Local people have to care enough to make sure that reforms take place. Sending federal help to school districts that already waste their own resources is just throwing good money after bad. Third, and most important, Washington is not in a position to decide what is best for all American school kids. What is good for students in Little Falls, Minnesota, might not be best for students in Los Angeles. There are few issues more important to America's future than education.
Democracy works only when voters are educated and informed.
Yet many people say that the U.S. government should just turn its back on education and leave it alone. Their main argument is that schools should not depend on U.S. government money. Many studies do indeed show that money alone does not create good schools and that the attitudes of students, parents, and teachers matter most. Federal budget cuts will devastate poor school districts. Many of them cannot afford adequate schools, let alone good ones.