EDUCATION EXPENSES

As recently as September 8th I wrote a commentary titled “EXPOSING EDUCATION EXPENSE Vs RESULTS” and it drew a response from my daughter regarding my granddaughter who attends a regional community college in the western Chicago suburbs. Families struggle with the impact of the national economy while the expense of higher education continues to climb beyond the cost of living percentage increases.

Here is an example of only her BOOK costs at the Junior College level.

ETHICS Class – required book: Ethics for Professions
Purchased new $110.75: used $83.25
School buy-back price $15.00

MACROECONOMICS Class – required book: Principles of Macroeconomics
Purchased new $161.75: used $121.50
School buy-back $14.00

PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY Class – required book: Biology
Purchased new $192.75: used $144.75
School buy-back $19.00

Need I say more? Someone is making a financial killing and it is not students or parents. If I were a betting man, I would bet that many of these books are issued with frequent revised editions, therefore ever increasing the price tag.

This same granddaughter also had to pay for her books in high school, which is an expense that never was imposed back in my good old days. When I graduated from the University of Illinois back in 1956 my goal was to someday make $10,000 per year, fortunately I exceeded that goal.

Your Commander has great sympathy for families trying to educate their children today, and we have a responsibility to demand greater accountability and results for today’s education dollars.

COMMANDER GRANGER