Reply to Why does it take so long for cities to gentrify and esp schools to improve?

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Reply to "Why does it take so long for cities to gentrify and esp schools to improve?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]California has some of the most poorly funded schools in the nation, despite its wealth. Other states fund schools through property taxes, but California effectively eliminated this as a funding source in the late 1970s, and the cost to infrastructure and education has unfortunately caught up. The schools are either subsidized by parent contributions and local parcel taxes in wealthy areas or are abysmally underfunded in less wealthy areas, with people of means opting out for private or parochial schools.

I think we will see a sea change in the next 10 years, but it's incredibly depressing that the system had to break so dramatically for people to care. California used to have one of the best public education systems in the nation.[/quote]

When I was in elementary school in the Bay Area in the 70s, we had an orchestra, a gifted program with 10 course choices, and a school nurse.  the Prop 13 passed.  Classes were cut, art and music were cut, and library hours were slashed.  At the time, it was generational warfare.  The Boomers had mostly graduated, and their parents no longer cared about schools.

Here in DC, I pay 9.5 percent income taxes.  We have free pre-K starting at age 3, dedicated music and art teachers, a science program, and a health teacher who cooks with the kids.  Every high school in the area offers AP classes, and many schools offer 20+. There are also a lot of public IB programs.  DC and the surrounding suburbs spend more than twice as much per pupil as California.[/quote]

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