Public education is a public responsibility

Posted by on March 19, 2012

Public education is a public responsibility

In districts still recovering from funding cuts, the flood of parent- or foundation-raised dollars into school-level operations has exacerbated long-standing debates about equity, Education Week reports. Large urban districts especially grapple with this issue, since certain urban parents have limited ability to fill budget holes with their own money. Some districts have policies regulating what private donations can pay for, for instance barring use for instructional staff. Others have programs that siphon funds to needier students. In Oregon, Portland’s All Hands Raised receives money from 39 separate school foundations and uses a weighted formula to distribute “equity grants” to schools with highest need. But such efforts often meet resistance from parents who want their money to go to their child’s school alone. Some stakeholders find that setting transparent targets and goals makes centralized fundraising by foundations and PTAs go more smoothly. Others feel policies on private giving should take care not to turn away affluent families who bring resources, lobbying, and diversity to districts. But private giving also can distract from core issues of public school finance. “There isn’t enough private money in the world to pay for a high-quality education for every child,” says Amanda Broun of the Public Education Network. “Our focus instead should be on how we can ensure we are using the public resources we have well, and properly funding public education with them,” she said.

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