Posted on 12/30/2003 2:19:20 PM PST by hsmomx3
Do you know what your family pays for public education? You probably don't, because it is a number that the establishment media do not tell you and that the government and the National Education Association do not want you to know. If you knew, you might not put up with their incessant begging for more money.
If you own a home, your property tax bill shows how much of your property taxes goes to public schools, but that is only about half of what you pay. The other half is hidden in your state and federal income taxes and other taxes, and in the cost of goods and services that you purchase from businesses, which also pay public school taxes through their income and property taxes. For example, when you have a sweater dry cleaned at the neighborhood cleaners, a portion of the bill goes to public schools, although your sweater doesn't attend school.
While it is virtually impossible to know the exact amount that your family pays for public education, an approximation of the number can be determined by calculating the per-household cost of education in your state. To do so, divide the total state, local and federal money spent on public K-12 education in your state by the number of households in the state.
The cost will vary widely from state to state, due to wide variations in state education spending, which in turn are mostly due to wide variations in a state's cost of living and per-capita income. And of course, what you actually pay in a given state will depend on your family's tax bracket and home valuation.
To use my state as an example, the per-household cost of public education in Arizona is $3,137 per annum. If you have children in public school, that might seem like a bargain, until you realize that you and your spouse pay the cost over your entire adult lives and not just the 12 years that your children attend public school. Assuming an adult life of 60 years, the total lifetime cost, on average, is $188,220 per household. In high-tax states like New York, the cost is over $250,000.
In preparation for this article, I sent e-mails to 34 Arizona acquaintances, asking them if they knew the annual per-household cost for the state. All of them are highly intelligent, successful and politically active. Their answers ranged from a low of $600 to a high of $12,000. Many said they had no idea.
No doubt, the 34 acquaintances know what their house, car, utilities and groceries cost. But thanks to the government and media, they do not know what they pay for the big-ticket item of public education. Of course, it is impossible to make an informed buying decision about a service without knowing the cost, which is how the education establishment likes it.
By contrast, my wife and I know exactly what it costs to educate our son. We pay $4,000 a year in tuition and bus fees to send him to a local parochial elementary school, or $32,000 over eight years. We will spend an additional $28,000 to send him to a local Catholic college-prep high school for four years. The total of $60,000 is about one-third of the household cost of public education.
Public education is a raw deal for my family, because we get nothing in return for our household cost of $188,220, other than overblown rhetoric about the common good from well-off public school parents who take our money for their own good. But it is also a raw deal for most parents who send their kids to public school.
There are two children per family in Arizona (actually 1.97 children). Two children can receive an academically superior Catholic education for $120,000, or $68,220 less than the household cost of public education. The parents could contribute half of the $68,220 to the education of the poor and still come out $34,110 ahead.
Sure, someone can quibble over the numbers, but as I said at the beginning, an approximation is all we have in the absence of a government report that tells you what you actually pay. At least the Social Security Administration gives you a personal statement of what you have paid in Social Security taxes over your working life.
But don't expect a report or statement anytime soon on what you pay in public school taxes. The government, the National Education Association and the establishment media know that there would be a public outcry if the true cost of public education were known.
Imagine frequent headlines such as the following in the Arizona Republic: "School cost a record $188,220 per household." Rich and poor parents alike would start demanding either a cut in education spending or a voucher for $188,220 that could be used at the school of their choice. Either way, the government and NEA hegemony over K-12 education would end.
We wouldn't want that to happen -- wink, wink -- so let's join the establishment media in keeping the number a secret. __________
Mr. Cantoni is an author, columnist and founder of Honest Americans Against Legal Theft (HAALT). He can be reached at ccan2@aol.com.
I teach college.
The difference between students educated in private/parochial schools vs. public schools is breathtaking.
The difference between students educated in private/parochial schools vs. public schools is breathtaking.
The private/parochial students being the more clueful bunch, I assume?
Not that there aren't smart people in public schools. But in a number of cases, many of them are unfortunately concentrated in liberal programs like the International Baccalaureates. (Of course, IB can be good for some students, but on the whole, what I've heard about its political slant is rather frightening.) I think if the average parent knew what the driving agenda was behind the public school teacher's unions in most states, they would be appalled. (One hint for those who are unaware: the agenda has little to do with teachers, education, or students.)
What really chaps my hide is that I have to pay that ~$3,000 per year to educate other people's children while I homeschool my children and also have to pay for their education. However, I'm not asking for my money back or for a tax refund or whatever because with any of those certain regulatory strings would eventually be attached. I just want the government monopoly on education to be ended and the cost of education to go down and the quality to go up.
There are other ways to ensure literacy than to create a government education leviathan funded by forced confiscation of taxpayer money.
I'm making a very broad generalization, but the answer is yes.
The biggest disparity between public and private education, it seems to me, is apparent in reading and math skills.
Smart and gifted students can often thrive in poor schools. Most students in the middle though suffer as a result of poor preparation for college.
The biggest disparity between public and private education, it seems to me, is apparent in reading and math skills.
At the risk of stating the obvious, that's extremely unfortunate. Those are the building blocks needed to make an educated person.
Out of curiosity, what about writing skills? And how about history? Does "liberal" education really make students more well-attuned to what is/has actually gone on in the world?
Smart and gifted students can often thrive in poor schools. Most students in the middle though suffer as a result of poor preparation for college
Makes sense. What about science? Do all those extra labs, equipment, and stuff in the public schools really make for a better education? (I would guess no, but having not been in public schools since third grade, I can't say much about them for sure.)
I am a beleiver that the 'best'should given attention rather than the problems. Problems will not create the jobs....the 'best' do that. Hate the rich, ask a poor man for a job.
It's wrong to think that you don't use it. You benefit from a society that has a high education level. Insuring that all children in our society are educated is a civil duty of us all and we all reap the benefits.
I'm not concerned about the cost as much as I am about other factors like ...
That is only part of the cost. Waste, corruption, and unneeded, overpaid administrators also add greatly to the cost.
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