MORE FUNDING SHOULD GO TO SCHOOLS, NOT PRISONS

I have debated on whether or not I should write this letter every day
for the past two weeks, but the more articles I read about not enough
funding for education, the more I realize that this issue has to be raised.

One of the recent articles in The Journal Standard stated that the
average cost per year per student is $8,085. Granted that is average
cost, which means that some schools spend more than that on each
student, and some spend less, but this is the average.

If you look at the Illinois Department of Corrections Web page, you
will see that the average spent on a prison inmate is anywhere
between $22,000 and $58,000. Yes, $58,000 a year on each prison
inmate (that is more money than many people in Illinois make these
days) while only $8,085 on students? Does anyone else see an issue here?

Another question, how much do correctional officers make? Is it more
than our teachers? I don't want to take anything away from
correctional officers, as I'm sure they face dangerous situations,
but how comparable is a teacher's salary to that of a CO?

With the prison population rising at alarming rates every year, has
anyone thought that maybe if we fully fund education, incarceration
may not be necessary?

When will we start focusing on funding education and keeping our
children out of prison rather than putting money into the growth of
prisons? Which would taxpayers rather pay for, a child's education or
their incarceration?

Connie Kraft

Lena