Are We Getting Enough Bang for our Educational Bucks?
The vast majority of Texans value the public education system and want our students to be prepared for postsecondary success and the good careers that come with it. Recently, due to the state’s budgetary pressures, some feel that we must choose between accountability for student achievement and holding the line on the public education budget. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Since the mid-1990s, state education spending has risen considerably. In fact, in operating expenditures from all funding sources, over the past 15years the state has spent $70 billion more on public education beyond the increases that might be dictated by enrollment growth, inflation, and the growth in special needs students over that period! This represents an enormous investment in our future, but we are left wondering about the productivity of this investment, given the inefficiencies of the delivery system.
It’s time to work smarter, spend smarter, and make efficiency the cornerstone of education delivery. I hope you will take the time to review the attached policy papers and support TIER’s efforts to continue to improve education quality through redesigned and more efficient education delivery systems.
Please review:
Productivity Improvement Cover Letter
Public Education Productivity Improvement: The Path Forward for Texas Policymakers
Efficiency and Productivity Issues in the Texas Public School System - George W. Bush Presidential Center
