Cliff Stearns: “many say as California goes, so goes the rest of the Nation. Considering that, I would like to bring to the attention of…”

“many say as California goes, so goes the rest of the Nation. Considering that, I would like to bring to the attention of my colleagues a new study of public education spending in California. The study reveals that the generally accepted per-pupil spending figure of $6,700 for California students significantly understates the actual per-pupil spending figure that is approximately $8,500. Moreover, two out of five, two out of every five, public school dollars are spent on bureaucracy and overhead rather than on classrooms. Instructions and internal legal squabbles drain education dollars from the system. The authors, Dr. Bonsteel of San Francisco and accountant Carl Brodt of Berkeley, intended their analysis to be a nonpartisan one. Bonsteel is a Democrat and Brodt is a Republican. I will share some of the key findings of the study entitled, 'Where is all the money going? Bureaucrats and Overhead in California's Public Schools,' together with the authors' proposal for decreasing bureaucracy and enhancing accountability. First, consider that inflation-adjusted spending on public education in California has increased by 39 percent since 1978. Nevertheless, textbooks are frequently unavailable, school libraries have been shut down, and art and music programs have been terminated.”