Examine how public education is a function of state and local government.

The provision of public education has long been a primarily local government function in the United States of America. This stems from the reality that those who are closer to and more connected with students are better prepared to serve their educational needs effectively. Given the high priority on public education in our political system, special governmental units—school districts—are established across the country to manage and operate schools.

School districts are significantly important sub-state governments, equally important as county and city governments. School district boundaries often cross city and county lines, and, in high-population areas, there are usually more school districts than city or county governments. (There are about 15,000 school districts in the United States.) Unlike city and county governments, the scope of a school district’s political authority is very narrow. However, the financial impact of a school district’s activities often dwarfs that of cities and counties. About 40 percent of all state and local government spending goes toward public education. About half of that money is raised directly by school districts through property taxes.

School districts, usually headed by popularly elected school boards and superintendents, are responsible for the management and operation of the public schools within their jurisdiction. School boards have the authority to establish property tax rates, usually without consultation with city or county governments. While states exert some oversight and control, school districts have primary responsibility and authority to hire teachers, build and operate schools, and see that education standards are met. State and federal government policies, however, can significantly impact how school districts see to these responsibilities. States often establish education attainment standards (through testing or course requirements) and create guidelines for teacher qualifications. The federal government has established equality standards requiring public schools to accommodate students with disabilities and to provide nutritional assistance to low-income students. While the national government provides some resources for these initiatives, states and school districts share part of the burden.

In addition to these federally established equality guidelines, state legislatures and state educational agencies have also made efforts to promote equity in public education across school districts. One of the most popular yet controversial policy initiatives has been to equalize the amount of money available for capital expenditures (buildings, facilities, and equipment) between rich and poor school districts. States uniformly provide a roughly equal amount for operating expenses to school districts on a per student basis. However, in most states there are often significant differences in capital budgets between large, wealthy districts and smaller, less well-off districts. At the center of debates over the fairness of such policies, you will find parents who believe that their tax dollars should directly benefit their children in their schools, not other children in other schools. This issue is emblematic of the tension that exists as states attempt to ensure that children receive a consistently good public education in schools administered by local, often independent school districts that raise much of their own money through local property taxes.

The tug-of-war between central and local control in public education is also much like the struggles to find the right balance between national and state control on hundreds of public policy issues. At the end of the day, there are no clear “best” answers or solutions. What matters most is that individual citizens pay attention, participate in the process, and help shape public policy solutions that work for them and their communities.