Writing in Education Week, Paul T. Hill, the director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, says today’s school funding arrangement developed haphazardly, a product of politics and advocacy, not design:
Simply put: Our current education finance system doesn’t actually fund schools and certainly doesn’t fund students. Rather, it pays for districtwide programs and staff positions. Much of it is locked into personnel contracts and salary schedules—and most of the rest is locked into bureaucratic routines. It’s next to impossible to shift resources from established programs and flesh-and-blood workers into new uses like equipment, software, and remote instructional staffing. Yet to foster and maximize technology-based learning opportunities, we must find ways for public dollars to do just that—and to accompany kids to online providers chosen by their parents, teachers, or themselves.
