This year will be the third year that congress has cut back funding for public schools. After taking responsibility for funding public schools a decade ago, the congress has cut the national public school system's budget again. The cuts have reduced public school funding by twenty percent. This cut not being the only major one in recent years. Other services like health care and wellfare have also been cut significantly.

Though the school system was in the past funded by the individual states, that has changed within the last twenty years. Fifty years ago, public education in this country was on an upswing, scores on national standardized tests were up, college enrollment was at an all time high, elementary and middle schools were doing better as well. At this time states funded their school systems, and K-12 education, medicare, and prisons accounted for more than forty percent of state budget expenses. These costs kept rising, putting more strain on local and state governments. The federal government issued federal money to the states to pay for their school expenses. Since then the percentage of school spending paid for by the federal government increased steadily until ten years ago when the big shift came and the federal government made the national education system standardized.

In the past few years, an economy in recession, and other congressional priorities, have made certain social services pay. This could have long lasting negative effects on the society.