LETER: Non-educational demands on schools claim much funding

To Ozaukee Press:

Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos lamented the essentially flat test scores of Wisconsin school children. He also wondered “how recent increases in K-12 funding have been spent, given students’ scores.”

It is worthwhile to consider the circumstances from which the children come. Then it is good to realize that schools are spending significant dollars on security measures of great variety and cost, as well as on the personnel to provide safety. These measures, while important, do not easily translate into higher test scores.

It was decided years ago that competition among schools would bring them to a better place. So, then came vouchers, charters and public-school open enrollment. If a school was to compete, then it certainly had to at least keep up with its neighbors.

For instance, if a nearby school got artificial turf for the football field, its neighbors would have to keep up. Then, of course, the question arises about soccer, softball, and on it goes. The same can happen throughout the entire curriculum and extracurricular programs.

Everything we expect of schools will not necessarily improve test scores.

Karl Hertz
Thiensville