School Funding

As you can see from my profile, I live in Illinois. The way things are here, and I believe they are similar in most of the country, is that property taxes account for a large portion of school revenues. In Illinois, there are several towns where this works well, and the residence don't want it to change; but, there are also several towns where the taxes don't cover enough. The state then trys to step in to pick up the slack, which is fine in theory, but when the state is in financial trouble.

Illinois is a prime example. Schools all throuout the state are in financial troubles. In the area where I live, small town schools have been closed and consolidated with neighboring towns. The towns are 10-15 miles apart, and transportation consts then become a key factor, some relying on parents instead of bussing. In these areas, the system has failed, while in the areas of Chicago's suburbs (New Trier, Schamburg, Lincolnway) property taxes on high value land has generated highly competative and attractive schools. That is fine for those who live there, but it is unfair for those who don't.

Education is a social value, and should be available for those who want to work for it. To have a system that obviously favors rich neighborhoods, will only increase the divide between the well educated and illiterate. Poor neighborhoods will slowly slide and become a burden on the state at first, and then the nation second with wellfare and medicaid benefits increasing. It will benefit everyone to reform the school system, and especially the main funding strategy. The poor will have the opportunity for an equal education, and the rich will have the benefit of a smater workforce. How is the best way to reform the system? There are several proposals to choose from, but this is the one that makes the most sense to me. I haven't seen or heard it proposed anywhere else, but I'm sure there are others who have thought of it as well. This is my version.

The main problem with the system now is that the burden of tax is on property, which is in no way related to eduction. The result of eduction is employment. The logical source of funding for educaion would be from a portion of income tax. (Now hear me out before you write me off). I would propose an elimination of property tax (for education), an increase in income tax with the option of volunteering in the schools instead of the tax. This is the essence of my solution, but there are some issues to deal with.

The first is why the volunteering clause? I feel that with any employment, there are skills to be learned, either through a formal education or from vocational or job training. Those employed in a given community have a wealth of knowledge appropriate to their type of work that involves specifics that only they know and/or gerealities that other occupations use. Sharing these types of knowlege is key to the education process of a community, and should be incouraged. Unfortunately, volunteering may not be a popular option, so for those who are "too busy" or uninterested in volunteering, they can pay the tax.

The tax itself brings a plethora of issues to deal with. How much the tax should be is beyond my knowledge. I am not an economist, and I'd leave that for the policy makers to determine. How it should be distributed, though, I have opinions about. I believe that a percentage of the tax (again, determined by others) should be distributed evenly to all of the schools in a given area (city, county, state..), and the rest should be distributed based on the number of volunteers per student. Those schools where volunteering is low would get more of the money to make up for the lack of volunteers. The portion distributed to all schools would be used to fund permanent teachers, facilities management, etc.

I can imagine there will be a lot of opposition to this at first especially from the wealthy neighborhoods. My response to them is that their schools will benefit, probably moreso from the switch. The reason will be that through volunteering, the schools will benefit from the very successful careers of the people in the community. Not only will the schools have very successful people's experience to draw from, the volunteers will have more invested in their school. For the mid-low income areas, burdens from property tax will be greatly reduced, and all schools will benefit from the community's acquired knowledge and help.

I feel this program has potential to rejuvenate and propel our education system. I urge those who agree to pass it on to their representatives, and hopefully we can get something done. Those that disagree are free to comment. I'm open to suggestions that would improve the system as well.

Inroduction

First off, I'd like to express my excitement about the future of this project as I embark on the journey. There will be a lot of ground covered in the years to come, and a lot of lessons to be learned. I hope to document my thoughts to build a resource to help guide those seeking answers to the same questions I've asked.

As you read these postings, please inform me of any factual mistakes that are made by commenting (with reference if you have it). Right now, comments are not public, but that may change in the future. Also, if you disagree, I ask that you comment respectfully and explain your position. My goal is to convince you that my opinion is correct, but when there are objections, I'd at least like the opportunity to adress them. If you still disagree, then that is your right.

Posts will begin in the near future. New topics will have their own page split into relevant sub-topics. These will be updated and expanded as time goes on, so check back as much as you'd like. Enjoy!