How can we persuade our state governments to investigate the effectiveness of school spending?

Question

WA state spends approximately $10,500 per pupil per year on K-12 education, yet we have 4.0 GPA students entering college needing to take remedial math classes. We've had 7 or 8 major commissions investigating education and they all come to the same conclusion: change is necessary. Our governor, Christine Gregoire, has said for the sake of its children and economy, the state must turn out better-prepared students. Yet, the state stops short of investigating the effectiveness of the dollars already being spent.

How can we persuade our leaders that knowing which dollars are the most effectively spent is the starting point for turning out better prepared students?

Answer 1

Get a group together and meet with your legislators. Bring attention to this issue. Have a rally. Write a letter to the editor. Pass out literature to people. Start a website.

Good luck to you.

Answer 2

The U.S. is 35th in the world in education. This is a real shame, and yes your right on education. Texas is 47th and they had a Governor turned President that ran on a ticket of improving the schools. Now as 8 years as govenor and 8 years as president the state of Texas is still 47th.
It the people that need to go to school board meetings and write or go to your state school boards and demand that things change.
One thing that the World commission on education told the U.S. is that we need to go year round. stop this 9 month with all the week and 2 weeks off. This alone would raise our knowledge per student.
Yet if people do not get involved in schools then they will stay the same. Get involved and go or write them.

Answer 3

Get the information you need the financial statement or budget. If you disagree with any of the allocations address the school board and Representative.

These are our checks and balances and that is why this is a free country we do have access to the records if the organization is paid for by our taxes.

It sounds like you have done some homework on what areas are lacking.

Allow the college bound students to take college math while in high school.

In my experience. They wasted a perfectly good child. School is so geared for college that they are neglecting the other children that are not college bound.

I think it is possible to introduce college level tech training while they are young and when they start showing no interest in sit down learning.

My son was made to feel like a reject of society because he could not sit still.

When he became depressed caused by frustrations of school and his fathers death they treated him like a prison bound criminal.

I would like to have seen him immediately turned to a technical trade so as not to loose this working class man of society he should be.

At 19 I still struggle to regain his confidence in obtaining a career.

In addition because he was having this trouble in school the took away the only thing he had his feet firmly planted in and that was the skill and dedication of 15 years of playing baseball.

Please persuade away I'm with you 100%.

Answer 4

As a senior in high school on long island, I am fully aware of the spending scandals in the school districts. Although my high school has a high graduation and regents diploma rate. The school district has to be one of the worst districts financially on long island. It is very sad for the costs of living in this town. The residents pay 400 grand and up for a house and our school board can give a flying rats *** about the school.

The only way to do that is to attend board meetings. Every single one. Become a thorn in the side of their *** until they budge and do something.


Just looking at my school and the current issues we have to deal with, there is no doubt that my parents and neighbors and fellow community resident's tax dollars are in a board member's backyard filled with water and a slide.