Doing the math...

[agilebrit]

So, the school voucher issue is heating up here in good old Utah, with the election being three weeks away. So I decided to get my calculator out and do some theoretical figuring.

I based it on a beginning class size of 30 kids, which was not out of the realm of possibility when I was growing up. I don't remember anyone bitching about class size back then either.

Apparently we spend $7,000 per student, per year, here. That comes to $210,000 per classroom.

Now, say 5 kids leave, and they're on the poorer end of the spectrum, so they get all $3,000 they're entitled to under the proposed voucher program (the actual amount is $500 - $3,000, so I'm being generous here). They take $15,000 out of the classroom, leaving it with 25 kids and $195,000, because that extra $4,000 per kid gets plowed back into the classroom.

Which now comes to $7,800 per pupil in that same classroom.

So...we've reduced class size, and increased the amount we're spending per kid. All without increasing the amount we're actually spending.

Seriously, someone explain to me how this is a bad thing?

Comments

[bookishwench.livejournal.com]

Actually, I believe in at least my state the absolute maximum number of kids allowed in a class is 28, which, considering the fact the American attention span has dwindled down to less than 2 minutes in the last ten years, is pretty challenging as it stands.

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

So, running the numbers assuming 28 kids in the class and five leaving for private schools, that leaves $7,869 and change per kid still in the class. So it's even BETTER, and gets them closer to the "optimal" number of 22 kids per class, which is apparently the number they're shooting for.