Smart Spending Called For — EDUCATION & HEALTH
Here is the latest information on Education Savings Accounts as they apply in the US. — ESAs: The Next Generation of School Choice, Oct 2015
http://static.excelined.org/wp-content/uploads/ESAs-the-NextGen-of-School-Choice-FINAL.pdf 30 pg
“Vouchers and tax-credit scholarships are like the rotary phone: great at making phone calls, but that is all they can do. ESAs are like smartphones: they can make phone calls, but you can use them to do your banking, shopping, search for businesses, and much more.
ESAs “The key here is customization. Parents are no longer relegated to School A or School B. A child can attend a private school and receive speech therapy, or learn math and science online, English and history at home, be tutored twice a week, and deposit remaining funds into a college savings account. Through an ESA, education is no longer “use it or lose it.” Parents decide where the best values are; they have the ability to direct their child’s funds in the most efficient way.” (P17)
HEALTH — With changing demographics the two big pulls on public funds are still education and health. But, the growing proportion of seniors and concomitant demands on services are overtaking the funding demands for education of the young. This US report demonstrates in another way why education spending has to be more efficient and accountable — http://excelined.org/FacetheStrain/ 2pg brief, 100 pg Report
“Turn and Face the Strain: Age Demographic Change and the Near Future of American Education outlines a fierce battle looming between the needs of public health care and education. A crisis is fast approaching that makes comprehensive improvement of America’s public schools more important than ever.”
The same realities are evident in Canada. We must have more public conversations about effectiveness and efficiency in our public services.