Underfunding schools is an injustice to kids

By Arin Haas| 9/28/2023

Re: “The hidden price tag of California’s public schools” (Page A1, Sept. 17).

Public education is supposed to be a free education. It is outrageous that outside of taxes parents are expected to fund extracurriculars for their children when it’s not their financial responsibility. Schools should be funded enough to support their athletic departments and additional student activities. It’s unfair to expect that every parent is able to financially support additional fees for their kids to participate fully in school. The system is backward, and it directly targets low-income students and people of color.

The education system has always been a system of oppression from the Jim Crow era until today, especially in California since Proposition 13. The unjust practice of underfunding schools is outdated and inexcusable when we now have better and more equitable options like taxing large corporations. It is time to reform our education system and promote a more equitable and just way of learning and of funding our public schools.