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Wasteful spending in AZ schools revealed

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  • Description

    New report sheds light on 'ghost student' issue

  • Duration 2:20
  • Date

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Arizona are seeing ghosts.

This is because of the State's outdated computer system and a failure to report transferred students.

Nearly a 125.

Million taxpayer dollars are spent every year on so called ghost students.

Doctor butcher is the author of this report and the education director of the Goldwater institute he joins us live now from Phoenix hi -- that.

Good morning what -- ghost students.

Well it's outrageous we have a funding formula in Arizona that hasn't been updated in decades.

As a result millions of dollars taxpayer money going into a black hole it's not going to help students.

We -- as a matter of fact it's a 125.

Million dollars and they go towards these thirteen thousand -- students who basically don't exist in the system.

-- either transferred from one school to another somehow the computer just can't find them so is this just about -- out of date.

Computer system is that how to fix this.

Part of it has to do with the need to update the policies as well not just the hardware and software.

And look for years teacher's unions and education associations have really distracted from the need for real reform to the system.

By telling us over and over again that all we need to do -- give the system more money if only we had more money we could fix the problem.

But the reality is funding both at the state level and the federal level has increased remarkably.

In the past thirty and forty years and student achievement results they've been flat.

And -- here's another interesting thing about this case is that.

Arizona was trying to do something creative they were trying to give parents school choice words parents can pick.

Whatever school they wanted to go to -- this a cautionary tale.

About trying to do something to create -- That the system really can't support.

Well there are a number of landmark programs in Arizona that allow parents to choose the best school on the best educational opportunities for their children.

And that's what the 21 century needs that's what education's going to look like.

But before we can move to a system like that we have to look at these outdated formulas these laws that have been in place for years.

That don't allow the system to keep track of -- where they are and what they're doing them.

-- -- year the education director from the Goldwater institute thanks so much for bring us our attention.

My pleasure thank you it's.

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