Too much money is going to overhead. We need to measure where funds most help students.
We're professionals from different backgrounds: one a Democrat and education reformer, the other a Republican comptroller of public accounts for Texas. We may not agree on everything, but we are coming together around two common beliefs.
We both believe that nothing is more important to America's economic future than a world-class public education system. We also believe that limited education dollars should be invested in proven programs that benefit kids, not in unnecessary administration, overhead or red tape.
Today we're spending more than $600 billion a year in public schools across the country, and few of us are happy with the results. Over the last five decades, in fact, U.S. education spending has skyrocketed by 350%, yet achievement levels have remained stagnant.
It is hard to argue that those dollars are being spent in a way that prioritizes children. Between 1992 and 2009, administrative staffing rose nearly three times as fast as the number of students. There's no evidence that this astonishing increase in administrative overhead did anything to improve student achievement.
Nationwide, schools report that only 51% of education dollars actually make their way into classrooms. This has to change. Streamlining the bureaucracy and strengthening local control will help ensure that taxpayer dollars are used to benefit students in schools, not adults in administration buildings.
The good news is that across America, we see promising examples of leaders bucking the system to get better results for taxpayers.
Shared services and partnerships are one way do more with less. In New Jersey, the Sussex County Regional Cooperative provides coordinated transportation services for more than 70 school districts, slashing costs by half. In Texas, the Cedar Hill school district collaborated with city government to build a shared office complex that saved $1 million in construction costs and $50,000 in annual operating costs.
Some districts are making education dollars go further through energy conservation. Loudon County, Va., schools saved more than $51 million over 20 years through an energy monitoring program. Even measures as simple as turning off lights and lowering shades can produce more dollars for the classroom. Pennsylvania's Council Rock School District cut its energy costs by more than $7 million with similar measures.
Another priority should be strengthening transparency in education spending. In an age of unparalleled communication, we should be able to develop new methods to see exactly how spending impacts performance in the classroom.
Texas has taken an important step forward by creating the Financial Allocation Study for Texas (FAST), a project that gauges how school districts and campuses spend their money, and how that spending compares with student achievement.
Now in its third year, FAST identifies which schools -- and which strategies -- are showing strong academic growth and an efficient use of financial resources. This is a critical link often missing in other states. While we often focus on how much schools are spending, it's also important to know how well they are using taxpayer dollars.
There is no reason the FAST model can't be replicated in Pennsylvania, Iowa, Michigan, South Carolina, Tennessee and other states where legislatures have expressed interest.
True accountability, however, only comes when parents and concerned citizens get involved. Attend school board and PTA meetings. Ask questions. Write letters. Demand results. Discover what data are available, and push for more transparency from your school district if you're not satisfied with what it's sharing.
You have a right to know how your education tax dollars are being used in schools, and the results you're getting for the investment. The quality of public education will determine our nation's future, and it absolutely depends on your involvement.
Michelle Rhee, a former chancellor of the Washington, D.C., school system, is founder and CEO of StudentsFirst, a grassroots educational reformmovement. Susan Combs is Texas comptroller of public accounts, a statewide elected position.
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