Many years ago, when in discussions for a potential job, I learned that the first party to bring up money is the loser. I've always believed the rule to be universal.

The reason I bring this up is that our political leaders are falling into that same trap in regards to K-12 education. I hear so much criticism of public education and how we don't get the "bang for our buck". These are the kind of words you might use when buying a new cell plan or cable TV service. It's a natural thing to want to get a good deal, but we've lost our perspective on this one because of the negative brow beating being given to our teachers and repeatedly broadcast across the airwaves in a coordinated effort to eliminate teachers' unions.

In actuality, we're getting a great deal in our public schools and should be talking about ways to increase funding and give them positive suggestions to build on our educational system rather than using false statistics to knock it down.

In Michigan at the current time, schools are required to schedule 1,098 hours of instruction. This is a goal of the state, but things like weather and sickness brings the actual number down some depending on the year and where you make the measurement. Another important number is the foundation allowance which for districts at the bottom is about $7,100 per each student for a school year. Contrary to what you might read or hear, simple math shows that taxpayers are getting one of the best deals ever when it comes to K-12 spending.

Using the $7,100 foundation allowance figure and an estimated number of instruction hours of 1,080, K-12 education costs taxpayers about $6.63 per hour of instruction. We pay students working at our local fast food restaurants more than that. Minimum wage in Michigan is $7.40 per hour. But let’s not stop there. Also, understand that when students eat lunch, and have recess, change classes and do things after school such as athletics, fine arts or club events, these are not counted as instructional hours so the deal gets even better and is closer to $5.50 for every hour a student spends in our public schools, receiving supervised and organized activities that add to a student's academic and social growth.

Those who still believe that education needs to be more like a business should rethink that thought. I can't think of any business that would only charge 5 or 6 bucks an hour regardless of the service, let alone a service that requires a college educated professional. Also consider what we are offering parents for this $6 bucks an hour. We guarantee a day's worth of instruction provided by certified instructors and we provide a safe and comfortable learning environment along with extracurricular activities. Students will grow up with lifelong memories of the public school experiences they receive.

Consider what you pay your baby sitter, and I think we can all agree, public education is a great deal and needs to be built on and not be torn down as some politicians are trying to do.