Education

Parents’ Biggest Concern: Lack of Education Funding

By Michele Molnar — September 19, 2012 1 min read
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Over at Education Week’s “Transforming Learning” blog, National PTA President Betsy Landers writes that lack of funding is the #1 education concern of parents today.

This was one of the findings from the 2012 PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes toward the Public Schools, released recently.

Funding shortfalls outdistanced drugs and violence in schools, which ranked as parents’ highest concern when the poll was done 10 years ago.

“Enrollment is up. Need is up. Resources are down. With so many struggles, parents and communities must be empowered to drive change, but until education funding becomes a top priority in state capitals and on Capitol Hill, parents need to think beyond their individual communities and advocate for all children in every district, across their state and across the nation. The challenges that parents face are shared, as should be fighting for the solutions,” Landers writes.

The PTA president offers a “call to action” for parents: “A simple phone call or e-mail can make all the difference. Parents must reach out to their legislators and encourage them to prioritize education funding in the face of deep deficit reductions. Parents can also mobilize behind the implementation of Common Core State Standards, which three out of four Americans believe will provide more consistency in education and help the nation compete globally, according to the poll. Parents can also join PTA so their voice can join with 5 million others speaking out for children in the nation’s capital and in state capitals across the country.”

Check out Landers’ full blog post dissecting this issue, “Parents Agree: Funding Shortfalls Shortchange Students, Families and Communities.”

A version of this news article first appeared in the K-12 Parents and the Public blog.