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One adult left behind
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Posted on Apr 19 2006
Bruce Bateman’s column published on April 17, 2006 is a classic example of the fallacy of the false premise. Mr. Bateman, writing about the 2004 audit of the PSS, makes the mistake of adding the average cost of educating a child attending public schools in the United States, $8,807, to the cost of educating a child in the public schools in the CNMI, $5,756, to arrive at a totally fictitious figure of $14,563 per child per year. Remember, if your premise is wrong, then so are the conclusions based on that faulty premise.
In our public elementary schools, our math teachers use charts to teach children to compare and contrast. This is what the auditor, Scott Magliari, was doing in the 2004 audit of the PSS—comparing and contrasting expenditures per child in the United States versus the same in the CNMI. The point Mr. Magliari was making is that the CNMI spends $3,051 less per child than does the average public school in the US. How are we to arrive at $3,051? We subtract the CNMI cost per child—$5,756—from the average cost in the United States—$8,807. It is elementary. In our public elementary schools students learn to read so that they can read to learn.
Lastly, mistakes like this are easily avoidable by simply doing a fact check. All you have to do is call us at PSS. You can call me at 237-3065.
Tim Thornburgh
PSS
