Improving education begins at home

There's a court case under way in Missouri to determine how much the state should provide in funding for education. Nearly half the state's 524 school districts are challenging the state formula for funding education. These schools say the funding is inadequate and unfair. At stake here is millions of dollars in tax revenue that may be shifted and increased. But more importantly, this case will address the sticky and controversial issue of student funding in school districts that have a high black population.

On Monday, two experts testified that black students require substantially more state funding to receive an adequate education. These experts said that poverty and race were the two leading factors for low test scores in Missouri schools.

St. Louis schools want more state school spending in their districts because 82 percent of their student population is black. Test scores in St. Louis schools consistently lag the rest of the state and fall far below the minimal achievement level. More funding, they argue, will help them to raise test scores and better educate their student population.

But here's the problem. The state currently spends more per student in St. Louis than the state average. And still the test results are dismal. So the argument for more funding seems unrealistic. If the experts had their way, spending in St. Louis schools would increase nearly 70 percent. That's big money that will have to come from somewhere. And you know who will pay the bill.

I've said it so many times I could not count. Education starts at home and we cannot and must not expect the schools to change achievement when there is no reinforcement in the home. The issue is not race. The issue is parenting. Money alone will not change behavior. You can throw all the money in the world at the problem but until there are basic changes in the family structure, there will be no significant change in achievement.

The decision by this court will surely have some far-reaching impact on how we spend money to educate our children. It's likely that successful districts will actually be punished by receiving less state funding. And under-achieving districts would get a bigger share of the state education funds. That is fundamentally wrong and that is also why public education is facing such difficult times.

Large minority school districts have told us for years that if we upped their funding, test scores would improve. We have but they haven't. So why do we even listen to this slanted notion? Are we all afraid to speak the truth? Are we afraid to face the realities of society?

Education begins with a firm foundation in the home. The schools build on that firm foundation. And without that foundation, schools are limited. Money won't solve this problem. It never has and it never will.