didntfindmyfeet t1_j9wj8dj wrote on February 25, 2023 at 1:45 AM

Reply to comment by H2Omekanic in Auditor finds BPS data is inaccurate and incomplete, with wide-ranging consequences by bostonglobe

I think I understand the thought process on your comment, however, public education is supposed to be for everyone. We fun schools based on property taxes making the access to education fundamentally unequal. Charter schools are publicly funded private schools that don’t really have to answer to anyone. Some are good some are dumpster fires, most pick and choose their students. Fully funding education and having an actual discussion about funding changes would go a long way to allow everybody a great education. School choice is a stopgap measure because of the funding issue. Sure some short term changes would help but privatizing education is a step that may lead to even greater divides in access to education.

H2Omekanic t1_j9wlyeg wrote on February 25, 2023 at 2:06 AM

I simply believe there should be a free market on k-12 education. If the expenditure per student is 15k but someone wants to send their child elsewhere or homeschool, they get a 10k voucher

SharpCookie232 t1_j9wp5m8 wrote on February 25, 2023 at 2:31 AM

That won't leave enough money in the system for the students with special needs. They are very expensive to educate. Public education is efficient because of economies of scale. The average cost per pupil includes the special needs students, the students who don't speak English as a first language, and the students who need all sorts of social services. Spilt it all up into separate private entities and watch the costs skyrocket. The private schools we outsource our neediest students to are 80-240k per year. If we sent out all of our kids with special needs, our costs would triple, at least. Charter schools seem cheap because they cherry-pick the kids who don't have special needs, behaviors, or social support needs.

didntfindmyfeet t1_j9wr7es wrote on February 25, 2023 at 2:48 AM

I don’t see how a free market on education would benefit all students. Also, in a true free market no one would get a publicly funded voucher right? If someone has two kids then would they get 20k? What about people who own property but don’t have children do they get 10k a year too? I am not trying to start a fight I am saying that a voucher system is not free market, but I think we can both agree that the funding mechanism is in need of revision. Cutting public education for decades and segregating funding to those that have and those that don’t furthers a fight among the many who need the best education possible.

H2Omekanic t1_j9y027t wrote on February 25, 2023 at 11:20 AM

BPS are a dumpster fire. Philadelphia has been exposed, Chicago has been exposed. It won't be long. I may not have the answer to your problem, but as a whole, the education systems in Massachusetts towns & cities appear to operate in echo chambers. Blissfully unaware of their tax burdens on communities, levels of waste & inefficiency. Boston specifically has some of the highest per students expenditures in the country. The level of waste in bussing has been exposed. Eventually as the economy constricts over the course of your next 2-3 contracts, more waste will get cut out of the system. If you're not part of the solution then you're part of the problem. Judging by the down votes, I'll assume the latter