We are in danger of producing an educated proletariat … That’s dynamite!” These were the words of Roger A. Freeman, a key educational adviser to Ronald Reagan, defending the decision to shut down several public universities in California following student protests in 1970. His statement reflects a historical fear — and at times, hope — among the powerful: that education, when accessible to the masses, becomes a tool for reshaping society. Through-out history, efforts to control education have emerged in various forms — from defunding public schools to censoring curricula —all in an attempt to dictate who gets to learn and who gets to lead.
As new leadership enters office, bills that can determine the fate of the modern education system are on constant watch for public districts nationwide. Many states have implemented voucher programs, diverting funding to private and religious schools, and some have shown support for the dissolution of the Department of Education as a whole.
Today, new legislation and the expanding school choice movement present a double-edged sword. Certain components could potentially expand educational opportunities, while others could divert resources and limit access. Ultimately, the battle over education remains as much about money as it is about learning.
On the dime
During the infancy of the U.S., education was a haphazard ordeal. Children were educated through a mix of methods, from private “dame schools” run by women to traveling tutors. It wasn’t until the 1830s that Massachusetts legislator Horace Mann advocated for free, state-funded schools, believing education would create moral and productive citizens, that public schooling became the norm.
“An educated public serves two functions,” instructional coach Rebecca Rubin-Schlanksy said. “First, [it] is vital for a healthy democracy — if we are to disagree, we cannot do that from a place of ignorance. Second, [it] is an embodiment of our government’s responsibility to its citizenry to protect inalienable rights.”
Before the Civil War, public school funding came from taxes on liquor, theater and lotteries, but as the need for an educated workforce grew, lawmakers sought steadier funding. Today, public schools are funded through a combination of federal, state and local sources, with local property taxes typically providing the most stable revenue. State funding, from sales and income taxes, is subject to fluctuation and In Missouri, which ranks 49th in school funding from state sources.This instability contributes to disparities between wealthy and low-income communities.
As the need for an educated workforce grew, lawmakers sought more stable funding. Today, public schools are funded by federal, state, and local sources, with local property taxes providing the most stable revenue. In Missouri, which ranks 49th in state funding, this instability worsens disparities between wealthy and low-income communities.
“[Some] districts that don’t have a robust tax base rely on the state, and the expenditure per pupil is then much lower,” social studies teacher Meg Kaupp said.
Per pupil expenditure is a metric calculated by taking the total amount of money a district spends on students and dividing it by the number of students in the district. However, funding allocation is far more complex. At the heart of Missouri’s school funding formula is the state adequacy target (SAT), which was set to $6,375 in 2006 as the minimum cost to provide a quality education. Two decades later, education costs have nearly doubled, but the SAT remains unchanged.
“The governor said [the formula is] broken, [and] I agree,” Assistant Superintendent for Business & Finance Geoff Macy said. “But unless they put more money into the formula, it’s always going to be the same amount of money just redistributed. So, have you created more winners? Or have you just shifted money from one district to another district, and you have more people that are losing?”
On the floor
In recent months, various levels of government are reassessing how funding is spent and distributed. Public School funding is often on the chopping block in order to free up cash for the individual’s benefit. Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe introduced an updated budget that falls $300 million short of fully funding the formula after making claims that he is not seeing “acceptable” results from it. At Ladue, daily needs for students would be impacted by such policies.
“Income [tax reductions] would impact our transportation,” Macy said. “Right now we receive approximately $1,000,000 to support transportation. It’s about a $1.4 million operation, but that $1,000,000 does help us. The first line item the governor cuts is transportation so if income tax is reduced, the most immediate impact to us would be a reduction in our transportation revenues.”
At a local level, residential property taxes currently make up a large percent of school district revenue, and the assessment value rate, a value used to determine how much of a property’s market value is subject to taxes, currently lies at 19%. Proposed Senate Bill 87 would decrease this to assessment value to 17%, which would result in a 10.5% decrease in property tax, ultimately leading to a 9.86% drop in projected revenue for the school district.
“There is a desire to cut property taxes or cap them,” Phillys Pasley, Director of the Missouri Arts Alliance for Education said. “The people who are bringing this about are operating under the belief that by putting more dollars into each individual’s pocket, the benefits are going to outweigh the programs that will be cut because [property tax revenue] is no longer available.”
In just the first months of 2025, Missouri lawmakers have filed over 100 bills impacting education. While current bills like Senate Bill 87 raise a broad concern due to their direct impact, bills that could indirectly affect education are on constant watch for the school board and administration.
“It’s that old fable of ‘The boy who cried wolf’ every time [a new bill is proposed],” Dr. Wipke, Superintendent of Ladue Schools said. “Our families get panicked, then it never even gets out of [committee], and you’ve caused all that worry. We listen to our educational lobbyist and say ‘we’re probably going to need to inform our Board of Education on this.’ So then we’ll sit down and do some board reports. We have a weekend update and always have a little thing about legislation. We don’t want to overwhelm our community, but we want to let them know.”
A recent headliner of board discussions has been House Bill 711, which deals with open enrollment. The idea behind it is to allow students to travel outside of their designated district, expanding educational opportunities. Because the state-issued financial support for a student follows them to the next district, this could create an entirely new point of contention for lower income Public Schools.
“So, the kids that can leave, leave, and then what does it leave behind in terms of finances? Because their money is leaving that district as well,” Dr. Wipke said. “You’re essentially causing a situation where districts that are already struggling will probably collapse.”
Public Education is under scrutiny on a National scale as well. Many states have implemented voucher programs, diverting public funding to Private and religious schools, and some have shown support for the dissolution of the Department of Education as a whole. In January 2025, Thomas Massie reintroduced House of Representatives bill 899, with the simple goal of terminating the DOE.
“If the United States Department of Education (DOE) went away, it would have definite impacts on our state Department of Education. It would be a big mess because we’ve built these structures to help us function. In order to be prepared for success, guidelines and funding come from the federal government and through the DOE are dispersed to local education agency groups. The students still have needs [and] we’re going to be struggling to meet them with fewer resources.”
On the Move
As legislation increasingly focuses on expanding school choice, many see charter schools as alternatives amid concerns over an allegedly ineffective public education system. Charter schools are free, publicly funded institutions that operate independently, allowing for greater experimentation with teaching methods and curricula. They must meet specific goals set in a contract, or “charter,” overseen by an authorizer like a state agency. They often receive funding from private entities, leading to the belief that they will be able to level the playing field for kids living in less affluent areas.
“School choice being a matter of fairness is an oxymoron,” Calvino Hammerman (10) said. “Also, everyone already has a choice. I went to private school for elementary school. My parents chose that. In the current proposals, school choice legislation would only be applicable for people who could have already afforded private school. It is not enough money to fully subsidize an education. The possible mixing of state funds in private religious schools is not fair to the Missouri tax payer. The constitution lays out the separation of church and state, and this would not follow that.”
Despite critiques, Jesse Dixon, a partner at the Opportunity Trust, a St. Louis nonprofit supporting charter schools, believes this model isn’t as harmful as some claim.
“Charters are generally no better or worse than district schools,” Opportunity Trust partner Jesse Dixon said. “We end up spending quite a bit of money on charter schools in my organization, because the district isn’t getting better in St. Louis City. If we want better educational out-
comes for kids, we can’t influence the elected board of the district. With charters, we can decide tomorrow if we want to do something new. They were originally invented as ‘laboratories of innovation ‘. Because they don’t have a publicly elected board, they can just move quickly and try new things.”
The growth of charters, with enrollment increasing by nearly 400,000 students in the last five years, often comes at a cost to public schools. With limited budgets and declining enrollment, public schools risk losing funding and teachers.
“The single loudest anti-charter voice is the teacher unions,” Dixon said. “For them, every charter school that opens and fills 300 seats means 300 fewer seats in district schools. They argue that charter schools hurt districts, but they also create competition that compels districts to improve.”
The argument that competition from charter schools translates to improved public districts is a common one. The most recent study to reinforce these claims comes from Brown University in 2024 which sampled charters in 12 districts in Florida as well as their public schools districts. The study ultimately found that charter school presence improved reading scores and absenteeism in their respective public districts. However, limited research and the lack of safety guards for students remaining in districts still leave many uncertain.
“In my opinion, most, not all, but most charter schools don’t have a solid plan for longevity,” Wipke said. And in my opinion, I would consider it a little bit of a money grab.”
The latest national study on charters from Stanford University has found that the typical charter student had reading gains that outpaced their peers in the public schools they would have otherwise attended. However, the fact remains that a quarter of charter schools close within their first five years of operation.
“If the argument is we can turn charter schools faster, why do you need to turn a school that you just started?” Wipke said. “I don’t understand why we need to change something when we just got started. If we are constantly innovating, then what are we ever getting done?”
On the ground
While many adults devote their career to advocating for equitable access to education,student voices provide a personalized perspective when having conversations with state and federal legislators.
“I walk into a state representative’s office and I say my part and give my information, and the response is ‘uh huh,’” Pasley said. “If a student walks into that same office, with the same message, they hear it completely differently. Student voices are incredibly powerful, especially when that student is sharing information from their lived experience.”
While it may be easy to become despondent and remain ignorant to issues relating to the subsistence of the education system, nothing will change if students’ stories go untold.
“I got involved in advocacy because I care about the world around me and I have a lot of opinions on what’s happening in the world,” Hammerman said. “I learned at a young age that change happens when you talk to people in power, and that’s exactly what advocacy is.”
The accessibility of education is ultimately a determinant of humanity’s future and of each student’s future. Advocating for and working to learn about education and how it is funded allows young people to take control of their lives.
“Not every [student] feels comfortable going up to an adult and saying ‘here’s what you need to do, here’s why,’” Pasley said. “When students become more aware of the structures in place and the role they can play, everybody wins. They develop the skills to ask for what they want, and be able to defend it.”
