How Much Should Public School Cost?

Yesterday SF Chronicle Magazine contained a thoughtful article about the shameful need for public schools in California (and throughout the USA) to raise significant amounts of money to afford the educational program and offerings they wish to provide. (You can read the article "Going, Going, Gone!" HERE)

Being the parent of an entering kindergartner beginning school in a matter of days, as well as seeking to be involved with the schools in the area where I live and minister, I was struck by the harsh reality that I've already experienced, witnessed and worked within. There is not enough money going to our public schools. We live in the richest country, not only in the world, but in the history of the world. Our golden state of California would be the 7/8th richest nation in the world if we were independent. We are the land that is the home of Hollywood, Silicon Valley, the University of California, and significant contributors to science, the arts, engineering, and future-oriented industries. And yet public schools - whether rich suburban, affluent urban, and struggling communities with economically disadvantaged students all must turn to such fundraising events as PTA sponsored raffles in order to fund what should be stated mandated, supported and empowered educational offerings: computer programs, P.E. teachers, gardening programs, foreign language instruction, and field trips (this list comes from the article).

Earlier this year I blogged about the challenges of seeking to get our child into a health/stable/vibrant public school in Oakland and my reactions to visiting nearly 20 public elementary schools and half a dozen private ones. As we enter more concretely into the new community of our public school I'm impacted by the reality (as in all of life) that the whole thing is not about the destination (in this case finding the right school) but the journey (helping to improve the school). My - and your - children will live in a technologically advanced and based society characterized by multilingualism, multiculturalism, and a cultural fluidity that our world may not as of yet known. Obesity and early onset diabetes will no doubt continue to be rampantly emerging in their generation facing the fears and unknown consequences of climate change, instant communication, a global urbanization transformation, and global market for which schools in India, China, Japan, Singapore, Australia and Europe seem to be preparing their children, while we spend our time seeking to raise money to hire a librarian or computer aid so that we can unlock the doors of our existing school libraries and computer labs.

My wife and I are delighted by the school community that we were blessed to get into here in OUSD. The staff is excellent. The principal out-of-this-world. Yet something must be wrong when the Orientation Night for New Parents in a school community in the Bay Area of California deals mostly with the paramount need for parents to contribute money and time in order to balance out or make-up-for the significant resources that our state doesn't allocate to her public schools.

What would it be like if we valued education as much as we say we do with our lip service?