Should public schools really be doing this?

[nathanm]

I think not. We have public education for a reason. If you lock out the lower income families (or force them to beg for help) how the heck are we going to not end up with a generation of criminals and imbeciles?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703864204576313572363698678.html

[Cats Cats Cats]

Yeah, there should be at least a $25k income exemption from them.  The issue is if the public won't pass bond issues to pay for it.  Then they have to go to the parents themselves.  You have to admit this is a much more direct method of allocating the cost of education.

[nathanm]

I think public school should be no extra charge for families of any income level, but maybe that's just me. Even extracurriculars ought not have a charge (save perhaps for equipment consumed by the student such as mouth guards and shoes in the case of football), as they have been shown to lower juvenile delinquency and improve grades.

[Cats Cats Cats]

If they don't charge then they don't do.  So its fine if they want to cut things.  but you can't have half the class doing this or that and the other not.  I guess they should have a vote whether to cut programs or pay the fees.

[we vs us]

If they don't charge then they don't do.  So its fine if they want to cut things.  but you can't have half the class doing this or that and the other not.  I guess they should have a vote whether to cut programs or pay the fees.

So there's paying for field trips, which is one thing.  Then there's paying for advanced placement courses, which is definitely another.  

If we've moved to the freemium model of public education -- the no frills version is free, while every upgrade is charged a fee -- then we're foobared.  

EDIT:  All that income inequality stuff I keep talking about?  This is it, creeping in.

[nathanm]

Whatever happened to "if you bring candy to class, bring enough for everybody"? Or was my elementary school in right-wing-central Fort Smith a bastion of pinko commies?

[guido911]

I think not. We have public education for a reason. If you lock out the lower income families (or force them to beg for help) how the heck are we going to not end up with a generation of criminals and imbeciles?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703864204576313572363698678.html

So who should pay?

[Red Arrow]

So who should pay?

Pretty much everyone.  I think the list of who should be exempt from paying will be shorter.

My basic education through grade 12 was mostly without fees. I remember selling pretzels in elementary school but there was no minimum as I remember.  Later in high school, there were class dues which were mandatory.  I think the dues went to such things as the yearbook and the class present to the school at the end of the senior year. Summer reading assignments in high school were paperback but we had to buy them.  Major books for classes like math, English, science, social studies.... were provided by the school. We were not allowed to write in them and had to put dust covers on each one, usually made from grocery store bags.  Chemistry lab may have had a lab fee for breakage.   I wasn't involved in sports or music (band, choir etc) so I don't know what may have been involved there.

[ZYX]

So who should pay?

ALL taxpayers. It doesn't matter if you have kids in public school or not. It should never have come to this. If this is how it's gonna be, then raise taxes now!

[Breadburner]

Personnel costs—which amount to about 80% of expenses in many school districts—have driven some of the increase, along with increased costs for utilities and technology. The average salary for a public-school teacher nationally has jumped 26% since 2001, though that growth didn't quite keep pace with inflation.

There ya have it.....

[Red Arrow]

The average salary for a public-school teacher nationally has jumped 26% since 2001, though that growth didn't quite keep pace with inflation.

I wish my salary had jumped that much.  Mine is more like 20%. 

[guido911]

ALL taxpayers. It doesn't matter if you have kids in public school or not. It should never have come to this. If this is how it's gonna be, then raise taxes now!

I spend roughly $30K/yr to educate my children in a private school and thousands more in tutors/fees etc. because I do not trust the public school system to properly and competently do its job. I'm tapped out. How much do you kick in?

[Red Arrow]

and thousands more in tutors/fees etc. 

Sounds like your expensive private school isn't doing so well either.

[guido911]

Sounds like your expensive private school isn't doing so well either.

Only when it comes to the history/humanities curriculum. My wife and I are notorious for throwing nuclear weapons at even the slightest problem, which is why when there was a bump in the education road we hired tutors. We really want the very best for our kids.

[Red Arrow]

We really want the very best for our kids.

So do a lot of other parents that couldn't go $30K under any circumstances.  I believe the public school system is vital to our nation and needs to be repaired.  Everyone benefits in the end from an educated population. 

My grandfather worked in the coal mines when he first came to this country.  He took ICS courses and became a tool and die maker.  He did well enough to let dad and his brothers live free at home while they worked their way through college.  My dad was able to pay 1/2 of my college and a good chunk of my brother's and sister's college expenses.  (I have airplanes instead of kids.)  Let's fix the public schools so some other kids have a shot at not being a burden on society.  They can become taxpayers instead of tax burdens and you won't have to pay as much taxes as the tax burden would be distributed among more payers.

Some of them might even grow up to be conservatives.