about 5 percent of the total amount spent on K-12 education.

With respect to how Nevada is faring when it comes to paying for education, there was good news and bad news this week. Education Week magazine gave the state a B for its funding equity, a recognition that the state does a pretty good job in making sure that the dollars spent per pupil are roughly the same from school to school. But that good grade shouldn't overshadow a serious problem: the overall level of funding for students isn't adequate. The state of Nevada allocates $5,911 per pupil, but this is considerably less than the national average of $7,079, so Education Week tagged the state with a C-minus grade in the funding category.

The Education Week's report card isn't a revelation for parents, students and educators in Nevada. They all know that teachers have to dip into their pockets to pay for basic school supplies for children because there isn't enough money for the school districts. What teachers can't afford to supplement, parents must chip in. That doesn't even begin to account for the out-of-date textbooks students still must use because there isn't enough funding to buy new ones. It's terrible that schools receive so little when the state's economy, and many of its residents and businesses, prospered so much during the past decade.

Conservative critics of education note that money's role as a barometer of success in education is overstated, and that discipline and family play a far greater role in a student's performance. But common sense also tells us that money is a decisive factor in whether a child gets a decent education. A student who doesn't have the latest textbooks, who goes to a school that's fallen into disrepair, and who comes from a family with a low income, very likely will have trouble matching the performance of a student who has wealthy parents and who attends a new school with the latest in books and computers.

The Nevada Legislature, which will meet again one year from now, has got to get it right next time and set aside enough funding so that schools have a chance to give children the education they deserve. It's an investment we can't afford not to make.