The New York Sun
Editorial Date:Jun 8, 2004;

Competitive Government

As the governor and the Legislature debate how many more billions to sink into government run public schools in New York, the Institute for Competitive State Government is out with a summary of the current situation. The report says that New York spends $11,827 on every public school student - 41% more than the national average and more than everywhere except Connecticut and the Columbia District.

The report says that more than 60% of the $39 billion spent annually on public elementary and secondary education in New York State goes toward paying teachers. It says: "Average yearly salary and benefits for a New York State public school teacher equal $56,927, or an estimated $43.71 per required work hour."

Hourly rates for New York state professionals "who require comparable schooling and state licenses" include speech pathologists at $23.93 an hour, physical therapists at $25.42 an hour, and registered nurses at $26.40 an hour, the report says. New York's statewide studentteacher ratio of 12.6 students for each teacher is the third lowest of any state, according to the institute.

Yet while New York State is near the top in school spending, it's in the middle of the pack when it comes to achievement.The Institute for Competitive State Government reports that several states, including New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Minnesota,did better than New York on standardized fourth-grade and eighthgrade reading and math tests, even while spending less than New York does on each student, paying teachers less, and having higher student-teacher ratios.

The report cites a recent Urban Institute study that says New York has the worst high school graduation rate in the whole country for black and Hispanic students. In New York, only 35% of black students graduate high school, while the nationwide graduation rate for blacks is 50%.

Meanwhile, New York parents who want to opt out of this system have fewer choices than those in other states. The New York law establishing charter schools - schools that receive public funding but operate outside the suffocating government-school regulatory bureaucracy - caps the number at 100 statewide. California already has more than 400 charter schools, and Texas, Florida, and Michigan each have more than 200.

To satisfy their interpretation of Judge Leland DeGrasse's decision in Campaign for Fiscal Equity v. State of New York, the state's politicians are getting ready to spend more.What the summary from the Institute for Competitive State Government underscores is that we're already spending more and getting less. Instead of rushing to spend even more, how about exploring how others provide a sound basic education for so much less money?