While presenting his 2014–15 budget for New York State, Governor Andrew Cuomo outlined his education priorities, proposing (among other things) a $1.5 billion pre-Kindergarten expansion to be funded—without a tax increase (as per his repeated pledges to reduce taxes). That didn’t satisfy New York City’s new super-liberal mayor Bill de Blasio, who said “no dice”; he too wants to expand pre-school, but insists on doing so by raising taxes on the wealthy (as per his own campaign promise). It’s all about the kids, right?
In Texas, opening statements were made on Tuesday in the latest court case over whether the Lone Star State adequately funds its public schools. If this sounds familiar, you’re not crazy: in February 2013, Judge John Dietz ruled that Texas was not spending enough to provide the “general diffusion of knowledge” that it is constitutionally compelled to do, leading the legislature to increase K–12 public-school spending by $3.4 billion, which obviously doesn’t mean the issue was resolved.
A similar case is underway in Kansas, where activists have pressed the state Supreme Court to require the legislature to drop $500 million more per year on schools (in 2005, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled in a similar challenge that the state aid needed to increase, which it did, but which has not led to increased test scores in the state). Money alone won’t improve our schools—but smart budgeting can.
