Literature Review

For my research project, I am looking into the funding of our public school systems. This topic has been a very popular in the news with many initiatives trying to be passed to benefit our school systems. For example, in our state Initiative 1351 will help decrease class sizes in our state, which ranks 47th for having large classes sizes among the other states. This project will help highlight the benefits of funding for our schools and what the outcome would be and also go over where funding should come from and ideas to better budget. Questions that will be kept throughout the paper are: What would the effects be if funding was increased/decreased? What affects the funding of schools? Do cuts benefit schools or do they harm them? How would funding to schools be managed? What models could we follow to improve our school funding? What can individuals do to help improve funding? Improving our funding to public schools will benefit not only our students but also our society. Sources for my project will fall into the falling categories support, background information and what the future of our schools could look like.

                A number of sources fit into the support category, but more specifically in the way funding occurs and the relationship funding has with education in a whole. One such source is Kathleen Knight Abowitz’s article “Achieving Public Schools,” published in 2011. This article helps provide the relationship between our government and our public school system. It describes how we as people are “customers” of our school systems. We pay taxes which support our schools and in return we should get what we want out of it. Also, details about how both systems need to work together to produce a working environment for students. I will use this source as a neutralizer, meaning that for public schools to work they need to be backed by the government and vice versa. Another article that discuses government involvement is by Jennifer Reboul Rust, titled "Investing In Integration: A Case For "Promoting Diversity" In Federal Education Funding Priorities," published 2013. This article brings up another case that deals with funding of public education in Seattle. This article discusses federal funding and how one of the requirements to receive federal funding is school diversity. This is one of sixteen priorities for schools to receive federal funding.  Many see this as a problem because they see it as racial discrimination and judgment of their socioeconomic standing. I will be using this in my paper to provide understanding to what federal funding is and how the results played out in Seattle. I think is important for my audience to understand what schools go through to receive federal funding and how this supports our schools. Another article that also deals with funding issues and government involvement is "School Financing In Ohio Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow: Searching For A "Thorough And Efficient" System Of Public Schools. (Cover Story),” published in 2007. Similar to the article by Rowe, this article also deals with a case of the state Ohio vs. DeRolph (funding schools), which was a 13-year battle brought up because many believed that Ohio’s way of funding the schools was unconstitutional by the Thorough and Efficient Clause. I will be using this in my paper to help me understand more of the laws dealing with funding our public education and also as an example of what we can do. In hopes of finding an article that would describe the process the government goes through to fund projects, like schools, I found an article by Michele McNeil, titled "Governors Make Pitch To Obama For Stimulus Money," published in 2008. This article discusses the cuts many infrastructure projects were facing. Unfortunately, this article is less than a page long and doesn’t provide me with adequate information on my topic. I will not be using this source for my paper. With this source I found another source that uses a well thought out idea to fund their schools in Alabama.  A source that helps shed some light on a more positive aspect of budget cuts is an article by Alan Haskvitz, “The Recession And Education: Seize New Opportunities,” published in 2011. This source is very different from my other sources because it discusses the benefits the recession can have on education. It has a very unique perspective, since many believe that a lower budget means all negative it could actually have some slight positive benefits. This can help me show a brighter side to budget cuts, but also show that with these small things bigger things are being ignored. I will be using this in my paper to highlight some positive aspects from budget cuts and will help me provide a counter-argument. These articles show how the support of government involvement is key and needs to be done effectively to achieve the best possible solution.

Some other articles that fit in the support category, but deal with more of the effects on the students rather than the process of funding. This allows me to show the real struggles that students face with the lack of funding. An article that helps show the effects that budget cuts have on students is an article by Rajashri Chakrabarti and Sarah Sutherland, titled "New Jersey's Abbott Districts: Education Finances During The Great Recession," published in 2013. This article targets New Jersey’s Abbott District and what occurred during our latest recession. The unique thing about the Abbott district is that it is a low income area that was receiving funding and special services before the recession hit. It goes on to compare three groups of students and the effects that occurred during the lack of funding. I can incorporate this in my paper because it gives me evidence of the effects budget cuts has on students and why this is a problem. This article helps support how lack of funding can effect students using an example of a real school. Many believe that funding to schools can be used a reward system, an article that can help support that is an article by Lee Jaekyung, titled “Dual Standards Of School Performance And Funding? Empirical Searches Of School Funding Adequacy In Kentucky And Maine," published in 2010. This article brings up an interesting idea of how school performance and funding relate to one another. This article follows Kentucky and Maine to discuss the difference in test scores and the difference of funding. It brings up an important question, if schools should be rewarded for having a high performance rate or vice versa? I will use this in my paper to discuss other ways schools are funded and refer to this as an example. Playing off the idea of rewarding schools for good performance, do we really fully consider the consequences of closing schools? The next article that discusses this is an article by Michael Lytton, titled "Have All The Costs Of Closing A School Been Considered?” published in 2011. This article discusses if all measures have been taken before shutting down schools. It breaks down what typically goes into closing a school. It also brings up the impacts of closing schools has on the community. I will be using this in my paper to support why schools shouldn’t be closed and bring up the support from this article. This allows me to show my audience what lack of funding causes for schools and in the end how the lack of funds affects students. This article by John Herbert Roth, titled "Education Funding And The Alabama Example: Another Player On A Crowded Field," published in 2003. This article brings up the interesting topic of students paying for extracurricular activities, which here in Washington students pay to participate in sports and so on. This article also gives an overview of public education law and the conditions of the schools/school systems. I will be using this in my paper to help show that this “Pay to Play” idea hasn’t been around for long and what the benefits of it are. I find this article to be very beneficial to my paper because it allows the schools to produce a source of income. These articles allow me to paint an image for my audience to understand what students face when a school is underfunded.

Another category my sources fit into is background information about our school system, but in further detail about how funding works and some loopholes that have occurred. One such source is an article by Joshua Arocho, titled “Inhibiting Intrastate Inequalities: A Congressional Approach To Ensuring Equal Opportunity To Finance Public Education,” published 2014. This article brings up the unfairness of funding of schools throughout the states. Also discusses how most of the funding that goes to schools deals with property tax and how that fluctuates the funding between states and so on. Again, he brings up the clashing views of federal and state and how that affects schools. I will use this source by providing my audience with information about school funding and where the funds come from. This will allow me to give them an understanding of how that process works and how some changes may be beneficial. Another article that will provide my audience with background information is “No Child Left Behind--A Critical Analysis,” by Charles R. Ellis, published in 2007. It brings up the act that was emplaced when Bush was in office, which had a huge impact on the education system.  It looks into the involvement the federal government has had in regards to our school and most importantly the impact it has had on funding schools. I will be using this in my paper to provide information on what happens when an act like this is emplaced and what the outcomes are. Another article that deals with certain measures taken by the state of California is an article by Eamonn O’Donovan, titled "New Money And Old Challenges In The Golden State," published in 2013. This article discusses the measure that California has taken with passing Proposition 30, which discusses how a temporary tax hike will occur to fund education. It goes into further detail on what this money will be used for to help restore in the schools. I will use this as an example of what Washington State should do and compare it to the initiative 1351 which deals with smaller class sizes in our state. Background information on the California proposition can help show my audience the benefits they have and why they are important. For my audience to understand the whole cycle on funding they need to understand some background information that plays off the support category. This provides them with a more realistic understanding with things that have and haven’t worked and how we can learn from the failed attempts. 

Articles that also fit into the background information category, but more specifically discuss the relationship between our school system and other important factors that play in. One of these sources is an article that looks more at the social aspect of school and how they are linked. This article by Cynthia Franklin and Calvin Streeter, titled "School Reform: Linking Public School With Human Services," published in 1995. It discusses the link between public schooling and social services. Even though this article was published in 1995 it still has an interesting perspective on the idea of bringing the two together. It also can service as a way to discuss of past reforms and why and why not they worked or didn’t work. I will use this is in my paper to provide an understanding to what reforms were taking place and how certain ones would have benefited. An article that provides detailed background information about Charter Schools is an article by Preston Green III, Bruce Baker and Joseph Oluwole, titled "Having It Both Ways: How Charter Schools Try To Obtain Funding Of Public Schools And The Autonomy Of Private Schools," published in 2013. Unfortunately, this article doesn’t investigate the topic I am looking into. This article goes into detail about Charter Schools and what they are. The authors spend a good amount discussing the legal action that has been taken for Charter schools. The difference between charter schools and public schools is that charter schools don’t have to abide by the same rules that public schools do. This raises questions because they are being funded by the state as are public schools, but don’t need to meet the same requirements. I will not be using this article in my paper. The last article I will discusses is an article by Jordan Reel and Walter Block, titled "Public Education: Who Is It For?" published in 2012. This article looks at the history of our public education system and the way it was constructed. It brings up some interesting ideas of how our school systems were designed and so forth. This will be useful to help see the other ways other countries design their schools and find a difference that may be \linked to funding. I will be using this in my paper to provide a background of our education and how that is useful to us. This will allow me to show my audience how our school system was designed to help provide them with information that will benefit them in understanding my argument. This section allows me to show that not everything about schools deals with funding. Even though my main argument is to increase funding I’d like to show some other ways schools can be reformed and what the future could hold.

                The last category my sources fit into is what the future of our schools could like, more importantly what the future of better-funded schools could look like. One such source is an article published by Education Week, titled "Budget Woes Could Mean School Cutbacks," published in 2008. This article brings up with budgets being cut we can come to a safe conclusion that layoffs will occur, programs are cut, teachers lose their benefits, school days become shorter and less time is spent in the classroom. This article is explaining what cuts mean to schools and the result of them. I can use this in my paper by painting an image for my audience. Giving them an idea of what increasing cuts looks like in the classroom and what that means for schools. This will also help show if budgets are continued to be cut what that will look like also. It will help show the extremes of the spectrum. An article I have decided not to use in my paper, but fits in this category is an article published by American School & University, titled "California Districts Used Funding Flexibility To Save Jobs," published in 2014. This article discusses some measures that California used to save jobs from being cut. It also talks about how students prefer teachers that use technology in the classroom compared to teachers that don’t. This article doesn’t provide me with adequate information that I need for my paper. It also doesn’t provide me with enough details dealing with their budget. Therefore, I will not be using this article as a source in my paper. But, what I did like about this article is it discussed technology in the classroom that will just have increased presence as technology advances. With many believing that budgets are the main idea behind the future of our schools an article that shows another side is "No Time For Old Tactics," by Eamonn O’Donovan, published in 2010.  This article tackles what many people believe to be the problem behind lack of funding to our schools. The author of this article brings up the fact there may be lack of communication between school management and then the labor unions. Also, with budgets being under such a close eye of the public with the recent recession also makes it a touchy situation. I will be using this in my paper to propose a solution. This article will help show that money isn’t going to be the only way to make our schools have a brighter future. Communication and management also need to improve to get the outcomes that we desire. These articles provide examples on how we can achieve to better our schools and the reoccurring answer is better funding. Even though funding won’t fix all of the flaws in our school system it can definitely make some drastic changes.

Theses sources also fit into the category of what the future looks like for our schools, but instead these articles are more lessons that we can learn for our mistakes and also model what England has done. An article that could help inspire the future of our schools is the article by Mark Gibson and Tom Bisschoff, titled "'Successful' Schools As Agents Of Inner City School Transformation In England," published in 2014. This article discusses sponsored schools in England. These schools are different from other schools, in other words they become “Academies” and are managed by the sponsor. From what I drew from this article is these academies are similar to our charter schools. This article also follows two schools that are using the systems to describe how they work. I will use this in my paper to use as an example of other ways to fund our schools and make the decision if this would realistically work. This could also be the key to making schools successful in the future. The last article that will help tie together this category is an article by Ronald Rowe II, titled "Beyond Equality And Adequacy: Equal Protection, Tax Assessments, And The Missouri Public School Funding Dilemma," published in 2010. This article discusses a fight in Missouri that occurred over funding of public education. The case was Committee for Educational Equality vs. State of Missouri, where the apparent constitution of Missouri would provide free education to students under the age of 21. This article goes into further detail in how the funding of public education was challenged and how it was seen an invalid. I will be using this in my paper to help shed some light on how this could have been done more realistically and what we could learn from this example in our education system. I think there is a lesson to learn from this and if we could pull this off it would truly benefit our education system. This is something I would hope our education system could pull of and make it reality. These two articles help make an image of what our schools could look like and some ideas on how we could achieve it. 

Public education has been under the microscope lately and it will continue to get bad reputation unless changes are made. My goal for this paper is to provide my audience with sources that support the idea of why funding plays such a huge role in our school system. By showing them support for the cause, providing background information about the public school system and showing them a glimpse of what the future could hold for our schools I hope they understand why change needs to occur. Our schools are what build our communities and help shape the next generation, we need to give the respect the schools systems deserve and hear their voice.