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Spending doesn't guarantee student success, study says

TaxWatch's study finds Florida, 43rd in spending, is 30th in performance.

By CARRIE JOHNSON
Published February 17, 2005

TALLAHASSEE - The link between education spending and student performance is weak, says a study released Wednesday by a business-funded group, but critics said the findings defy common sense.

TaxWatch found Florida students outranked those in 12 other states where spending on education was higher. The study compared per pupil spending with results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

"This shows that money is important, but you cannot buy success," said Betty Coxe, executive director of the Florida TaxWatch Center for Educational Performance.

But a spokesman for the teachers union dismissed the finding. "If that's the case, they should go buy a high-performing Kia and expect it to be just as good as a Mercedes or a BMW," said Mark Pudlow, spokesman for the Florida Education Association.

The study focused on the 2000-01 school year, when Florida ranked 43rd in the nation in annual spending per pupil, with about $6,143. It ranked 30th in student performance.

States should focus more attention on whether public dollars are spent wisely, particularly on teachers' salaries, TaxWatch said.

"The major difference between mediocrity and excellence in education is leadership, not money," said Tom Slade, chairman of Tax Watch's education advisory committee. "Show me an outstanding teacher and I'll show you a great classroom."

But Pudlow and other education officials said TaxWatch's findings were inconclusive. The group did not consider factors such as cost of living or the amount spent on special needs programs.

"Definitely, further research will need to look into that," said Janet Herndon, the TaxWatch research analyst who prepared the study. "This study was not meant to be exhaustive."

Most of the states that ranked highest in student performance spent more per pupil and those that ranked lower spent less.

TaxWatch describes itself as a nonpartisan government watchdog group, although it has been criticized recently for being too cozy with the business establishment.

Its leadership includes executives of some of Florida's most influential businesses, including the vice chairman of Publix Supermarkets and the vice president for governmental relations for Prudential Financial.

The report comes two days after Gov. Jeb Bush unveiled a plan to soften the state's voter-mandated constitutional amendment to lower class size. Bush said he wants to use money saved by his proposal to raise teacher salaries.

Dominic Calabro, president of TaxWatch, said his group has always opposed the class size cap. But he said the report had no influence on Bush's decision and wasn't shown to him until after his proposal was announced.

Wayne Blanton, director of the Florida School Boards Association, said he was pleased the report showed Florida's students were performing well but he disagreed with its conclusions.

"It's great we're doing well now," Blanton said. "Imagine how well we would do with adequate funding."

--Carrie Johnson can be reached at 850 224-7263 or cjohnson@sptimes.com

[Last modified February 17, 2005, 01:20:09]