4 ms·
The quality of schools varies greatly from county to county, city to city. North Carolina has (apparently) excellent public schools... if you are in one of the
by nihilocrat 17y ago
The quality of schools varies greatly from county to county, city to city. North Carolina has (apparently) excellent public schools... if you are in one of the major cities.
I looked at his original article and I'm thinking there's some kind of cost of living he's not accounting for. California has higher per capita income and spends more because it's extremely expensive to buy things there, pay teacher salaries, etc., compared to Texas. Effectively, California might be spending less. Maybe he's adjusting for that behind the scenes, but it's not obvious, it sounds like he is using raw figures.
- 3pt14159 17y agoThere is absolutely a cost of living problem in California, but who's fault is that? Houses in Texas cost 1/2 to 1/4 their California counterparts for a reason. The point is that Texas has held a pretty fiscally conservative line in the past decades while allowing a pretty liberal zoning policy, this allows them to afford proper education because teachers don't need crazy high pay for houses that are in short supply.
- nihilocrat 17y agoThat could be very true, but it's not the point he's trying to make. He is using spending figures as if they were on equal footing: Just look at Texas, which spends 12 percent less per pupil with a similar kind of population but does significantly better educating its kids. I see no discussion of cost of living, fiscal policies, or zoning.
- joe_the_user 17y agoI don't see the original article providing any evidence for it's assertion.