AZ: School facts overlooked by Pravda imitators

Phoenix News ^ | 2002-10-21 11:36:25 | Craig J. Cantoni

[hsmomx3]

Once again, I was up at 4:30 a.m. to research facts on school spending that I don't recall ever being covered in the Arizona media. But then, the Soviet government mouthpiece Pravda also didn't report the whole truth about the government.

The best Pravda imitator is the University of Arizona student newspaper, The Daily Wildcat. This is what it had to say about the Arizona school districts of Chinle and Scottsdale in its July 3, 2002, edition:

"Dropout rates broken down by district provide chilling evidence of the ever-present inequities between the rich and poor districts in our state. While Scottsdale Unified District had a graduation rate of almost 89 percent, students who graduated from Chinle Unified District on the Navajo Reservation defied the odds. Less than half — only 46 percent to be exact — of students in the Chinle District graduated in four years. These inequities are evident in Tucson districts as well. Catalina Foothills Unified District, a district with some of the wealthiest families in the state, graduated an impressive 90.8 percent of its students in four years. The sun doesn't shine for as many students in the less fortunate Sunnyside Unified District, where only 55 percent graduated in four years."

The Daily Wildcat didn't tell the whole story. Let's look at some facts not reported by either the Daily Wildcat or Arizona's major dailies.

The Chinle School District has 4,111 students and -- hold on to your wallet -- spends $12,520 per student, including capital spending. By comparison, the tuition at my kid's parochial school in Scottsdale is $3,500, plus $65 per month for the bus. The Scottsdale Unified District spends slightly over $7,000 per student.

At the Chinle spending level, test scores must be through the roof, right? Wrong. They are in the cellar. Only 15% of fifth-graders meet the state standards for math, and only 28% meet the standards for reading. This is a polite way of saying that most students can't make change and are functionally illiterate.

The poor results must be due to lousy facilities, right? Wrong. The facilities are much, much newer and nicer than my kid's parochial school. For example, classrooms are air-conditioned and carpeted, and the school has an indoor gym, library, cafeteria, computer lab, separate music room, four students per computer and 100% of classrooms connected to the Internet.

Okay, the results have to be due to low teacher tenure and education, right? Wrong. Fifty-eight percent of teachers have been at the school for more than four years, and 32% have master's degrees. Oh yes, my kid's teachers earn 10% less than public school teachers and have class sizes that are considerably larger at an average of 35 kids per teacher.

Here is why test scores are low: Ninety-eight percent of Chinle students are Native Americans and 84% are on the free-lunch program (yet there is an epidemic of obesity in Navajo County). Chinle has a high poverty rate, which is fueled by a high rate of out-of-wedlock births and single-parent families, which in turn is fueled by a sickening combination of welfare, socialism, tribalism, historic U.S. misdeeds, and the ongoing ineptitude of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Poor academic achievement is not due to inadequate school spending, facilities, teachers, computers, Internet access or any of the other pet excuses proffered by Pravda propagandists.

You can continue believing Pravda stories or stay tuned to this channel for the unfiltered truth. See you in the Gulag.

This was written by Mr. Cantoni as well :

Posted on 2002-10-18 11:25:05

$76,967 per student

We've heard ad nausea how little Arizona spends per pupil, but numbers bantered about by the ed establishment are not fully-loaded costs. They generally include operating funds but exclude capital costs and miscellaneous funds. The establishment says that per-pupil spending is $5,006, but when all costs are considered, a different picture emerges. Following is a sample from research on per pupil spending that I've just began and has taken me into a black hole of bureaucratic obfuscation.

Admittedly, I have not yet mastered the obfuscation and am not entirely certain yet what the numbers mean, other than a lot of moola is going into government schools.

Chinle Unified District = $12,520 per pupil

Cochise Elementary District (52 students) = $21, 949 per pupil

Greenlee Alternative District (4 students) = $76,967

Buckeye Union High School District = $13,323

Phoenix Elementary District = $9,371

Phoenix Union High School District = $9,762

Scottsdale Unified District = $7,358

[Red Jones]

I'm sure glad mr. cantoni does this work.

I was talking with a liberal friend who is also a school teacher about the charter schools. I was telling him that charter schools are poorly funded by the state and that's why they were a bit shaky. He insisted they get the same funding as the public schools. I know the public schools get their schools built for them, but the charters have to pay for both their facilities and all their operating costs out of the money they get.

If the state of arizona wants charter schools to succeed, then it should give out a reasonable amount of money to them. If Jane Hull and the Republicans hadn't squandered so much money on what everyone now agrees were ill-advised tax credits for the 225 different categories of businesses that donated money to republicans to get those tax credits, then we'd be able to afford it.

A lot of parents desperately want an alternative to the public schools. A few years ago when charter schools were first funded their market share shot up to 12% I think and that it's gone down since. It's gone down strictly due to under-funding. They're trying to run schools with too little money.

Each kid in the state deserves the same respect from the state as the next kid. Public school funding per child is very high, but charter school funding per child is very low. It should be considered a civil rights issue.

Keep up the good research work Mr. Cantoni.

[Red Jones]

People have done studies about schools, school funding and student achievement and found some amazing results.

First, there's virtually no correlation between student performance and funding per child. The school must simply have enough money to operate and function, once they meet that standard, then the kids can and frequently do achieve just as well as the lavishly funded schools. The only schools that fail consistently due to under-funding are those that just don't get enough to meet minimum standards to function. There is no correlation overall between funding per child and achievement by the students.

But there is a direct correlation between the income level of the parents and the achievement of their kids in any school. Take an upper middle class family and put them in a lower income neighborhood and that kid will most likely be a star in school. Take a lower class kid and put him into a rich suburban school and he's probably going to not do well by comparison to the other kids in that school. These are simply facts. It happens because parents tell their kids they've got to study, they mandate that time be set aside for it, they harass and harangue their kid about getting grades, ... ... or they don't. That's why it happens.

The private schools nationwide are a lot less well funded on average than the public schools, but the kids in those schools are better achievers.

[marajade]

Your friend was right... Charter schools do get the same funding as public schools but don't have to follow the same laws...

[marajade]

The problem with school funding in AZ is we are fourth in the nation in administrative costs...

We need to eliminate some school districts and Salmon is behind such a move...

[Kenny Bunk]

....First, there's virtually no correlation between student performance and funding per child.

Dammit Red, there is no reason for you to throw these facts into an otherwise fun debate.

[Red Jones]

sorry