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Contemporary Topics Essay

When looking up issues in Education many topics came up which to my surprise since I

am just getting into this field was shocking to me. Since I am not a “full” teacher, yet I feel like

we don’t hear about these issues very much, and or they do a good job of hiding these issues

from the public. Issues in Education Funding goes back many years. I found a lot of great

information while learning about this topic. I thought this gave a great explanation of the

school's funding and gave me a clearer understanding of how the funding for education works.

“Minnesota’s school finance system provides funds to operate the state’s public elementary

and secondary schools. The bulk of Minnesota’s support for elementary and secondary

education is distributed to school districts and charter schools through the general education

revenue program, which provides money for the current operating expenditures of the districts.

The state’s remaining appropriations are provided through special purpose or categorical aids,

such as special education aid and local property tax relief aids. The state legislature also

controls the amount each school district can levy through limits on the amount and type of

property tax levies” (Strom, 2020).

A few issues within education and the funding, the “education reform in the 1970s,

1980s, and 1990s fought to end this disparity. New laws and court orders forced states to raise

the amount of funding for low-income districts to meet that of higher-income ones. The impact

of school funding on student achievement was further exacerbated by what followed the Great

Recession. School Resources that required additional funding are tied to achievement rates

include smaller class sizes, additional supports, early childhood programs, and teacher
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compensation” (American University, 2021). Even after the current year we have had, schools

are still facing issues with funding. “School funding issues continue to persist. While the

economy recovered in the aftermath of the Great Recession, school budgets haven’t. Budget

cuts are still occurring across the board, class sizes continue to grow, and pre-K programs are

being eliminated, leading to less learning time. COVID-19 has introduced further funding cuts

for schools. School funding is key to equitable education, and the best way to protect school

funding is through policy change. Even in challenging times like these, a push for increased

federal assistance through policy change is vital” (American University, 2021).

Issues in education funding went a lot deeper than I ever thought. Even this past year I

learned more just from working in the pre-K program through a local school district. Our

funding for our program was cut, we did not nearly have the budget as we have had in the past

years. This year class sizes went from 20 down to 14 which resulted in a lot of change. We were

not able to take any field trips, and breakfast and lunches were provided for students. If we

needed supplies a lot of us were spending money of our own and knowing that we weren’t

getting reimbursed. With school, funding is licensed teachers who also struggled and paid the

price. Teachers were faced with high-class sizes at my work and some even had to combined

classes and little to no help from paraprofessionals. My school faced a lot of shortages this past

year due to funding. We were down ESPs and special education teachers. We went from three

rooms for special ed down to two. And even some of the students that needed services were

not getting the correct allotted time. Students that needed more time are being passed around

with other teachers to make up for the missed time from not being in special ed. Other

teachers are having to step in and help with student behaviors because we do not have the
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extra help. I saw a lot of the time our Principal, EL teacher, and Counselor, and many others

that filled in to help get students out of the classroom and given a break for those that needed

it. They would let the student walk around the school and in the hallways to give classroom

teachers the help that they needed. School funding is important as it allows schools to have the

help they need. I think more funding needs to be provided to schools, especially those that face

a shortage in the special education department. It is not fair for classroom teachers to have a

full class of students and have those students who struggle not get the help that they need.

Both the student and the teachers struggle, and it prevents the proper learning to take place.

Schools need the funding to help support those programs and allow students to get full service

if needed.

I am hoping to continue to expand my knowledge and get a better understanding of

what it is like to be a teacher and gain more experience in the classroom. I am hoping to get a

job, but even right now I am facing the hardship of budget cuts and getting a job during Covid.

So, it has impacted myself with issues in education funding as I was not able to get a job. There

are a lot of rumors or news that are being shared that there is a teacher shortage and a rise of

students, but I have not been able to get a job. So, I firsthand have experience some of the

hardship in the issues with education funding. I am hoping to still try and fight my way to get a

job and hopefully things will start to change soon. I am going to continue to be a leader and find

ways to help my preschool program and school through these challenging times. I am also

hoping to learn more about why schools took such a hard hit with funding this past year. I am

still confused on as to why that is as I never got an answer from the readings and articles I

found.
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Students were still going to school, online learning was provided, so I am confused as to

why the funding dropped. There was not a drop out rate for education, it shouldn’t matter how

students learn if that is in person or online the school still collected property taxes. I guess I

could see the funding with the state taxes went down because of the income and sales portion

was affected by Covid. There is a lot that goes into the funding for education, and I hope to

better understand it in the years to come.

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References:

American University. (2021). School Funding Issues: How Decreasing Budgets Are Impacting
Student Learning and Achievement. School Funding Issues: How Decreasing Budgets are
Impacting Student Learning & Achievement | American University.
https://soeonline.american.edu/blog/school-funding-issues. 

Strom, T. (2020). Minnesota School Finance: A Guide for Legislators.

https://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/pubs/mnschfin.pdf.