Mention any problem with public education, and defenders of the government school system quickly sing the same chorus: we need more funding. In truth, the solution is not more funding. The solution is more freedom.
If money is the solution for improving government schools, then Washington, D.C., should be near the top of performance assessments. The district spends nearly $23,000 each year per pupil. Only New York state spends more. Yet, the National Assessment of Educational Progress ranks D.C. in the bottom five. Fourth-grade students in Texas scored as well as those in New York, and considerably better than Washington, D.C.. And this result was achieved while spending less than half of what New York and D.C. spend per student. Clearly, more money does not produce better results.
When a private business is underfunded, it doesn’t reach into the pockets of taxpayers. It raises money from investors in exchange for a share of the future profits. If the business fails to perform as anticipated, only those who voluntarily invested are impacted.
When government schools are underfunded, they demand that taxpayers fork over more money. They offer nothing to the “investors” except nebulous promises that government schools are in the “public interest.” If those schools fail to perform as promised, everyone—including those who did not voluntarily “invest” are impacted.
Interestingly, we are never told how much more funding is needed. All we are told is that government schools are underfunded. The magic number that will improve performance remains a mystery. More money won’t improve our education system. More freedom for parents and students will.