Are property taxes really a good way to fund education?

[purplehearingaid]

@naita

Where are you that property taxes are earmarked education spending?

My city had people vote if they wanted to pay more property taxes to build a new grade school and senior/community center . It passed I voted ‘NO’ b/c of the way the question was written. I you voted ‘Yes’ for the new school that was also a Yes vote for the center. So I paying for a new school and senior center that I will never use !

[TriPolar]

@yellowjacketcoder

All true, but that’s an argument for more funding (or better policy) more so than an argument for or against property-tax funding on a district by district level.

You’re right, I didn’t really get into that part. What we get are people in more affluent areas willing to pay more for their schools, not just for their kids but also to improve their property values. That sort of justified the property tax basis, but it misdirects from the greater cause of providing quality education. When the school taxes are paid state-wide the rates will have to appeal to the entire electorate, and that’s likely to keep them low, and the more affluent areas will want to add more to their local schools. You can’t get away from that cycle.

I have long felt that the easiest way to fix education would be to make the starting salary of a teacher the same as the starting salary of an engineer (with similar mid-career and top out salaries). You’ll have a much larger pool of qualified candidates trying to get into education which is one of the few ways to improve the system (since you can’t change the students or the parents).

Trouble is I don’t think we lack good teachers. I’m sure we could do better, but our school’s failures run much deeper. More teachers for smaller class sizes would make much more difference than higher pay. I don’t think we have to be stuck with parents and students as they are, but that’s a much tougher nut to crack and it’s a problem throwing even more money at is not likely to resolve.

[yellowjacketcoder]

@TriPolar

Trouble is I don’t think we lack good teachers. I’m sure we could do better, but our school’s failures run much deeper. More teachers for smaller class sizes would make much more difference than higher pay. I don’t think we have to be stuck with parents and students as they are, but that’s a much tougher nut to crack and it’s a problem throwing even more money at is not likely to resolve.

I don’t mean to imply that most or even many teachers are bad at their jobs - but there are some real numbskulls out there that I’d rather not have teaching our collective children. While there are bad doctors, engineers, and lawyers as well, I think raising teacher pay will give a greater applicant pool, thereby raising the average quality as well. You do generally get what you pay for, after all.

Also, while I agree that smaller class sizes would be great, we already have a teacher shortage. There are many reasons for that shortage, but compensation is one of them. If you wanted to increase the number of teachers, you’d have to raise pay as well or you’re just going to have a more severe shortage. That’s just supply and demand of labor.

[yellowjacketcoder]

Relevant article from US News and World Reports.

“The over reliance on locally raised property taxes to fund public schools gives wealthier communities the permission to keep their resources away from the neediest schools,” the authors write. “This creates a system of school district borders that trap low-income children in high concentrations of poverty, while more privileged peers live in better-resourced communities, often right next door.”

In fact, the report found that even though several of the highest poverty districts tax themselves at a higher rate than their wealthier neighbors, they still generate $4,500 less per student from local taxes.