Selective Abandonment

If there are finite resources, and there are, then both the government and the subset of schools need to practice selective abandonment. If we are going to support universal health care, what will we give up to have the funds to do so?  This is a question that has not been asked, and it speaks, in part, to why we have the national debt that we have.  I think this is the “guns or butter” concept in economics; every choice has an opportunity cost. As a nation, we have been behaving as though this is not the case.  We have funded expanded services and entitlement programs while also waging wars and lowering taxes.  We need to decide what our bottom line is and then selectively abandon the expenditures we can’t afford.  I know this is a simplistic explanation, but forcing choices is necessary—and will also help define what we value.  I’ll bet it won’t be wars in far-off countries.

The concept also applies to schools.  Unfortunately, many of the choices are taken from schools in the form of mandates.  Special education costs rise, and there is no option except to fund them. I wouldn’t argue against funding special education, but there are many other mandates that place an unfair burden on districts.  For instance, the federal law says that all spaces in a building need to have a flashing light smoke detector so that hearing impaired people will be warned in the event of a fire.  (Not sure if we are in compliance with this.)  That means that closets and storage rooms need this device, even if no hearing impaired employees or students are ever in that area.  Schools—at least theoretically—have no choice but to comply, and there is no option to meet the need in a different way.  Having to pay to comply often means cutting something that is more discretionary but may not be in the best interest of providing the needed programming.  The state and federal governments are constantly adding unfunded mandates. (Of course, if the state or federal government is footing the bill, we are still ultimately paying it!)  There is room for selective abandonment in schools, but an equal emphasis should be put on reviewing and eliminating many of the mandates.