I just got back from a terrific trip visiting my wonderful son in St. Louis. He gave me a New York Times article about how last year's cuts in funding impacted Texas schools. Another article shows Katy only lost 9 teachers in last year's layoffs, out of 341 total positions cut. Talking to people, I realize many have no idea how we compare with other districts in the area. Katy weathered the storm of State budget cuts last year better than most. I'm not saying the only bar we have to meet is that set by our neighbors, but I am saying that it can be illustrative to look outside our Bubble!
The information in the NYTimes article on how other ISDs deal with busing is interesting. In Katy, busing is a place where money can be saved, and it should be looked at as the school district reviews the budget for next year. Folks are right when they say it would be good for kids to walk to school; it's part of a healthy lifestyle. The hard part of this equation is figuring out your priority as a State and as a district: The State requires EVERY child be educated, and penalizes school districts if they fail to do so. This is a different paradigm from "back in the day" when we went to school. Then, schools offered education and children took advantage or didn't--it was up to them. Now, even if a child and his family don't care about education, the district's rating will hinge upon that child's performance on State tests. So, it is in the district's best interests to make it easier for kids to get to the classroom. But there is a cost for that. School districts need to be given clear expectations from the State and right now they are getting a mixed message: "Educate everyone no matter their circumstances." "Here's money. Make it work." At some point, the quality of the product will reflect the investment made. And costs are measured in more than dollars: As commenter "Ben" noted:
"For insight on the results of this pitiful investment in education, you can look to the State of Texas' Window on State Government:
•Texas is #49 in verbal SAT scores in the nation (493) and #46 in average math SAT scores (502).
•Texas is #36 in the nation in high school graduation rates (68%).
•As we ask colleges to do what we no longer pay for in high school, the cost is transfered to that system... From fiscal years 2002 to 2006, average tuition and fees at public universities increased 61.4%... and ... at community colleges increased 51.3%. ...But please, don't think these numbers are only Texas' problem, we have the second highest public school enrollment in the USA. This means we are undereducating over 4 million Americans. The consequence of this underinvestment is a significant contribution to the USA of underskilled, poorly educated Americans. This will have a negative impact on GDP and crime statistics in the coming decades."
Business owners and people without children in schools need to be aware of what is going on in the district. The educational level of the entire population impacts quality of life and availability of qualified workers. Texas will continue to grow because jobs are here and people with children are moving into the area because of the excellent schools. Our economy is (relatively) strong. But without a strong commitment to educate the population that arrives, what will our future look like?
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