[speedgibson] Speed Gibson: Mr. Smith goes to the NARN (part 3)

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Posted by Speed Gibson:
Mr. Smith goes to the NARN (part 3)
http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1209006096.shtml


   Previously: [1]One [2]Two
   Continuing the interview by the NARN's Mitch Berg and Ed Morrissey
   with Dane Smith of the Growth & Justice "non-partisan" but certainly
   liberal think tank, the topic stayed fixed on public education. As
   before, this is my personal transcript, edited for clarity.

     Mitch Berg: What is Growth & Justice proposing [for K-12] education
     here in Minnesota? [...]
     Dane Smith: Well we think we need to put more money into it and we
     need to do it smarter. Ample investment, smarter investment.
     Mitch Berg: Well, we can meet you halfway on that! Let's talk about
     the smarter first [...].
     Dane Smith: I think there's a lot of evidence, mounting evidence,
     that if you really focus on the kids who are likely not to succeed
     and if you really work at helping them as early as possible and
     following them all the way through, that you're going to make a
     difference. The research really is pretty encouraging on this and
     that's why Art Rolnick, the Senior Vice President for the Federal
     Reserve, hardly a radical teachers union advocate, has been so
     impassioned about this. We're not quite done with it yet, but we've
     been working for more than a year now on a blueprint for investing
     in education. It's really focused very clearly on a single goal and
     that is increasing by half the number of kids who by the age of 25
     in this state have some sort of higher ed. degree. Business knows
     that's important. They've flagged that as a worthy goal and we're
     on it.

   Let me review this, how the experts say you can make a difference. If
   you really focus on the kids. If you really work at helping them as
   early as possible. If you follow them all the way through. Been there.
   Done that. I'm a parent. I'm not bragging; it's just part of the job,
   isn't it?
   Sadly, it apparently isn't in some families. But who has given up on
   whom?

     Mitch Berg: Education, let's be honest, Dane Smith. Education has
     not been starved for money in this state. Even during the worst of
     the Pawlenty years, the education budget really never did get cut
     in terms of actual dollars reaching classrooms in Minnesota. In
     fact, the cost per pupil has gone up, up, up the last eight years
     in Minnesota.
     Dane Smith: We could argue all if it has kept up with inflation. I
     think it actually has been cut. For one thing, the costs for public
     education are a little higher than the CPI. We are asking schools
     to do more and more [...] other than education and it's an
     expensive proposition. I would say this. I haven't used this
     construct very often, but let's ask people for whom money is no
     object, how much money it costs them to educate their children. For
     the wealthiest people in Minnesota, many of them will put their
     child into one of the best private schools going, Blake and Breck.
     It's my understanding that from Junior High on and even earlier,
     those costs come to about $20,000 a year. That's the cost of a
     first rate education I guess if you're going to look at the market.
     Mitch Berg: [After noting the $3,000 to $4000 annual cost of a
     private Catholic school education.] The blue chip education bit is
     something of a straw man. Not everyone wants to send their kid to
     Breck or Blake even if they could afford it. Second of all, that's
     not what we're talking about delivering to the hoi polloi in the
     Minnesota schools, even under [your] plan, is it?
     Dane Smith: No. The point was that I don't think we're overspending
     on public education in this state.

   How would we know? As I've posted several times, if my own district is
   any indication, such questions are presently unanswerable. We can't
   have a useful discussion on school finance until this is resolved.
   I think I'll stop here but there's much more in the full interview on
   Townhall.com. Again, I appreciate Dane Smith's bravery in engaging us
   in the loyal opposition.

References

   1. http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1208752953.shtml
   2. http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1208837531.shtml