Why America's School Funding Crisis Is Only Getting Worse (HBO)

American education spending fell by about $600 per student between 2009 and 2014. Meanwhile, public schools are enrolling a growing segment of students who cost states more to teach: English language learners.

By 2025, almost 30 percent of all children in U.S. public schools will be Hispanic, according to the Department of Education. Many of them will be taking classes in English, even as they learn the language.

Schools in Dodge City, Kansas, where education funding has dropped significantly since 2009, are experiencing the effects of these converging trends firsthand.

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[Valivali]

Very smart place to cut costs, really VERRRY smart. What could possibly go wrong?

[alexc]

Why do we always screw the kids when we do tax cuts?!

[EmpressMermaid]

I think those packing plants should chip in. They are the ones benefiting from all that cheap labor and the workers aren't really paid enough to contribute significantly to the tax base. I know this won't happen. But it should.

[mariamoultrie]

I work in public education...this is prudent planning by our government officials. They are getting rid of public schools so they can give money to their friends to start and fund charter and private schools. Unfortunately there is no real oversight for charter and private schools. Teachers do not require to same education and certification than public school teachers require. They are making public education impossible. Welcome to the new era....it’s deplorable.

[alexspike]

Learning English is pivotal in these kid's lives, I hope they get more funding so that they can more effectively acquire the language

[AxelSituation]

Well you can all thank Betsey DeVos for taking a bad situation and making it worse.

[richardredlak]

I'd like to see the contrast between the spending on education and imprisonment

[jnix]

This is why we're legalizing marijuana lets us fund our schools and not have to deal with this shit

[joeysparetti]

In New Britain, Connecticut, it took a judge to fund it's school system when the state didn't want to.
Even after it gladly gave 1 million to a school system full of millionaires.
This country needs younger leaders with vision, ambition and justice.
Tenacity and patience.
All you need is commonsense, good judgement which is intelligence.
There's experts and department heads for what you don't understand.
Get educated and run.

[gregmiller]

it's illegal to have private schools in Norway where they have the best schools in the world maybe that should be tried.

[pewpew]

Aircraft Carriers > Education
Oil > People
Racism > The Planet

Here in the west the U.S. is the core of our modern world, but that doesn’t make them perfect..

[yayo]

Teach me Spanish, I will teach you English.

[luisraulraudales]

"Yes, there are better places where the money can go, like the military"
-republican logic

[joeysparetti]

MILLENIALS, GET INTO OFFICE AND MAKE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE!

[iroekyjHD]

maybe if we could stop wasting all out tax money on military and police gear we wouldn't have the need to cut back on taxes

[rgetty]

If the meat packing industry wants the cheap labor make them pay for educating the workers kids.

[salvadororozco]

I was one of those kids when I was in 1st grade but I learned English in 3 years only by watching TV and asking questions

[michael]

I didn't expect that many Latinos to be living in Kansas

[CHLOCHLOLP]

We spend 53% of tax money on the military and 6% on education. If we spent more on education, maybe we could figure out how to run the military more efficiently.

[iidkwhatnameuse]

Schools districts are the problem. Money wasted on useless staff with some superintendents making 300K a year, all while violating the Equal Protection Clause due to the fact that just based in ones location they get a different education.