Wrong numbers.(correspondence)(Letter to the editor)

William Howell and Martin West have written an interesting article about Americans' utter ignorance concerning the amounts their tax dollars contribute to public education costs ("Is the Price Right?" features, Summer 2008). While homeowners and parents were somewhat more knowledgeable than others, they too were way off in their estimates of per-pupil expenditures in their districts and average teacher salaries in their states. Yet the vast majority of Americans support increased spending on schools and believe that more money will result in more student learning.

It is humbling for us policy wonks to see how far off the public is about not only their investments in public schooling, but what might make a difference in student outcomes. But frankly, I'm more concerned about the taxpayers' and the pollsters' lack of interest in the unfairness of how the nation's only universal service is funded. Every level of government--local, state, and federal--underfunds the least well-off communities, with few exceptions, when ...