NO. 2: The Failing Public School System

Ed's Note:Back to the problems of Black America.

Desegregation of the public schools was thought to be a positive thing. Black kids would be afforded the same opportunities as their white counterparts. All would be well.

Nope.

With whites sprawling to the suburbs during much of the last quarter of the 20th Century, schools are nearly as segregated as they were in 1960, about when my parents started school. Worse than that, there's little money in the inner-city public school system, and maybe even less hope.

Every year inner-city schools are dissolving their arts and sports programs just to create an operating budget that doesn't leave them in the red a year's end.

No Child Left Behind has left plenty of children behind simply because the system isn't fair. (Without me going to far into it, you should be able to read between the lines and see that inner-city and black are damn near interchangeable.)

The Solution: I believe the funding for public schools shouldn't be broken down by counties. I think all of the money - locally and at a state level - dedicated in a state to the K-12 public school system should be spread equally. In some ways it sounds illogical, but if you see how inferior inner-city schools are in comparison with their suburban counterparts you too would think that some of the suburban money should be spent in the heart of the city.

Or maybe mayors, councilmen and councilmen need attempt to increase taxes (the random ones like the hotel and car rental taxes that hit up out of towners) within the cities specifically for the local schools. They find the money to build new stadiums, they should do the same for the real future of their cities, the people.

Money talks, and if there was a sincere (monetary) effort put into the inner-city public school systems, there might be some effective change. Instead our local governments tax us more and more year in and out for what? To build new professional sports arenas and complexes for billionaires to make more money. There are new sports arenas and stadiums in the vicinity of every major city in America replacing older (but still functioning) counterparts, and the city schools? Yeah. Right.

There something gravely wrong with this picture. Don't you think?