America spends too much on K-12 education<\/a>. The evidence deserves a closer look.<\/p>\nSanzi is a Rhode Island-based spokesperson for the Virginia advocacy organization Defending Education, a group that promotes public funding for private-school options. Ironically, Defending Education does not make defending public education its mission. Now its communications director argues public education is overfunded. One might reasonably ask whether \u201cDefending Education\u201d could more accurately be called \u201cDefunding Education.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanzi also suggests declining public-school enrollment reflects families leaving for private schools, homeschooling, microschools and other alternatives. But national data tell a more complicated story. From 2019 to 2023, public-school enrollment declined 2.5%, driven largely by a 4.5% decline in pre-K\u20138 enrollment; high-school enrollment increased about 2%. Demographics matter: U.S. births have fallen about 17% since their 2007 peak. Private-school enrollment was essentially unchanged between 2019 and 2021. Homeschooling increased, but by far less than the overall public-school decline. This hardly suggests a mass exodus.<\/p>\n
Most importantly, higher spending does not prove excessive spending.<\/p>\n
The 2026 School Finance Indicators Database raises almost the opposite concern: Florida and 41 other states devote a smaller share of their economies to public schools than before the Great Recession, and 10 states \u2014 including Florida \u2014 have at least half their students in districts among the nation\u2019s most severely underfunded.<\/p>\n
The better question is whether we adequately fund the education we expect our schools to provide.<\/p>\n
\u2014\u00a0Sue Woltanski, Tavernier<\/p>\n
Sports reveal character<\/p>\n
During Saturday\u2019s college football game between Tennessee and Texas, a Texas player celebrated a quarterback sack by simulating the act of urinating on the field. As a lifelong football fan, what troubled me was not merely the gesture itself, but the larger question it raises.<\/p>\n
What produces a mindset that thinks such behavior is acceptable in the first place? What was missing in this young man\u2019s development that left him unable to distinguish between competitive celebration and public disrespect? Where did the village fail? Was it parents who never taught manners and self-control? Coaches who valued performance over character? A culture that rewards attention more than integrity?<\/p>\n
We often say sports build character. In truth, sports reveal character, and coaches help shape what character becomes. The issue is not merely the gesture. The issue is the message. It says that humiliation of an opponent is acceptable entertainment.<\/p>\n
Equally troubling is what happened afterward. The player remained in the game. Later, the apology appeared reluctant and lacked genuine remorse. He smirked during the entire apology. Those in leadership seemed more concerned with minimizing the incident than confronting it. That sends its own message: if your talent is valuable enough, standards become flexible.<\/p>\n
This is bigger than one athlete, one football team, or one game. It is a question of what we are teaching young people. Are we developing disciplined men of character, or are we excusing poor behavior as long as the scoreboard is favorable?<\/p>\n
Talent can win games. Character determines whether those victories are worthy of respect.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Mary Scott, Plant City<\/p>\n
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