Arguments on schools and the cost of education are often based on misinformation or references to “When I was in school.” The arguments over school costs are the same everywhere. The schools cost too much, there’s all sorts of waste and there are too many administrators. If it was run like a business, it would cost less.

Contention exists between school committees and municipal councils. The council members claim they have to take the heat for raising taxes while the schools spend most of the tax income.

Full disclosure: The writer is interim director of finance for the Warwick Public Schools and has served in comparable positions in nine other Rhode Island districts. So, let’s look.

Warwick serves 8,000 students – that is 8,000 Warwick residents for six hours per day, 180 days per year. No other agency provides that level of support for that number of residents. At the barest minimum, schools provide the daycare needed by many families to allow both parents to work. The district transports students to and from school. Then, the expectation is the children will be taught to read and write, understand science and do algebra. In addition, schools are required to address the safety and mental health of students. Schools are expected to offer students the opportunity to benefit from athletics and other activities such as music. For the college-bound, colleges dictate the curriculum to qualify for acceptance. For students looking to be employed upon graduation, career-preparation programs are provided.

For students with extraordinary needs, the district is required to place those students in programs with the staffing suitable for each child's needs. The services for students with special needs is required by the federal government's Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. When that legislation was passed, the message was that the federal government would ultimately fund 75% of the costs of implementing the programs. Funding has never been close to that. School districts have been required to carry most of the very significant costs.

Educating children is expensive. It is very labor intensive. Good education does not happen with 40 children in a classroom. Are administrators needed? If there are no administrators, who will supervise and evaluate the education staff? Administrators are also disciplinarians for those situations when needed. Rhode Island Department of Education regulations require the evaluation of all teachers at least once every three years – a time-consuming process. RIDE mandates what is to be taught through its Basic Education Plan. It requires districts to devote 3% of their budgets to the maintenance of buildings. It requires the transportation of students.

Schools equivalent to a $200M business

The Warwick schools are the equivalent of a $200M-per-year, labor-intensive business. But education is not a business. No business is required to provide the services mandated for schools. The school curriculum is mandated by the Department of Education. The education of special-needs students is mandated by the federal government. The transportation of students is mandated under Rhode Island’s general laws.

There are those who blame school costs on teacher unions and the contracts they negotiate. There are many studies that indicate those becoming teachers will earn less than those entering business or industry with comparable educations. And teachers – again, by law – must gain more education to maintain their teacher certifications. There is a great demand for teachers. For college graduates looking for employment, districts offering the best salaries attract the best and brightest.

The demands on schools are ever-increasing. For those who like to harken back to when they were in school, schools and the demands on schools have changed considerably. Currently, in the General Assembly, there are legislative proposals to require additional mental-health professionals such as psychologists and social workers to address students’ mental-health issues. One bill would require athletic trainers to work with sports teams in each high school. Another would require the state to fund all mandates such as those noted. The previously noted mandates for added staff may well become law; the bill to require the state to fund its mandates will likely not.

One goal of the RI Public Expenditure Council is advancing fiscally responsible government. In a recent report, RIPEC suggested neither the state nor communities are adequately funding school districts.

“Why are we paying for failing schools?” It is a good question. But it is built on a faulty assumption. Having authored a book on educating children in poverty, I can attest that considerable research has gone into why schools are labeled as "failing." That designation comes from the No Child Left Behind federal program of a couple of decades ago. A school was "failing" if there was a so-called learning gap between students in different economic strata – the rich and the poor. The assumption was schools were the origin of the gaps – fix the schools and the gaps will disappear. Train teachers, fire those in "underperforming" schools, upgrade the curriculum. In more than 25 years, the interventions of NCLB and its successor programs have not closed the gaps at all, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the nation's report card.

Stress hinders ability to learn

Learning gaps are no smaller now than they were 20 years ago in Warwick, Providence or East Greenwich. Children arrive at the schoolhouse door coming from different homes. The children living in homes of well-educated parents learn from their parents and are given opportunities outside of school to learn. Children living in less well-to-do homes are, generally, living with less-educated parents and have fewer education-enhancing opportunities. In addition, children living in poverty suffer stresses that further hinder their ability to learn. As a result, when students are tested, children from wealthier homes achieve higher scores than their less-well-off peers – the learning gaps. It is the same in Warwick, Providence and East Greenwich. Learning gaps can be addressed by providing children living in poverty with additional school resources such as longer days or school years. The schools are not failing.

Our schools are serving your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews and the little kids across the street. For many, the schools once provided education for your children. When we are talking about school budgets, we are not talking only about dollars. We are talking about preparing the next generation, those who will be responsible as parents, wage earners, voters and, possibly, our caretakers. It is called the generational compact. Each generation is to prepare the following generation to assume its role. It is the responsibility of each parent to educate their children. The education system was put in place such that educators could serve in loco parentis – in the place of the parents.

Around the world, the most successful countries are those with the most educated populations. A well-educated population is in everyone’s self- interests. In the long term, the poorly educated require more in government food, housing, medical and unemployment supports. Pay me now, or pay me later. Education is an investment that improves everyone’s future.

Joseph H. Crowley, former director of the Warwick Area Career and Technical Center, is currently interim director of finance of Warwick Public Schools.