As public as possible : radical finance for America's public schools / David I. Backer.
| Author/creator | Backer, David I. author. |
| Format | Book |
| Publication | New York : The New Press, 2025. |
| Copyright Date | ©2025 |
| Description | 302 pages ; 23 cm |
| Subjects |
| Portion of title | Radical finance for America's public schools |
| Contents | Introduction: Under the tug-of-war -- Part I: School finance WTF: How it works and the policies we deserve. Public schools and private property -- The tyranny of the local property tax -- Unstable state structures -- One-dering about the federal government -- Part II: School bonds: The hidden force behind education injustice. Toxic finance -- Nightmare ouroboros -- Constructive politics -- Part III: Contribution or death: A socialist approach to teacher pensions. Solidarity or markets -- Is there really a teacher pension crisis? -- Green fiscal mutualism -- Conclusion: A plan for public education. |
| Abstract | "From the anti-CRT panic to the wholesale destruction of the federal Department of Education, the right-wing attack on education has cut deep. In response, millions of Americans have rallied to defend their cherished public schools. But this incisive book asks whether choosing between our embattled status quo and the stingy privatized vision of the right is the only path forward. In As Public as Possible, education expert David I. Backer argues for going on the offensive by radically expanding the very notion of the "public" in our public schools. As Public as Possible proposes a concrete set of policies aimed at providing a high-quality and truly public education for all, regardless of wealth and race. With witty and provocative prose, Backer takes the reader on an enlightening tour of the unjust system of school finance and proposes a set of radical policy alternatives. He shows how we can challenge the tyranny of property taxes, evening out inequalities across districts by sharing resources according to need; he argues for public credit and direct federal grants instead of the predations of municipal debt markets; and he offers eye-opening examples spanning the past and present, from the former Yugoslavia to contemporary Philadelphia, which help us to imagine a radically different way of educating all of our children"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN | 1620978857 hardcover |
| ISBN | 9781620978856 hardcover |