Over the last few year the economy has struggled, which has caused us as a society to review our spending habits, especially when it comes to public dollars. Tax rolls have shrunk and some hard decisions need to be made. How to we balance government budgets? Tax increases or drastic budget cuts? As one of the biggest items on the governmental balance sheet, education is often a focus for serious financial reform.
Financial reform is driving a deep review of education beyond the dollars involved. Because the curriculum is so tied to the dollars, many are calling for a new leaner, streamline educational system that will cost less and perform better. With several years of standardized testing on the books now the “underperforming” schools are identifiable and action is required. School budgets have been cut incrementally for years and now greater cuts are being called for to mend our dollar deficiency. What is the solution? Run schools like a business! (this is also being pushed in government as well and it is wrong for the same reasons) School are not a business and using this mentality to drive change in education will harm not only our educational system but our society.
The core goal of a business is to make a profit… an economic engine, without this it is something else. While some businesses may start out with other motivations, it will have to make money to continue. So, business is driven by the dollar. When we think about education many would portray a mismanaged financial mess and that is likely the case in some instances, but not all. Applying business practices may seem the logical chose to correct the financial imbalance. But the reason many schools are struggling is because they are asked to do more with less, and not because they have squandered their “profits.” Where businesses strive to profit, schools are striving to strengthen our society by enriching our community through the enlightenment of our children.
Schools are not in the business of financial profit, they are the necessary function of our society. Without a strong educational system our nation fails to compete in the new global market. Our population is facing a global challenges, the US does not exist in a bubble we need to have a productive population. Schools can instill creativity, knowledge, and critical thinking skills into our students to create a productive population that can adapt to change. How to we completely measure these skills and at what point is there a profit. Schools should not have an open checkbook, but they should be financed in an appropriate manner that reduces barriers to the educational process. Most schools are in the “business” of educating but there are a some that strive for profit.
The for-profit schools like the University of Phoenix and some of the K-12 charter schools exist to make a profit. While they may tout “customer service” this is a conflict of interests between educating their customers and producing a profit for share holders. Who takes priority? It would seem the share holders are the priority with all the inquires in to the practices of the for-profit schools. Poor recruiting practices and employment outlook for expensive degrees are among the questionable aspects of these schools. This issues seem to be directly a result of running an educational institution like a business.
I could go on but keep in mind… business is business and not education, lets not confuse the two.