Keith Wang

Inadequate Funding in Education

Why Education?

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Education plays a tremendous part of most adolescents' lives. On average, students will spend about 7 hours per day, 180 days a year, for 13 years from preschool to 12th grade in the classroom, not including extracurricular activities. That averages about 16,380 hours spent in school before college. Time in the classroom undoubtedly plays a big part of growing up for students. A student's experience in school ultimately can influence not only the career future of students, but everything that happens to students in and out of the classroom. Under-funding in education is a important social issue because not only is it something that affects students in school, but also has an impact on how these students progress through life into society. Students of today will become the workforce of tomorrow.

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For many years, schools around the country have dealt with constant education cuts and they fight a constant battle trying to make education properly funded. Despite studies showing the positive correlation on student spending many areas still suffer from being underfunded and overcrowded. The negative consequences of this effect can be seen throughout the areas surrounding these schools, raising the importance of increasing funding to bring positive change not only to the individual, but also the community.

Issues that Education Faces

Funding is a broad description of the issues education faces, but the result of under-funding has led to various issues that affect different aspects of education as a whole.

Overcrowded Classrooms

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One of the results from lack of funding has resulted in overcrowded classrooms. The overcrowding of classroom is a vital issue when it comes to education as it results in less attention being paid per student. The amount of time being split among 10 students and 30 students vary exponentially especially when considering the varying needs of each student. Overcrowding in classrooms results in students generally finding less success and limiting access to extracurricular activities. These issues can be responsible in less students graduating.

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                                                Lack of Resources

The availability of resources is heavily impacted on funding. More often than not, resources available to students are the first the be cut when it comes to budgetary issues. Without the proper resources for students to be exposed to various subjects and topics, it makes it difficult for students to find their success. Lack of course opportunities can make it unfavorable for students especially in low-income areas.²

Teachers/Faculty

As a result of of the previously laid out issues, teachers face a considerably more difficult task. Though teachers are responsible for the education of the students, teachers generally faces a less than competitive wage affecting staffing quality. Overcrowded classrooms and lack of resources attribute adding a more demanding task for teacher to be able to efficiently run their classrooms.¹

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What can we do?

The best way to challenge the issue of under funding in schools is to speak to representatives to invest in education. Though effects of these changes are not immediately seen, the potential benefits for the individual can great. In a study on the correlation between school spending and economical outcomes "Event-study and instrumental variable models reveal that a 10 percent increase in per-pupil spending each year for all twelve years of public school leads to 0.27 more completed years of education, 7.25 percent higher wages, and a 3.67 percentage-point reduction in the annual incidence of adult poverty; effects are much more pronounced for children from low-income families."⁴

Asking the Community

"I feel that education is one of the most important beginning to every person's future. It is extremely important to make sure everyone has what they need to ensure the best possible experience to result in hopefully the best possible outcomes for themselves"

- Joseph Gonzalez Site Coordinator of Public Services West Covina









"From my experience working with children of various ages, schooling definitely has an effect on how children develop and interact with the community. Working in after-school sports programming has showed me the amazing benefits these programs can have on children."

-Jordan Sanchez Program Coordinator City of Pomona

About me

Why does this issue matter to me?

As I recall my education, as early as I can remember my classroom have always been overcrowded and always seemed to lack supplies. Books were always extremely worn out and teachers always seemed to needed to pay out of pocket to get the supplies they needed. Looking back, I could see the effect of these things like not getting the appropriate amount of attention how schooling was interpreted for me as a child. There was not much guidance throughout even my high school years, still feeling like the only jobs out there were policemen and firefighters. As I grew up, I realized how unprepared I was for the inevitable future and life seemed to hit me all at once. I have always thought about what-if I was able to get on my current path sooner and the positive effects it could have potentially had on overall being.







¹https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/productfiles/How_Money_Matters_REPORT.pdf


²https://www.thecommonwealthinstitute.org/2017/10/26/unequal-opportunities-fewer-resources-worse-outcomes-for-students-in-schools-with-concentrated-poverty/

³National Center for Education Statistics - https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/frss/publications/2000032/index.asp?sectionid=8


⁴National Bureau of Economic Research
-https://www.nber.org/papers/w20847

⁵https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/most-states-have-cut-school-funding-and-some-continue-cutting

⁶https://ed100.org/lessons/timeperstudent

⁷https://www.the74million.org/the-states-that-spend-the-most-and-least-on-education-and-how-their-students-perform-compared-to-their-neighbors/