Education Law

Former school board member, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, promotes the need to invest in public education

Federal Reserve Chairman and former Montgomery Township Board of Education (N.J.) member, Ben Bernanke, gave a speech early this week about the financial challenges local governments are facing and as The New York Times observed, “explicitly advocated against cuts to education spending.”

Bernanke noted that:

Budget balance and budget stability are important fiscal issues. In the long run, though, the most important fiscal issue is whether the structure and composition of the government budget best serves the public interest. Certainly, most people would support the goal of fostering healthy economic growth. Government can contribute to this objective in a number of ways. One critical means is by ensuring an adequate investment in human capital–that is, in the knowledge and skills of our people. No economy can succeed without a high-quality workforce, particularly in an age of globalization and technical change. Cost-effective K-12 and post-secondary schooling are crucial to building a better workforce, but they are only part of the story. Research increasingly has shown the benefits of early childhood education and efforts to promote the lifelong acquisition of skills for both individuals and the economy as a whole. The payoffs of early childhood programs can be especially high. For instance, preschool programs for disadvantaged children have been shown to increase high school graduation rates. Because high school graduates have higher earnings, pay more taxes, and are less likely to use public health programs, investing in such programs can pay off even from the narrow perspective of state budgets; of course, the returns to the overall economy and to the individuals themselves are much greater.

Last year our Center for Public Education (the Center) released a report, ?Cutting to the Bone: How the Economic Crisis Affects Schools,? that revealed public K-12 schools are facing severe funding conditions.

Currently, public K-12 education is suffering from declines in both state and local funding. At the same time, many also face dramatic cost increases in areas ranging from utilities to pension funds, forcing school leaders to make tough decisions between balanced budgets and student needs.

As Jim Hull, Senior Policy Analyst at the Center noted, ?The current system of school funding isn’t working for our students. With no fat to cut, schools are forced to cut effective educational programs that directly impact student achievement. Such cuts will not only impair student achievement but also impede our economic competitiveness for years to come. For schools to succeed in the long run, school boards, other policymakers, and the public need to reexamine how public education is funded at the local, state, and federal levels.?

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on March 04, 2011 (boomark / email).