if we want proper funding for Pa. public schools, we just need to turn them into prisons [View all]

[JPZenger]

http://stoganews.com/2012/03/op-ed/school-budget-cuts-wrongly-punish-students/

Excerpts:

"Nathan Bootz... proposed in a letter to the editor that schools should be turned into prisons. I completely agree. ... on the bright side, according to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett’s new budget plan, turning schools into prisons allows them to receive more funding, remedying the increasing budget deficit that many districts ... currently face. That’s why I also propose the School Districst turn their schools into prisons.

...While schools are in dire need of revenue to maintain high educational standards, instead of allocating more money to the state’s education system, Gov. Corbett announced in his 2012 budget address that the bloated prison budget would remain intact. As $264 million is cut from education and medical assistance, the Department of Corrections’ $1.8 billion budget remained unscathed following last year’s 11 percent funding increase. Another $685 million is being invested in the expansion of Pennsylvania’s prison system.

While the state spends about $32,059 annually per inmate...In addition, students will also be provided with free dental care, free health insurance, laundry services, three meals a day, funding to earn a degree and free housing, without having to sacrifice the facilities already accessible at school like Internet access, library access, computer labs and weight rooms.

Some may argue that putting all students behind bars is unjust. However, without proper opportunities offered to students through education to keep them away from violence and from making bad decisions, there’s an increased risk of illicit behavior. Thus it’s very likely that most will end up in prison one day or another. And since Pennsylvania’s incarceration rate is increasing faster than any other in the nation, it’s much easier and more economically prudent to put all students in prison instead of using money and resources to track them down after they’ve committed a crime."