I agree that school funding problems are a burden on families.
May I also point out that teachers likewise endure a tremendous burden because of funding issues.
As a former teacher, I know that I spent a great deal of time and gasoline hunting down student school supplies (nothing fancy -- just pens, notebook paper, notebooks dividers, and kleen-x tissues) and snacks (yes, food - because many students had no breakfast in their homes and it's hard to teach them with their stomachs growling from 7 a.m. until lunch time at 11:30 a.m. I also spent my own money and time to get used furniture (book cases, stools, file cabinets from the college surplus store) and then painted them. I also begged family and friends for their used newspapers and magazines to read and research for my English language arts class projects. All of this was because there usually was no money in the budget for the materials that most would consider essential for effective teaching. My colleagues in every subject area had similar laments. Yet, at teacher conferences and seminars, I learned that teachers in affluent Ohio suburban public schools had class subscriptions for newspapers and magazines, were provided all of the new furniture and supplies they requested.
Also, far too much faculty meeting time that should have been devoted to teaching strategies and professional development to help teachers create positive learning environments, was instead allocated to organizing teacher cadres to operate school levy campaigns. Teachers were expected to use their evenings and week-ends canvassing neighborhoods to convince voters to support the school levy. Unfortunately, many folks in the neighborhoods had no children in the public schools -- many had put their youngsters in parochial, private, or charter schools because they knew how poorly the public schools were performing. Once again, instead of having time to take a break from grading papers and writing lesson plans in order to spend some quality time with their families, many teachers were called upon to "get out the vote" for the latest school levy -- and this could occur as many as three times per year.
Those dedicated teachers who did all of this extra work and sacrificed so much -- far above and beyond contract hours -- deserve an opportunity to devote their energy to teaching without worrying about whether the school will be forced to lay them off due to declining enrollment and lack of funds. They deserve to have the same kind of pleasant, clean facilities and classrooms that exist in the affluent suburbs of Ohio. I was one of those teachers who bought three electric fans with my personal money and put them to my classroom in an futile effort to make the temperature bearable, instead of sweltering, so students could stay awake and alert in class on school days in April through June and August through September. Nevertheless, the fans tended to merely circulate the hot humid air and brought no relief. Such conditions are particularly infuriating when you discover from talking to teachers at seminars and conferences, that all the classrooms, offices, and even restrooms in the affluent suburban public schools are fully air-conditioned.
So even though we're in the 21st century, we're still suffering from public schools that are separate but not equal.