Why Do Tax Dollars Fund Educators’ Salaries?
The interrogative question came to my attention the other day in a conversation with a friend and former colleague. She replied to me during a conversation, “The school day is not all about performance.” Now, let’s be clear by defining performance in the public schools, at least from my point of view of the discussion. I define performance as both academic and social growth of children, Now, unfortunately, I have heard her rational and similar statements concerning any metric of academic analysis, especially on standardized assessments, uttered on many occasions by school administrators over the last three decades. But what could be the rational on student performance when administrators receive handsome annual salaries, and now, finally, Texas teachers do as well with the possibility of lucrative incentive pay that extends for five years.
I believe there are two primary reasons at play that give understanding to my former colleague’s statement on performance. Let’s dig deeper into each one of them.
First, I know for a fact that this administrator’s school has not been performing well on standard academic assessments in recent years, and moreover, since it is October as I am writing this piece, they are confident that trend will continue next April and May. Historical data indicate that many Title 1 campuses, like hers, have consistently underperformed on standardized academic assessments for decades. Given the current mid-October timeline, I believe she anticipates this trend will persist in the upcoming spring assessment cycle. An analysis of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) results for spring 2026 for grades 3–5 listed below highlight the validity of her concerns. While the examinations are objectively fair and well-constructed, they require students to demonstrate a sophisticated mastery of grade-level curriculum standards across reading, mathematics, and science. Without strategic interventions in instructional delivery, target refinement, and supplemental resource allocation, elementary administrators (like her) face another challenging testing cycle. Her campus does not know how and subsequently, has not implemented those strategic interventions. To contextualize these ongoing challenges, the Spring 2026 Texas STAAR passing rates for reading, math, and science are detailed below:
Math: On the 2026 elementary school exams, the student baseline sat at approximately 60% correct responses to 'Meet Grade Level' expectations.
Third Grade Math: 44% of students MET grade-level expectations.
Fourth Grade Math: 49% of students MET grade-level expectations.
Fifth Grade Math: 47% of students MET grade-level expectations.
Reading: On the 2026 elementary school exams, the student baseline sat at approximately 50% correct responses to 'Meet Grade Level' expectations
Third Grade Reading: 49% of students MET grade-level expectations.
Fourth Grade Reading: 52% of students MET grade-level expectations.
Fifth Grade Reading: 54% of students MET grade-level expectations.
Science: On the 2026 fifth grade exam, the student baseline sat at approximately 63% correct responses to 'Meet Grade Level' expectatioon.
Fifth Grade Science: 36% of students MET grade-level expectations.
This statewide dataset includes both the approximate 60% of Title I elementary campuses as well as the remaining 40% of medium- and high-socioeconomic schools. The subpar student outcomes underscore when these distinct groups are averaged together, the baseline proficiency is significantly lowered due to the inclusion of low-income children test results. In short, a high concentration of students attending Title I campuses inevitably and dramatically shifts the overall student passing rates downward, masking a much higher comparative failure rate on low-income campuses on the 2026 STAAR assessments.
My administrator friend does have a self-effacing basis to make a statement that the school day is not all about student performance when the past student outcomes in the vast number of elementary schools tend to foretell unpleasant assessment future tidings. Consequently, she is probably correct in believing that the results at her campus are likely to be substandard (again) in about 6 months. However much I disagree with it when her campus has none-to-little strategic implementation to change those outcomes, she is still entitled to hold that perspective.
On a larger point of academic focus, the 2026 STAAR metrics cited above do not represent an anomaly. In light of this underwhelming performance, Title 1 school administrators should systematically evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of their instructional and resource practices as well as their methodology to directly address academic numeracy and literacy gaps.
Second, I think she embeds her perspective on performance in the famous quote by science fiction author Robert A. Heinlen, “Man is Not a rational animal; he is a rationalizing animal.” Since performance, past or future is not a rosy picture to behold at her campus, I believe she justifies a very narrow, bureaucratic definition of ‘performance,’ likely conflating it with the stresses of high-stakes standardized testing or treating school as a theatrical show rather than a place of learning. All human beings of any age want to excel at any given task they care passionately and deeply about. When they struggle, they frequently rationalize the situation or their involvement to alleviate their own accountability.
Conclusions
I believe that my definition of performance, the academic and social growth of children is exactly why tax dollars fund public education. Public schools cost billions upon billions upon billions in tax dollars in each state to operate each school year. Consequently, a campus’ overall performance is the active, measurable academic and social growth of children, and personnel need to be held accountable due to the investment of public funds. Of course, this views a school’s perspective in terms of outcomes and progress. Basically, if kids aren't actively growing, moving forward, and demonstrating capabilities, what is the point of the school day? Moreover, from a public policy and economic standpoint, tax dollars do not fund schools just to keep children occupied for seven hours a day. They fund schools to achieve specific, measurable outcomes that benefit society as a whole.
