Do you always just hear what you want to hear? I said that if there are less students there is less money in that budget for that district of individual school. Taxes go into a general fund and then they money goes to the proper sections. Your tax dollars do not go directly to the schools.My entire point. You put it much simpler though.
How much would it cost if I had to shell out the money out of my pocket instead of hidden in taxes and subsidized by the rich and those with no children? Who knows. The fact that I can home school a child for only $200 K-12 suggests that it would be much lower than the figures one sees around the country. Most certainly it ought to be less than what is currently being expended considering that test scores have not been improving and thus do not justify the added costs. Check out this chart of expenditures per student since 1961:
Year - Current - Constant
1961-62 - $393 - $2,808
1970-71 - $842 - $4,552
1980-81 - $2,307 - $5,718
1986-87 - $3,682 - $7,105
1990-91 - $4,902 - $7,857
1995-96 - $5,689 - $7,904
1996-97 - $5,923 - $8,002
1997-98 - $6,189 - $8,214
1998-99 - $6,508 - $8,490
1999-2000 - $6,912 - $8,765
2000-01 - $7,380 - $9,048
2001-02 - $7,727 - $9,309
2002-03 - $8,044 - $9,482
2003-04 - $8,310 - $9,586
2004-05 - $8,711 - $9,754
2005-06 - $9,145 - $9,865
2006-07 - $9,679 - $10,178
2007-08 - $10,297 - $10,441
Do you think this is a reasonable amount per student?
Yea and correspondence school is cheap, yet college is expensive. The reason being is there are no teachers to pay no buildings to take care of. A better example would be to compare the cost per child between public schools and private schools. It wouldnt be a dramatic though now would it?
Private vs. public schools - Defining Your Ideal School | GreatSchools For parents this quickly translates into the bad news: high tuition costs and sometimes an exhausting work calendar of parent-sponsored fundraisers. According to the National Association of Independent Schools, the median tuition for their member private day schools in 2008-2009 in the United States was $17,441. Tuition for boarding schools was close to $37,017. (Of the 28,384 private schools in the United States, about 1,050 are affiliated with the NAIS. Average tuition for nonmember schools is substantially less: Day schools charge $10,841 and boarding schools $23,448.)
Aren Aren’t independent schools only affordable for rich people?
Students from all socioeconomic backgrounds attend independent schools. Many schools work with families to help meet the costs associated with an independent school education. Financial aid can come from the school or a variety of other sources and may include grants, scholarships, or loans.
About 17 percent of students attending NAIS schools receive financial aid or tuition remission. In 2005-06, the average grant for students at day schools was $9,213; for students at boarding schools, the average grant was $14,520.
Oh gee private schools on average cost about the same or more as public schools. ANd then there is the upper end private schools that cost as much as $50,000 and what are their scores? You trust those test scores right?
Apples and Oranges: Comparing Private and Public School Test Scores - Defining your ideal school | GreatSchools Unfortunately, comparing private to public school test scores is a bit like comparing apples to oranges.
Public schools use their own stable of standardized tests, which they use for a variety of purposes: assessment and diagnostics, to name two. Private schools use a different set of tests - some derived from the same basic tests public schools use and created by the same companies - but still different enough that they can't be compared side by side with public school tests.
Public schools are required by law to administer the test chosen by the state government and to publish their test scores. Meanwhile, private schools are free to pick their own standardized tests and, because they don't rely on public funds, do not have to release their scores, though interested parents can ask to see them.
http://www.ncspe.org/publications_files/OP111.pdf
"Demographic differences between students in public and private schools more than account for the relatively high raw scores of private schools. Indeed, after controlling for these differences, the presumably advantageous 'private school effect' disappears, and even reverses in most cases."
But all this isnt really what you are worried about, is it? taxes and subsidized by the rich and those with no children Despite the stupidity of some Americans, everyone in some shape or form pays taxes. Even renters indirectly pay property tax. Personally I own my home I pay property tax which pays for public schools. When my children are grown out of public schools I will still pay property tax proudly. I would rather have all children educated rather then not. And if you think that public schools are unaccountable try looking into private schools they are not even required to be accountable since they are private.