National PTA exec: Even in bad economy, states must invest in education

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By MEGAN THOMAS
Cronkite News Service

SCOTTSDALE _ The sorry economy must not keep states from investing in education, and states that don’t will face consequences later such as lost competitiveness, more dropouts and higher rates of juvenile crime, the head of the National Parent Teacher Association said Tuesday.

“I know people say that, ‘Well, the budget’s cut; we’re facing a deficit,’ but you’ve still got to make a commitment to spend dollars on children,” said Byron V. Garrett, the group’s CEO. “You will spend it now or you will spend it later because of juvenile justice or other issues.”

Garrett, who was in Scottsdale to speak at the Ronald McDonald House Charities U.S. Scholarship Breakfast at the Camelback Inn, said government and the education system need to work more efficiently with tighter funds and still meet the challenges facing schools.

“We’ve got to figure out a more effective way to meet the needs of children,” Garrett said. “The dropout rate is astounding, not only in Phoenix or in the state of Arizona, but across the country. So we’ve got to have a credible solution that’s going to work not just for some children but for all children.”

Garrett said funding education was a challenge even before the financial meltdown, though governments continued to invest in business development.

“Children should always be at the front of the agenda,” Garrett said. “You don’t balance the budget on the back of kids.”

Garrett said some communities in Arizona and other states have more revenue to provide schools than others, creating inequalities in education that need to be addressed. He said the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, intended to require higher performance and more accountability from schools, has contributed to the inequities by failing to provide the funding necessary to help schools reach expectations.

“We’ve got to make sure students have equity and access to what it is they need to move forward because so many children in this state already start from behind, at a disadvantage,” he said.

“That may mean in my community I have to give up something so someone else who doesn’t even have the basic necessities gets at least the necessities so that they can move forward,” Garrett said.

Garrett said arts, sports and extracurricular activities, which often are targets when budgets become tight, help students stay engaged and develop a love of learning. When schools can’t offer these programs, they should work with businesses and nonprofit groups to make sure children have these opportunities, he said.

“We keep saying, ‘You need to be prepared for the test,’ but we don’t only just need students who can graduate,” Garrett said. “We need them prepared for life so that they have life experiences and they can transcend and become life-long learners.”

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Web Link:
_ National Parent Teacher Association www.pta.org

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CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-PTA PRESIDENT: Byron V. Garrett, CEO of the National Parent Teacher Association, poses during an appearance Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008, in Scottsdale. In an interview, Garrett said states that don’t continue funding education adequately despite the poor economy will face consequences later such as a lack of competitiveness and higher rates of juvenile crime. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Megan Thomas)