Struggling to walk through overcrowded halls, sharing textbooks, and sitting on the ground for lunch are all experiences Perry students are familiar with. There is no denying the obvious overpopulation the school faces, but the question is why? Why continue allowing students in when there is no space for them? The answer is actually quite simple: money.

A student in the Chandler Unified School District (CUSD) is worth about $6,897, which is, in theory, meant to provide for that student throughout the school year. That’s right, we enter the school as a dollar sign. Unfortunately, it seems most students never see this money reflected in their education, and the lack of supplies and space can attest to that.

Built for 2800 students and currently holding around 3620, Perry is one of the strongest examples of students being seen as dollar signs. With this being a major problem, it seems the obvious solution would be to use the student money to adjust, and yet that is not the case.

Although students bring in this money, it does not seem to be used to accommodate them as it should. While a good portion of these funds go into teacher’s salaries, the remainder never seems to come back around to the students themselves.

The lack of funding is apparent in the lack of textbooks, computers and other resources. At the time of Perry’s opening in 2007, the school started with seven full-functioning computer labs. After a rapid increase of enrollment, the school is left with only one computer lab today because the others have been converted to classrooms.

This problem extends beyond Perry to a district level, where these student funds are kept to be accumulated over time, rather than being spent on things students need now.

The district is not the only one to blame for the lack of student funds; the state of Arizona can be looked to as well. The national average per student is $11,700; over $4500 more than what a CUSD student receives. This is due to the fact that Arizona is a conservative state and taxpayers are less inclined to vote in favor of increasing funding in education, as they are the ones who have to pay for it.

While taxpayers are reluctant to give more money to education, they have no problem contributing to the $23,441 it costs to keep an inmate behind bars, according to KTAR News. Yes, you read that right, prisoners are worth almost four times as much as a student in Arizona.  

Whether it be the district or Arizona taxpayers, students are the ones suffering from their lack of concern when it comes to school funding.