Nicklin 1

Christopher Nicklin

Rebecca Cisneros

English 1A Monday

October 13, 2009

Enhancement #2 Summary and Response

This article, written by Michael Engel, brings to attention different ways to fix

funding in the education system in order to have equality in education throughout the

Unite States. In this article he references that the way America pays for the education

system that makes it so equality in funding cannot be equal. Mainly it is because local

property tax funds schools and property tax varies from district to district. Engel not only

cities funding differences, but also the fact that higher qualified teachers tend to go to

better funded, predominantly Caucasian schools. However, four states have tried to

counteract these inequalities: Hawaii, Kansas, Michigan, and Vermont. In efforts to

remedy this problem Dr. Engel offers the solution of a progressive taxation where school

budgets were solely based on state and local tax rather than property tax. Also schools

that have higher educational costs would be given more.

I have gained a knowledge of how the educational system works as a whole

within America and the differences in funding from state to state. It also gave incite on

how to fix the problem of equality within educational funding in the country. This will

give me useful examples that I can use for an essay. Dr. Engel is a credible author. He has

a Ph.D., which is a good indicator. Also, he has written books on local and state

government and Public Education, which means he probably has a lot of knowledge on

the subject of how schools are funded. This article only deals with facts and the author’s
 Nicklin 2

viewpoint does not come through, which mean the facts are not distorted. The article is

broken up into sections, which make it easier to read through, considering how long it is.

Also there are no confusing details so that helps make the article easier to read. This text

was also written fairly recent so it is relevant. This text also covers a huge amount of

information, which made it extremely comprehensive.

Michael Engel. Dollars & Sense. Somerville: Jan/Feb 2007. , Iss. 269; pg. 20, 6 pgs

Proquest. Periodical. 9 October 2009. <http://0-

proquest.umi.com.library.wvmccd.cc.ca.us/pqdweb?

did=1288762321&sid=3&Fmt=3&clientId=15377&RQT=309&VName=PQD>