How Local Government Can Help Fix Our Broken Education System

Education is a local issue, despite how much of the focus is on the federal government to fix it, and it always has been. The US Department of Education wasn’t even created until 1867 and had a relatively minor role in our education system. The federal government provides just about 8 percent of funding for elementary and secondary education. They provide some guidelines, like prohibiting discrimination, but most of the decision-making is up to states and local government.

States provide more funding and some of the required curriculum. States can regulate private schools as long as they are not religious. One example of curriculum guidelines states have a hand in is the recent sex-ed law passed in Washington State mandating comprehensive, LGBTQ+ inclusive sex education in all public schools. States can also mandate the number of hours of instruction necessary, subjects and classes all students must take to graduate.

In terms of local control of schools, we must consider the two kinds of public school systems: dependent and independent. Dependent school systems are run by towns, cities, counties, or state governments. There are 28 state-dependent school systems and 571 local-dependent school systems. Independent school districts are under the exclusive control of school districts. There are 12,880 independent school districts.

Whether control goes directly to the city or a school district, education is funded by the state and local government. The local government has the power to levy taxes to fund education and can redirect school budgets to meet new priorities. They decide what courses to offer, how to set achievement standards, where to put new schools, safety, health, or traffic issues, and the role of the school in community life. They select appropriate teaching materials and hire, fire, and train teachers. This is done locally because the local government can know enough about the area to decide the curriculum properly.

Property taxes are the primary funding source for local government (and therefore schools). This has received criticism as it skews funding towards neighborhoods with higher property values. However, sales tax, user fees, charges, and income taxes are growing and becoming more important to funding.

Another facet of education is community college. Community colleges are funded by state and local government, with local governments contributing 9.2 billion and state governments contributing 53 billion dollars in 2013. It’s important to note that this money generally goes towards operating expenses, not financial aid. Community Colleges are run by a Board of Trustees that is either elected or appointed. These trustees adopt a budget, advocate for the college, develop the mission, set strategic goals and establish policies related to the programs and services offered.

In terms of funding, sometimes your vote can directly impact how well local education does. For example, school districts or cities will often levy bonds to fund institutions, which may have to be approved by voters as a ballot measure.

Your vote can indirectly impact policy as well, through the election of school boards, city councils, mayor, community college trustees, county council, county judge, governor, and many other state and local positions. You can choose to elect officials who support things like critical race theory, increased training for teachers, sex education, education equity, supporting students with disabilities, and masks in schools.

Rideshare2Vote knows how important education is and what a huge difference local government can make in ensuring our youth get the education they need and deserve. That’s why we run in local elections, even as many other ride to polls services shut down in so-called off-years when most local elections are held. So if you or someone you know needs a ride to the upcoming municipal elections, request a ride with us. Voting local is so important!

by Betsy Zalinski