Democratic presidential hopefuls are promising to ramp up funding for public schools

Democratic presidential hopefuls are promising to ramp up funding for public schools

Democratic presidential hopefuls are promising to ramp up funding for public schools 

Democratic presidential candidates are proposing bold new approaches to the federal government’s role in public education. Former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Cory Booker want to triple the US$15 billion spent annually on Title I, a program that sends federal dollars to high-poverty school districts.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants to go further and quadruple funding for that same program. She also wants to make quality child care and preschool affordable or free for all American families with kids, along with free breakfast and lunch for all public school students.

Other candidates have similar proposals to substantially increase funding for public education, including former Housing Secretary Julian Castro, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

Funding increases of this scale would transform the federal role in education policy, making it easier for school districts to pay teachers higher wages while reducing class sizes. This focus on funding would mark a departure from previous administrations, which instead emphasized policies intended to increase accountability and strengthen teacher evaluation.

As a scholar of school finance, I study the role of resources in schools. The research is clear that spending more on students over the long haul would bring CONTINUE READING: Democratic presidential hopefuls are promising to ramp up funding for public schools