California education is in dire need of change

The idea that education is important has been hammered into students from kindergarten onwards. However, education in California has been severely hurt by budget cuts and an unwillingness to spend money on schools.

Ranked 43rd in the United States for per student spending, California’s education budget has become an increasingly troubling issue. Class sizes have begun to rise rapidly, and the effects of these changes are even recognizable in Saratoga, a comparatively affluent community.

In a state that was once considered one of the best when it came to education, these cuts are rooted in Proposition 13. This proposition was approved by California voters in 1978, and it limited annual property taxes to roughly 1 percent of the property value.

Because it also decreased funds for public schools, this act considerably dropped the high rankings in education held by California schools in the 1960s. Since then, several attempts have been made to abolish Prop 13. Although the need for change is evident, none of these attempts have been successful.

In the years since Prop 13, the budget situation has worsened, and many classes have been cut and teachers released. For the 2011-2012 school year, child care programs saw a $180.4 million cut.

In fact, 2007 was the last year schools received all the funding they were promised. In a country falling deeper and deeper in debt, the education of those who will eventually have to pull the nation out of the economic mess should be of utmost importance.

The state currently spends less for each student than the national average. Interestingly enough, California does indeed have the money to improve its educational status.

The state should reallocate a portion of the $47,000 spent per prison (in 2009) per inmate to educate the country’s future. California spent a mere $7,571 per student in 2009, an outrageously low sum considering the staggering amount of money poured into the prison system.

Lowering the per inmate cost would require some maneuvering of funds. This cost decrease does not, contrary to the beliefs of many, require the release of dangerous criminals into communities. When states such as Texas are managing their state offenders on a $13,808 budget per inmate, there is no reason California should not be able to do the same.

Of course California is not the only state with this problem. The United States itself holds around 25 percent of the world’s prison population. In the last two decades, state spending for prisons increased by 127 percent, which is at least six times the increase for higher education. Many states, however, are attempting to fix this growing problem.

In states such as Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey and New York, efforts have already been taken to decrease prison spending and cut down on the number of prison facilities. Virginia’s governor, Robert McDonnell, is working on doing the same by closing eight prisons and using the resulting savings to fund education.

Even raising the student spending to half of what the prison spending is in California will result in smaller class sizes, more individual attention and an overall improvement in the education field.

Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders—another phrase students hear constantly and another phrase that is being challenged by the reality of schools.

If today’s students lack the tools and environment they need to prosper, tomorrow does not look too bright.