Reading Eagle should put elected leaders on hot seat for public-school funding story

For the good of all of us, Reading Eagle reporters need to challenge ideas, not just write down whatever the same old sources tell them.

It’s not really news to report that public officials say they need more money to do their jobs better. They always say that.

In a story about education subsidies Sunday in the best daily newspaper in Berks County, public school superintendents bemoan the level of state education subsidies. The Eagle documents how those public officials say they need more money to fulfill their educational goals.

I’ve heard conservatives say there is no proof that adding money to school budgets improves academic outcome. So instead of writing the same story every year, why not ask the superintendents to justify why they need more money and how that will improve learning?

On the other hand, maybe schools really do need more money. So why not ask the elected officials who represent Berks in Harrisburg why the state isn’t supplying more money?

Why not ask the secretary of education and the governor’s office?

The Eagle has promised better state-level news coverage with its new “Briefing” page on Mondays. One story “you should know about this week”: “State lawmakers have signed off on a measure inspired by a Berks County Vietnam veteran to create new license plates that honor military service.”

That’s nice, but I bet there are other stories I should know more about. It looks like bland wire news to me, words to fill up space. To be fair, it is hard work contacting and arranging interviews with elected officials, and then thinking up tough questions, then the likely rebuttals, and then follow-up questions.

The Eagle’s favorite method is to e-mail the lot of them, which produces a lot of predictable non-answers. For example, here are the canned responses to the state budget July 1. The Republicans are pleased – especially with all the education spending – and the Democrats are disappointed. What a waste of ink! Let me know if it helped you learn anything about how our elected leaders plan to solve the big problems.