Huppenthal: Funding does not necessarily mean good education

There is no guarantee that improving the funding of Arizona schools will improve the overall standard of education in the state, said Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal.

“What our data shows, here in Arizona and across the nation, is almost no correlation between money and outcomes,” he told News/Talk 92.3 KTAR’s Mac & Gaydos on Friday.

Huppenthal cited the Vail School District, which spent $30,000 less per classroom than Tucson Unified, a district that spent more but was ranked lower.

“If you think that more money going into schools is going to solve our problems, it’s not,” said Huppenthal, adding that the state should look at charter schools, like BASIS, that have solved a lot of the state’s issues through experimentation.

Huppenthal praised Carpe Diem Collegiate High School and Middle School in Yuma that uses a blended learning environment, where students spend about half of their day on a computer and half in a classroom.