New York City Council Member Robert Jackson had a very good idea more than ten years ago: fight to get New York City children more money. ABC News' special on public school education, "Stupid in America", aired Friday, January 13, 2006, tells us that:

American high school students fizzle in international comparisons, placing well behind other countries, even poorer countries like Poland, the Czech Republic and South Korea. American kids do pretty well when they enter public school, but as time goes on, the worse they do. Why?

School officials complain that they need more money, but as Stossel reports, most of the countries that outperform us spend less per student than we do.

There are many factors that contribute to failure in school, but according to some, foremost is the government's monopoly over the school system, which means that most parents don't get to choose where to send their children. In other countries, choice fosters competition, and competition improves
performance.

The fact that more money has not brought better education has been a mantra of New York State's Governor, who continues to hold out for someone to come up with a better plan for the money, or at least some accounability for it:

January 16, 2006
Albany School Aid Logjam Persists Despite a Surplus
By JENNIFER MEDINA, NY TIMES

LINK

ALBANY, Jan. 14 - It has been more than two years since the state's highest court ruled that the students in New York City's public schools were being denied their constitutional right to a "sound basic education" and ordered the state to solve the problem. But as the State Legislature awaits Gov. George E. Pataki's budget proposal on Tuesday, few lawmakers expect the state to comply with the court's order this year.

When the state failed to come up with its own plan to address the lawsuit, a lower court ruled last February that the state must sharply increase aid to the city's schools, which it said should get $5.6 billion a year more for operating expenses than they were receiving.

Governor Pataki appealed the ruling, however, and the leaders of the Senate and the Assembly held off on trying to hammer out a solution.

With news of a state surplus of $2 billion, the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, has said the state should spend the money on schools, rather than on tax cuts proposed by the governor.

"We need this money for our schoolchildren," Mr. Silver said. "The money should be used to make a down payment for the schools. We've already lost an entire generation of students."

Nevertheless, some of his fellow Assembly Democrats question whether Mr. Silver will mount an all-out fight for the money this year.

Assembly members from the suburbs and upstate, who all face re-election in November, may be more concerned with passing a budget on time for a second year in a row. Many legislators doubt that Mr. Silver is willing to hold up the budget negotiations over the issue, as he tried to do two years ago.

There also is speculation that Mr. Silver will gamble on the hope that Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, a fellow Democrat running for governor, will take office next year and help create a plan to bolster financing of New York City schools.

Mr. Pataki has so far made no promises to deal this year with the lawsuit, filed by a group called the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, or C.F.E., more than 12 years ago. In his opening address to the Legislature, he made a brief statement saying he would provide "additional funding to high-needs schools - in New York City and across the state."

Scott Reif, a spokesman for the governor, declined to offer details of that education plan but he said that Mr. Pataki "has always considered education to be a top priority" and has provided "record amounts of additional aid to New York schools in his past budgets."

Last year, education spending increased by $864 million, or 5.5 percent, from the previous year, with much of the additional money sent to districts outside New York City. In October, the State Board of Regents recommended adding $1.3 billion this year, but it has no control over the state budget.

In outlining Medicaid savings for local governments, Mr. Pataki said this month that New York City stood to save an estimated $775 million and urged the city to spend the money on education. But city officials say the money was promised to them last year and has already been allocated elsewhere.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has signaled that he may put up a stronger fight for increased school financing in his second term, as he works to secure a legacy of overhauling education in the city.

Last month, he said nearly two dozen major school construction projects would be delayed unless more money was forthcoming from the state.

"The administration will aggressively pursue the billions of dollars that the state owes New York City schools and our children," said Jordan Barowitz, a spokesman for Mr. Bloomberg. "If the state does not fulfill its obligations to the Department of Education capital construction plan, the opening of critically needed new schools and vital renovations will be delayed."

Mr. Silver and other Democrats have accused Mr. Pataki of simply trying to delay any decision as the case winds through the courts.

Mr. Pataki has argued that the latest court ruling ordering billions of dollars in state aid is flawed, since elected officials determine spending, not the courts.

The Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno, a Republican, said recently that the plaintiffs and advocates in the court case should sit down with legislators to work out a solution.

"We don't need the courts to tell us that you have to have equal opportunity for all of our young people here in the state," Mr. Bruno said during a news conference.

Eager to test Mr. Bruno, advocates in Albany are trying a more aggressive approach this year, challenging lawmakers on their home turf. The Alliance for Quality Education, a group that has been lobbying for more education aid, is trying to rally parents to pressure the four Republican senators representing New York City districts.

The group will try to put pressure on the senators, whose districts are in Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens, by arguing that the Senate is holding up plans to get the city more education aid. With Republicans trying to hold onto a shrinking majority in the Senate, any challenge that could weaken their incumbents is sure to get their attention.

"Those four districts hold the key on whether more money would come to New York City," said Billy Easton, the executive director of the lobbying group. "They are the ones who should be out front saying we want our proper share. They are the bloc that could force it to happen."

Mr. Pataki's education plans may focus on expanding charter schools across the state, and on giving a tax credit to parents who send their children to private or parochial schools.

The proposed tax credit, which critics say is equivalent to granting school vouchers, would probably meet fierce resistance from Democratic members of the Assembly, the same legislators who have been the strongest allies of the plaintiffs in the school financing lawsuit.

"It is an outrage that C.F.E. has back-burner status in this state," said Randi Weingarten, the president of the New York City teachers' union, the United Federation of Teachers.

"There is an appetite for the governor and the Legislature to do other big issues that affect people," she continued. "Last month, they rushed to compromise and reach a deal on gun control. I don't take anything away from that, but this is a huge problem that for years nobody has solved."