"Educational Funding". I wrote this as an argumentative essay. It is written at a college level for an AP english class. How should schools be funded?

Educational Funding

Argumentative on the Dispersal of Federal Educational Funds American founding father Benjamin Franklin states, "If a man empties his purse into his head, no one can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." Influenced heavily by the ideals of the founding fathers, the United States continues in the pursuit of knowledge, and strives to provide a means to create an intelligent society. Since the birth of the American public school system in the late nineteenth century, the public education system remains the target of many disagreements in the political arena, such as the debate of how to disperse the nation's educational funds. Today there are two opposing systems concerning educational funding, the current program of distributing educational funds and the system of publicly funded vouchers. Both systems present many advantages and disadvantages, but which one would more adequately meet educational challenges in the U.S. today? Even though the idea of publicly funded vouchers has been proposed and considered, the present program of distributing educational funds appears to be more reliable and practical with a few minute changes.

The public school system, as it exists today, consists of the government distributing federal funds and local property taxes to a public school based on the student population. This system succeeds in many aspects by providing a free education to all American citizens, allowing public schools to have materials and curriculums that financially challenged families could not afford. More than just education, the public school system supports various organizations and clubs based on personal interest and career tracks, allowing the student to access preparation necessary for the occupation they plan to pursue. But, as in any complex form of governmental funding, the current system of dispersing educational funding has significant need for reformation. Under the present program, a certain public school could fail consecutive years by not having students pass statewide exams, and still receive public funding. This exhibits an obvious lack of accountability. Furthermore, opponents of the existing system say that direct governmental involvement in schooling expresses socialistic practices. If the government runs schools as a "governmental institution," officials may have the ability to alter curriculums for political purposes. Politics although do exist in organizations such as parent groups, administrative involvement, and state legislatures, which modify our school system in some ways. But, the American school should never be labeled as an institution operated by the national government.

The system of using publicly funded vouchers presents a very different approach to educational funding by giving the parents federal funds if their child attends a failing school. Under this plan, if a certain public school fails three consecutive years, the government gives voucher to the parents of students that go to that school, vouchers that they may use to send their child to a private school. Supporters of this program believe this program liberates the educational system by giving the parents the freedom to choose what school their child attends. The voucher system also advocates accountability by not tolerating failure, therefore raising excellence. However, in its attempt to "liberate the educational system", the voucher system makes private schools submit to certain federal regulations such as academic standards and a uniform attendance schedule with specific holidays and absence requirements. Therefore these guidelines rob the private schools of their independent nature and further socializes education. Antagonists of this practice challenge the constitutionality of the program because, by indirect means, the program will in fact fund and aid religious institutions. Most importantly, when used on a large scale, no one knows if the program will be abused or even work at all.

The voucher program, though good in theory, should not replace the current system. The risk of the system dissolving the freedom of the private schools and the system's glaring uncertainty present unworthy risks. But the present system, currently in use, must go under a series of reformations to eradicate its fallacies. The current dilemma of the nation's public school may be fixed by simply holding the school's administrators, educators, and the students accountable. Unfortunately accountability, in today's public school system, frequently never makes the transition from word to action. So how does the government ensure accountability? Perhaps state legislature could pass a law requiring a school not meeting state test standards for three consecutive years to have a state educational advisor investigate the situation and make necessary changes where needed. This adviser should be careful not to overthrow the authority of the school's employees but only to aid in making modifications where needed. If a school fails, the educators and administrators fail in their jobs, and the state educational system holds them accountable to their failure; this increases the accountability of schools without cutting public funding. Moreover, students must accept responsibility; if students fail state exams, they must not enter college until they prove that they are ready. By raising the accountability of both educators and students, the standards of academic excellence will in turn rise, and by raising the standard of excellence, the level of the nation's intellect will rise as well. Furthermore, as a nation, America must continue to pursue new ways to refine and perfect the nation's educational system. America's continual striving for educational excellence may be summed up in John Fitzgerald Kennedy's quote: "Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education."