School Choice Is Bankrupting Public Schools: Fact or Fiction?

First, we need to understand what it would take to topple public schools.

Total expenditures nationwide for fiscal year 2014 exceeded $625 billion.

Now, how much are states spending on school choice programs today?

Based on the most recent data available, only $2.2 billion across the entire country.

The truth? The biggest threat to public schools are the people running public schools.

School pension costs have doubled over the last 10 years from $500 per student to more than $1,000 per student because public school officials ignored fiscal experts’ warnings and chose to write checks for a pension plan they cannot cash…for decades.

To make matters worse, a recent study found that public schools have wasted $805 billion by hiring seven times more non-teaching staff than they needed to meet the demand of student growth, while simultaneously reducing teacher salaries.

Anyone can see funding school choice today is a drop in the bucket compared to public school spending. And it’s pretty easy to argue that drop is spent more efficiently, too.

The verdict on claims that school choice is bankrupting public schools? FICTION.

Now, it’s time to start focusing on what really matters: what school choice means for families and their children.