No More Excuses...For Anyone Robert F. Sexton, Executive Director, Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, January 3, 2006 For many years it's been "no excuses" for schools. What about "no excuses" for the people who are supposed to fund schools so they can adequately do their job? It's time for some blunt talk. A national report recently put another unflattering spotlight on Kentucky: it is one of few states that have not adequately funded their preschool programs. Ten years ago Kentucky was a national leader in preschool education. If ever there was a program of proven effectiveness - one that is especially important for poor and minority children which Kentucky has in abundance - this is it. Preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds saves taxpayers more than $10 in future costs for every $1 invested. Our legislators and governor know this. Another report shows Kentucky dropping to nearly last in the nation in school technology after making a big splash in 1992. Back then we were near the top in the nation. We made a promise to keep school technology up-to-date and to train people to use it. But we didn't keep our promise. We hear blunt language from the University of Kentucky President Lee T. Todd, Jr. "You said you wanted a top-ranking public university," I heard him saying to the legislature, "so where's the investment to do it?" Good teaching and cutting edge research - the things that have created wealth in states like North Carolina and Georgia - require investments, ones that we haven't made. According to Census data published in Governing Magazine, Kentucky's investment in K-12 schools compared to our ability to invest (the wealth we have) has sunk to 50th in the nation. We invest between $800 and $1,400 less per student every year than other states, depending on what measure you use. That's between $500 million and $1 billion short. On other measures we're so close to the bottom that debate is pointless - much like debating whether the Titanic sank in 20 minutes or 10 minutes. And a new business group, the Business Forum on Kentucky Education, has declared its commitment to improving schools. It has produced a raft of valuable reform recommendations. The group was cautious when asked what the recommendations would cost, but its chairman acknowledges that "there's no question that education is under-funded in Kentucky" and long-time education leader David Jones, co-founder and chairman emeritus of Humana Inc., candidly says "You can't do this with corn flakes." Nobody claims that education's challenges will be solved solely by more money. But people who think we can make great strides without investing are kidding themselves. Improving education is important for the entire Commonwealth. So says Governor Fletcher's Economic Development Cabinet, where officials say that an educated workforce is the key to economic development. The "no excuses" era for schools began in 1990 when, for the first time in history, we started measuring student achievement and holding schools accountable for it. The school leader who doesn't know that proficiency for all students has to be achieved by 2014 has been living on Mars. "No excuses" accountability is not perfect, and many parents still hear excuses from their schools. But the culture of accountability for student learning is strongly taking hold. On the other hand, the state's constitution says "the General Assembly shall provide for an efficient system of common schools throughout the State." This sounds to me like "no excuses" for the legislature, and that's what the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled in 1989. The legislature made a big commitment to funding the reforms it enacted in the 1990s. But since then, public school funding has been flat compared to the Consumer Price Index. There have been, in effect, no increases - and often decreases - in the programs (like technology in schools) that everybody knows are required to really improve Kentucky education. Legislators note that they increased the funding formula in 2005, and they did, but it wasn't nearly enough to make up for previous cuts despite pushing from legislators who hoped for stronger education investments. It's time to be direct. Do we want first-rate schools or don't we? Do we want universities that produce top talent and top ideas or not? Did we really mean it when we said we want all children learning at high levels? Do we want to break with our lackluster educational past or not? If you look at what's happening in Frankfort, it's not clear that the answer to any of these questions is "yes." We've had the chance to step up and choose a better future before and backed off. It's obvious that some people think that we should back off again. Maybe excellence is just too hard. Columnist David Brooks says that a "brackish tide of pessimism has descended upon the country" as political leaders fail to address the real problems people have. As a certifiable optimist, I hate to say this, but Frankfort's paralysis is a genuine test. Nobody seems able to forge consensus even when they know it's needed. Excuses rule. It's time for a new approach.