Should all of our public schools have the same quality of facilities, teachers, supplies (computers, etc.)?

Question

Or should they continue to be funded by the tax base in that school's community and, therefore, leading to an unbalanced opportunity for children in poor communities?

John K...I'm not talking about bussing the poor to the rich schools. I'm talking about updated the poor schools to the same level as the rich schools.

Answer 1

YES all public schools should have the same quality of facilities, teachers, and supplies. Why does it make it right that the students in poor communities have to continue to live in poverty because they didnt have the most recent technology like the kids in suburbs. Just another contribution to the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer!!!

Answer 2

Give me a friggin break. Most schools are funded equally, but the money is next spent correctly. I went through a desegregation period when I was in school. Most of the white left the public schools and went to private schools. Now test scores are in the toilet because the school system is majority black, the the white people still have to pay taxes for the schools because they live in the county. People need to realize that it is the parents that will make or break a school by raising their children up with values. Sorry, but that is not happening with the African American community, and there is no amount of money that the government can spend that will change it. It must happen within the community first. Look what welfare has done the a lot of people. It has made more and more people dependent on the government.

Answer 3

It would not be possible to have total equality. If we had laws to guarantee such equality, it would be like socialism...everything equal but in the bottom of the barrel.

Children in poor communities have opportunity. They may benefit from learning to do well with less.

For your general information: Two communities near Pittsburgh, PA have been in the news. The average cost per student in the Duquesne school district was about $20,000 but less than half the students graduated from high school.

The Mount Lebanon school district is in an upscale neighborhood. The average cost per student is $12,000. About 80% go on to college, and virtually all go on to some form of higher education.

The key is making maximum use of education dollars, not spending unlimited sums.

Answer 4

Idealistically, every school would have well-trained competent teachers in well-constructed schools being run by competent and uncorrupted school boards.

But that's not reality.

Also, getting a good education doesn't really depend upon having wonderful modern facilities or supplies. What matters most is having good teachers, supportive administrations and parents who prioritize scholastic achievement.

But good teachers generally avoid poor districts where their physical safety might be at risk, and poor districts are usually run by corrupt and incompetent school boards.

You can never make opportunity equal.

Answer 5

I think they should all be equal depending on the citys condition, whether poor or rich.

Answer 6

You know what. We tried the desegregation thing in St. Louis for a couple of decades. Children from the have not communities were sent to the richest of school districts. Guess what happened to their SAT scores? Went down. It is not about environment!

Answer 7

All of our public schools should have empty classrooms and weeds growing up through the floors. Privatize now. Vouchers now.

Answer 8

All public education should be equal.

Answer 9

Ideally, they should be equal. A public education should be uniform and reliable.

Answer 10

The trouble is if your kids are assigned to a school with bad teachers, thanks to the power of unions, there is absolutely no way to get the bad teachers out and replace them with good ones.