(0:00) Open: Graduating High School @ KSMF

(2:47) Funding: A Strong, Positive Correlation

(8:21) Private vs. Independent Schools

(12:01) Independent & Charter School Origins

(18:45) The Thousand Person Desereted Island

(22:30) cj’s recommendation: School Games

(24:40) Jeff’s Recommendation: The Four Seasons

The notion that school funding has no bearing on student performance is a pervasive, yet deeply flawed, talking point. Decades of robust research consistently demonstrate a strong, positive correlation: adequate and equitably distributed funding leads to better student outcomes.

Studies show that spending more per student is linked to improved test scores, higher graduation rates, and even increased lifetime earnings for students, especially those from low-income backgrounds. These investments enable smaller class sizes, competitive teacher salaries to attract and retain talent, improved facilities, and crucial support services.

Assertions to the contrary often serve a specific agenda: undermining public education to pave the way for school voucher programs or to erode public trust in democratically governed school boards. Such claims ignore the complex realities of educational improvement, which directly benefit from well-resourced schools. Simply put, money matters in education, and denying this fact is a disservice to students and communities.

This is not like deferred maintenance in your home, where down the road you can simply write a check and catch back up. Educational opportunities squandered mostly can never be recaptured. Join us this episode for a look at the unseen costs of public school decline.

Understanding the Effects of School Funding - Public Policy Institute of California

School funding boosts student achievement, major study confirms | The Educator K/12

School Spending and Student Outcomes: Institute for Policy Research

Targeted infrastructure spending can boost student outcomes

Higher education finance and success rate in US states: An insight from state-level data

An economist spent decades arguing money wouldn’t help schools. His new paper finds it usually does.

Send us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠voice message⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!

(0:00) Pre-Show

(0:43) Open

(1:27) Pride Month!

(2:18) cj's week: Banana Ball!

(5:01) Jeff's Week: Dr. James Robert “Bobba” Parker, 90.

(6:21) Headline: Operation Spiderweb: Drones Hammer Russian Airbases

(10:20) Headline: Mars or Bust: Why Starship Keeps Blowing Up

(16:11) Headline: Trade Chaos Mounts as Court Blocks Trump Tariffs

(20:38) Headline: Broadband Giants Push Trump to Kill Low-Cost Plans

(24:24) ​​Mirart Saver II

18-months in the making, a hundred low-cost, AI-fueled, FPV drones launched remotely from wooden, shack-looking crates on Russian soil wreak havoc on over $7B worth of Russian aircraft. It’s another bad day to be oppressors.

SpaceX’s Starships go up, and go boom. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

And tariffs might be off. Or they might be back, but worse now. Or they might be off. 🤷

Finally, ISPs are complaining again, but this time about providing discounted services to some of the poorest among us. What a time to be alive!

Operation Spider's Web

Operation Spiderweb: a visual guide to Ukraine’s destruction of Russian aircraft

In Ur Base | Know Your Meme

SpaceX rockets keep exploding. Is that normal?

Trump allies expect he’ll double down on tariffs after sweeping court block - Ars Technica

When Supreme Court Won’t Throw ISPs a Bone They Turn to Trump To Block Affordability Laws

Supporting Links from Episode
​​Mirart Saver II

Send us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠voice message⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!

(0:00) Pre-Show

(0:58) Open

(1:57) Bee Week: Scripps Spelling Bee

(2:41) cj's week: Viruses & Sonic Booms

(5:14) Jeff's Week: Terrible Booms

(6:39) Jeff’s Week Part 2: Chocolate Cake

(8:08) Headline: From Prevention to Peril: CDC's Lead Program Has Been Dismantled

(11:24) Headline: Paying Top Dollar for Disaster: In Its Transition to Digital, the College Board Is Getting Failing Grades

(16:42) Headline: Bar Exam Blunders: California’s Legal Test Continues to Discover Mis-Scores

(22:40) Micro Systems Tandy Hard Cards

You’d think that lead - responding to it, remediating it, and generally keeping people safe from it - would be an issue we can all agree on helping stamp out.

Nope.

If your house or school was built before the late 70’s, and you or your community haven’t had the privilege of having it completely remediated previously, you are likely at more risk now than ever before.

And while we all expected bumps in the road during the online digitalization of everything in the early aughts, you’d think most organizations would have either figured it out by now or gone extinct. Turns out that’s not the case as both the College Board and California Bar Association struggle with bringing efficient, accurate testing into the digital-era. In 2025. No, this is not an AI hallucination.

Oh yeah, and one of us missed the sonic boom over the weekend. Again!

SpaceX Dragon Re-Entry Sonic Boom Map - @Dillonshrop06

No More Lead Experts: CDC Cuts Jeopardize Child Health

Test of Patience: College Board's Digital Conversion Hits Snags

California bar exam-takers were told they failed. Oops, they passed. | Reuters

Bar Exam Blunders: California’s Legal Test Continues to Mis-Score

Send us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠voice message⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!