What Do We Owe To Education- Reese Covalle

Education is the backbone of our society. Sometimes, it’s more of an invisible one. If you aren’t in school, it’s especially easy to brush the whole idea out of your way, because it no longer concerns you. Doesn’t it? Except education is the biggest tool we give to the next generation. What we teach, what we don’t teach, who we teach, who we don’t teach. How we teach the next generation to follow in our footsteps, or how we teach them to create their own path. As important as education is, there are still so many issues with it. Are teachers really being appreciated? Are students actually learning? Do they want to go to school? Why are we giving one set of opportunities to one group of kids, while another group’s opportunities are being taken away? Throughout my research, I wanted to learn about these questions and more, and see what I could do about it.

My mom has been a teacher for 20 years. Now she is getting her PHD in music education. I’ve seen her many schools, seen how she teaches, and even how she learns from her students. I’ve been to teacher strikes, seen the arts as more than an add on, and been there to watch from the other side. Something that struck me about all the schools I’d ever seen was funding. I remember going to a school when I was younger that had classes for engineering for toddlers. There were smart boards in every room, bathrooms on every floor and a clean feel to the entire school. Other schools I went to were great, but I remember things like having the only bathroom be in the basement, having 30 kids or more in classes while other schools only had 15. It was one of the first things that came to my mind about schools, and I was curious about the federal budget, so that’s where I started.

SOURCE 1:

The first source I looked at was called “Federal Spending: Where does the money go?”. This source goes in depth about the way federal spending is used in the United States. This article shares that federal spending is divided into three sections: Discretionary spending, Mandatory spending, and interest on debt. This article also goes into depth about the way federal spending was used in 2015. In that year, the budget was 3.8 trillion dollars, which was 21% of the US economy. The Discretionary spending made up 29.34% of the budget (1.11 trillion), the mandatory spending made up 64.63% (2.45 trillion), and interest on debt was 6.03% (229.15 billion). It gives pie charts as well that describe the way this money was used for each section.

The ‘National Priorities Project’, which is the site where the article is found, seems to be a well respected and trusted force. There isn’t a direct author of the article, but there is a team for the organization which includes Lindsey Koshgarian, Ashik Siddique, Lorah Steichen, and their consultant Jason Leveille. Their mission is to inspire “individuals and movements to take action so our federal resources prioritize peace, shared prosperity, and economic security for all”. The bias of this source would probably be to only show the flaws of the system. Some of the information is also a little outdated, from 2015. It is helpful in understanding the past, but in order to get the best possible information it must be corroborated with a more recent source.

{English 9} (www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/)

{You and the World} (www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/)

These pie charts are really attention-getting because they aren’t balanced. There are times when some things are prioritized over others, but it poses the questions: ‘who decides what is prioritized? And for what purpose? Is profit valued, or people?’. The discretionary chart is the most shocking, because the Military gets 53.71% allotted to it, whereas other categories like food and agriculture (1.18%), science (3.51%), housing and community (5.68%), and education (6.28%) get the far lower end of the deal. And why was the military given so much in the first place? The other chart is also imbalanced, but it seems more reasonable that ‘medicare and health’ and ‘social security, unemployment, and labor’ were given more money.

{You and the World} (www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/)

The specifics:

Science: 0.78%- 29.81 billion Energy and Environment: 1.17%-44.85 billion International Affairs: 1.31%-50.22 billion Housing and Community: 1.60%-61.48 billion Transportation: 2.22%-84.99 billion Education: 2.67%-102.26 billion Food and Agriculture: 3.54%-135.7 billion Veteran’s Benefits: 4.19%-160.63 billion Interest on Debt: 5.97%-229.15 billion Military: 15.88%-609.3 billion Medicare and Health: 27.42%-1.05 trillion Social Security, Unemployment, and labor: 33.26%-1.28 trillion

The final graph had the best representation of the federal budget as a whole. The website showed the different percentages and values for each slice of the pie, as seen above. Again, the military in the whole amount was surprising compared to all others that were scrunched up near the top. There was also a solid percentage for education, 2.67%, which would be corroborated to make sure the information was still accurate.

After looking at this source, I had a better understanding of the way the federal budget was divided. But I also wondered: “Is the federal budget the main source of funding for many of these programs? To what degree does the money given to each change the outcomes?”. I needed to not only corroborate my information, but I needed to see how it related to my issue of Education Funding.

SOURCE 2:

This site was an infographic. There is a series of graphs that show how the federal budget was used in 2019. It gave information on the revenues, where the money came from, and how the money was spent. Just like in source 2, the site described specifics in Mandatory, Discretionary, and Interest on Debt. It even provided additional information on deficits and surpluses, and each category of the federal budget provided more facts and graphs to hopefully display the information. This infographic came from the website “Congressional Budget Office”, which was a site founded in 1975. Each year, the economists and budget analysts produce dozens of reports stating objective, impartial analysis on the economy. It was important to keep an eye out for any biases, but the site was true to its word and provided only the facts. It seemed to be a reliable source.

{You and the World} (www.cbo.gov/publication/56324)

This showed very similar percentages to the year 2015. Since source 1 had been out of date, this source was very helpful in figuring out what was accurate and what was not. They were actually very similar, and there weren’t huge changes. Mandatory was still about 61% (2015 65%), Discretionary was 30% (2015 29%), Interest on Debt 9% (2015 6%). However, 2020 was also a huge year for the economy, with Covid 19 and lots of unemployment. It was much easier to understand the struggles of the past with this graph, but there was still more to understand. After learning the federal budget only accounted for about 8% of education, it was easy to wonder if this section of research was all that helpful. But things had changed a lot in 2020 and 2021, so it still felt like there was information missing.

{You and the World} (www.cbo.gov/publication/56324)

As for this graph, I wanted to compare it to the one found in source one:

2015:

Social security, Unemployment, and labor: 33.26%

Medicare & Health: 27.42%

Science: 0.78%-
Energy and Environment: 1.17% International Affairs: 1.31% Housing and Community: 1.60% Transportation: 2.22% Education: 2.67% Food and Agriculture: 3.54% Veteran’s Benefits: 4.19% ^^^^^^^17.48

Military: 15.88%

Interest on Debt: 5.97%

2019:

Social security: 23%

Medicare & Medicaid: 24%

Other & Nondefense: 30%

Defense: 15%

Net interest: 9%

As you can see above, the two years were actually very similar. Percentages were used to have a more equivalent comparison. Everything was close together, which was helpful to know because in a regular year, it seemed that this was what the percentages would be. The categories were a little hard, because they used some different sections throughout the sources. However, most of the gist was still there. This information was corroborated across sites and years, so it was pretty clear what a regular year would be like. However, Covid 19 had changed the economy, and it felt important to gather that information in the future.

This source helped me corroborate the information in source 1. I knew what I had was an accurate representation of a regular year in the United States. But I also realized that a regular year wasn’t the only thing I needed, because in order for my information to have an impact, it needed to relate to our situation now, in 2021. I also needed to be able to see how much the information I found impacted my issue in the first place. If the federal budget doesn’t have a huge impact on education funding, it would be more beneficial to focus my efforts elsewhere.

SOURCE 3:

This article, “Fixing Chronic Disinvestment in K-12 schools” by Lisette Partelow, explores the question and problem of Chronic Disinvestment in K-12 schools. They explore deep cuts in education, and how schools have responded to that. Specifically, the article talks a lot about the aftereffects of the 2008 Great Recession, where many states systematically disinvested in K-12 funding. They describe the effect that money, salaries, and lack of funding affects schools and describe ways to address and solve these problems. They came to the conclusion that “If education is truly to be an engine of opportunity and economic mobility, states and the federal government must invest far more in the communities that need resources most.”. This website, “Center for American Progress” has more than a hundred people working on it, all different types of researchers and positions. It is clearly a well established organization. It has a real author, a full bibliography at the bottom, and is very thorough. It is very likely a reliable source. The source’s bias would most likely be giving information that states their cause only. They are less likely to show things that contradict what they are saying, so it would be helpful to again corroborate other sources.

“On Average, 47 percent of K-12 education funding comes from state revenue, while local government provides 45 percent, and the federal government provides the remaining 8 percent.”

“In addition, the federal government can play a role in investing in teacher pay, first, by rejecting administration efforts to cut funding and, then, by expanding existing funding streams. It can also bring forward any of a number of proposals to improve teacher compensation that have recently been introduced in Congress.”

This bit of information was really helpful, because it helped clear up some questions that were brought to attention in source 2. The first quote specifically was able to show how much schools were really impacted by the federal budget, which was only 8%. This was able to put things into perspective, showing that state revenue and local government were far more influential.

But, like the second quote shows, the federal government can still play a substantial role. They do have the power to reject efforts while expanding others, and can create new proposals that can cause far more change. So, they are still an important factor for the success of school funding.

{You and the World} (www.cbo.gov/publication/56324)

This particular graph shows the progress from 2008 (The Great Recession) to 2015. But progress has been all over the place. While some states were able to make a comeback, many of them only caused a range of 0-10% increase. Even more of the states had from -1%—30% and greater. After 7 years, the majority of states have barely made a comeback and even decreased education funding for particular states. This graph clearly shows the problem the nation faces. Education is how the nation teaches students, how they empower students, how everyone learns. If education is not prioritized for students what kind of nation will the United States become? What nation will be lead as the next generation follows in the same path? It’s a very powerful image.

This source had a lot of helpful information and was able to put into perspective the effort that has been given to this problem in the past. I was also able to see that the federal budget only made up 8% of education budget, which led me to realize that the federal budget wasn’t even that influential in this issue. Of course, the federal budget still has an impact, especially with either speeding the process along or slowing it considerably. but it did make me rethink my topic.

SOURCE 4:

This article, ‘Special Report/ The Funding Gap’ by Amy M. Azzam, was about the funding gap in schools. They say that a big concern in schools is the achievement gap, but behind that is the concerning problem of the funding gap between high poverty and low poverty districts, and low minority and high minority districts. The article discusses a study that looked at annual financial data for the 2001-2002 school year. Then, they suggest courses of action and goals that need to be achieved in order to help solve the problem. This source is reliable because it’s data comes from U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of education, there is a reliable author who researches and writes articles for student education. The site is a little outdated, so the bias had to be kept in mind because not all the statistics would necessarily be the same.

“ The Education Trust recommends that states adopt the following proven policies to close the school funding gaps: Reduce reliance on local property taxes to fund education. Target extra funds to help low-income children. Fix funding gaps for individual schools within districts Improve state education funding in terms of increased spending on public education.

Closing the achievement gap starts with closing the funding gap. Only by providing the necessary resources can states help ensure quality education for all students”

This quote was very helpful, because it provided a clear statement for what needed to be done in order to help close the funding gap. It talks about starting small by fixing funding gaps within districts, and using money to the best ability. Instead of sharing the money evenly, share the money equitably. It addresses the issue that some kids need help financially before they can focus on their schoolwork, and to work to add more opportunities and increase spending over time. It’s not a quick process, it’s one that takes time and dedication. But it will pay off, because as the second to last sentence says “Closing the achievement gap starts with closing the funding gap.”. It’s like that saying, where you give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime. But it would also be super helpful to give a man a fishing rod, a tool to help them learn. That’s what the funding is for these students, because once they have tools to help them, they can focus on school for real and have many more opportunities to succeed. Maybe this isn’t the only way to help, as the last sentence suggests, but those resources may be the difference needed for many students who struggle in their families in high poverty districts. Once the funding levels out, it can surely only help the achievement gap shrink as well.

This source helped to give me an idea of what direction I could take this project in order to have the best impact.

SOURCE 5:

This article, “Impact of the President’s FY 2020 budget on K-12 Information” was about the president’s proposed plan for many cuts and eliminations that would impact the budget for education in 2020. It gave detail about which programs the plan would affect and why they mattered. This source was a little tricky to test reliability, because it was a PDF. It came from the organization “First step” and the only person I could find listed was the Assistant Director, Drew Aherne. It’s bias was also the fact that this entire article was a proposed plan, and didn’t show exactly what had happened. But it did show the kind of power the Government and President had, and what the impact could be.

“One major request that would have a negative impact on K-12 education is the elimination of 21st Century Community Learning Centers, which are a critical source of funding for many local afterschool programs and serve about 1.4 million students at over 9,500 locations. Another harmful request is eliminating the Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants program that provides grants to state and local education agencies to increase student achievement through teacher development and class-size reduction. These grants are important because teacher quality is one of the most significant factors in promoting student learning.”

Teacher quality is clearly an important factor in student learning. A lot of teachers would probably be way more enthusiastic if they had higher pay. But this also brings into question a lot of these actions. Education was already struggling, causing students to suffer and strikes to be held because teachers were fed up. Plus, now there is online school where students are losing motivation and struggling with mental health. Now more than ever schools need support and the government need to give back to the teachers that have been driving the whole process. There cannot be continual budget cuts and eliminations of programs that benefit so many schools. There was already so much cause to add more funding to schools, but now, in a crisis, a pandemic, these problems need to be addressed and solutions need to be found.

This helped to show the effect of the people in power on education.

Overall, I learned a lot, but I think I need to redirect myself and go into more detail about the questions I have asked throughout my research. There are many problems to address in order to create an impact and educate people on this issue. My research has been all over the place, but it has helped to narrow down where I should go and what I should do. I will continue to do research to answer the following questions:

-What can we as citizens do to help?

-How has 2020 impacted Education Funding?

-Where can I find information to prove the point that Education Funding is an issue we need to address?

I will work to create a more polished presentation of my work and find a way to spread my work even online.

SOURCE 1:

“Federal Spending: Where Does the Money Go.” National Priorities Project, www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/.

SOURCE 2:

“The Federal Budget in 2019: An Infographic.” Congressional Budget Office, 15 Apr. 2020, www.cbo.gov/publication/56324

SOURCE 3:

Lisette Partelow, Sarah Shapiro. “Fixing Chronic Disinvestment in K-12 Schools.” Center for American Progress, www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-k-12/reports/2018/09/20/457750/fixing-chronic-disinvestment-k-12-schools/.

SOURCE 4:

Lisette Partelow, Sarah Shapiro. “Fixing Chronic Disinvestment in K-12 Schools.” Center for American Progress, www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-k-12/reports/2018/09/20/457750/fixing-chronic-disinvestment-k-12-schools/.

SOURCE 5:

https://firstfocus.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/FACT-SHEET-Presidents-FY20-Budget-K-12-Education.pdf

Annotated Bibliography:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZWkFMLwMXKT1AbQJb4_wUAiCaJGLSDAJl_0lFQxYDlg/edit?usp=sharing