The Money Problem in Education

Money and education go together more than people see. In order for schools to grow and maintain a high level of education for students, they need to have a constant flow of funds. This money could come in forms of donations, grants, government funding, or just stuff that the school gets from different events. When doing research we discovered that not getting enough funding can result in detrimental results for the school. Some schools have been forced to shut down because they are not able to meet the needs of their students. There are several questions that arise when thinking about the money problem in schools. What can be done? What is causing the problem? Who is responsible? In order to figure out how great of an issue this was, we did some research on a variety of different financial topics involving education.

"Resistance to equitable funding for schools has also been supported by several belief systems about the causes of poverty," (Biddle, Berliner). One of the main reasons listed for schools getting less money is race. Typically schools that are in regions with lower income are known to get less money. This is partially because they are known to not succeed as much as places with high income. Something to recognize going along with this is the results coming from the lower-performing schools not getting enough money. When this occurs, they are not able to buy proper educational tools and equipment. Whereas, schools with higher incomes are able to have technological resources that enhance the learning of students. 

In order to get away from this problem, several programs have been developed that are able to help schools provide appropriate resources for their students. The U.S. Department of Education wrote, "The Title 1 program is designed to provide extra resources to high-poverty schools to help them meet the greater challenges of educating at-risk students." From this law districts had to make sure schools were receiving the proper amount of federal funds in order to support their purposes in education. This program was created primarily because educators realized that low-income students need extra support and resources, but they also noticed that funds were getting sent primarily to high-income schools.

Funding for grades K-12 is not the only problem. Students attending colleges are greatly affected by the costs that schools are faced with, as well. According to the College Board, the average cost of tuition and fees for the 2014-2015 school year was $31,231 at private colleges, $9,139 for state residents at public colleges, and $22,958 for out-of state residents attending public universities." Around 60% of students who attend college need some help financially in order to afford this. The amount of students needing help averages out to about 12,000,000 people each year. With this many people borrowing money to make it through college, there is a great amount of money going towards student loans. On average students have to pay back around $30,000. With this amount of money being given to one student for their college experience, the total amount of outstanding student loan debt has soared to $1,100,000,000,000.

This much student debt causes huge issues. Several things have been done in order to make college more affordable for students. The Federal Government gives out grants in order to help more people be able to attend college. Go College wrote, "Grants are like scholarships in that they provide financial aid that is not required to be repaid." Some of the most common grants to help with the financial burden are The Federal Pell Grant, The Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants, TEACH Grant, and the Academic Competitiveness Grant. Some states have also been taking stands in order to help their  "At the end of January, California lawmakers proposed legislation that would create a digital library of free college textbooks that could save the state's college students millions of dollars each year in education costs," (Wiley, Green). This kind of legislation is very helpful for students. It has been shown that the average student spends anywhere from $600-$1,000 on books each year.

Democratic and Republicans have long been putting in their views on the topic of education. Republicans have been trying to get the Federal Government to have less of a hand in the educational process. "This includes getting rid of federal student loans, and having only private loans," (Republicans). Democrats on the other hand have been trying to increase the amount of students getting access to higher education. By doing this, they have increased financial aid and made federal programs more efficient for the students who use it. Democrats wrote, "And in 2015, the President announced a landmark proposal to make community college free to anyone who is willing to work for it, a measure that could benefit nearly nine million students each year."

Overall, the quality of education and the amount of people getting access to education is greatly determined by several different factors. The government definitely has the biggest say on the money being spent on schools. It is important to notice that there are different ideas on the way that money should be spent. Republicans and Democrats are a great example of this. One way that educators, politicians, and students can work towards a good education system is by standing up for their beliefs. It's important to show what you believe is important about a topic.

Post-Assessment: Kahoot Post-Assessment

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