Here’s something that should make every taxpayer sit up and pay attention: America’s four largest public-sector unions just spent nearly a billion dollars on politics in the 2024 election cycle. And here’s the kicker—86% of that money came directly from member dues, not voluntary political donations.

We’re talking about $915 million from the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the Service Employees International Union, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. That’s a massive jump from the $708 million these same unions spent during the 2022 cycle, according to a new report from the Commonwealth Foundation.

Think about that for a moment. These unions collected $650 million from their members’ dues—money that teachers, school staff, and public employees have to pay just to keep their jobs—and funneled it into political campaigns and progressive causes. Meanwhile, the same unions only spent about $642 million on what they call “representational activities”—you know, actually helping their members with contract negotiations and workplace issues.

The Tax Bill Keeps Growing

Now let’s talk about what’s happening in your wallet. School property taxes have been climbing steadily across the country. The median U.S. property tax bill increased 2.8% between 2023 and 2024, hitting $3,500. In states like New Jersey—which has the highest property taxes in the nation at 2.23%—homeowners are paying over $8,000 annually, with about 60% of that going straight to schools.

Pennsylvania’s school property tax collections are projected to grow at an average annual rate of 3.9%, reaching $18.6 billion by fiscal year 2024-25. Nebraska reported that roughly 60% of property tax bills are tied to local school districts, and some districts there have been raising property taxes to make up for cuts in state aid.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: property taxes keep going up, union political spending keeps going up, but student outcomes keep going down.

The Results Tell a Devastating Story

While taxes climb and unions spend millions on politics, our kids are falling behind—badly.

Reading is in crisis. The 2024 Nation’s Report Card shows that reading scores for both 4th and 8th graders declined by 2 points compared to 2022, compounding a 3-point decline from 2019. About 40% of students aren’t reaching proficient reading levels. For 12th graders, it’s even worse—reading scores hit their lowest level in over 30 years. Only 35% of high school seniors read at or above proficient level.

The numbers are staggering: roughly 43 million American adults are categorized as illiterate, with 54% of U.S. adults reading below a 6th-grade level. Among 13-year-olds, the share who read for fun almost every day dropped from 27% in 2012 to just 14% in 2023.

Math scores are in free fall. Between 2019 and 2023, American 4th graders’ math scores dropped 18 points, while 8th graders fell 27 points—the biggest drop since the U.S. started participating in international testing in 1995. We’ve essentially erased all the math gains students made since the 1990s.

High school seniors are performing at the lowest levels since 2005, with 45% scoring below “basic” achievement—meaning they struggle with division or plotting points on a number line. Only 33% of high school seniors are academically prepared for college-level math, down from 37% in 2019.

A System That’s Fundamentally Broken

So what’s going on here? We have a dysfunctional system with misaligned incentives at every level.

The unions aren’t focused on education outcomes. As policy expert Aaron Withe points out, public-sector unions have a fundamentally different incentive structure than private-sector unions. They’re not trying to make their “company” more efficient or profitable. Instead, their revenue model depends on growing government—which means raising taxes to hire more public employees who pay more dues.

When unions spend $755 million on federal elections and progressive politics, plus another $160 million on state races, they’re not investing in better teaching methods or student achievement. They’re trying to elect politicians who will expand government spending, which grows their membership base and increases their revenue through more dues-paying members.

Money doesn’t equal results. Despite property taxes climbing year after year—with the average American household paying about $2,459 annually, and much more in high-tax states—we’re getting worse educational outcomes. The Commonwealth Foundation’s report shows that only about 25% of union spending goes toward “representational activities” that actually help members, while political spending has overtaken everything else.

Think about the irony: union executives are using teacher dues to fund political campaigns while those same teachers are working with underfunded classrooms and students who can’t read or do basic math.

The formula is broken. Property taxes fund schools, which employ teachers, who pay union dues, which fund politicians, who raise property taxes. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle that benefits everyone except students and taxpayers. As one expert noted, “What they’re doing when they’re making these political investments is they’re trying to get people into office that will raise taxes and increase the size and scope of government.”

Accountability is missing. Few union members even know how their dues are being spent. The report notes that unions “launder much of their dues through super PACs and 527s to back political projects,” and “even fewer members can effect change within their union to stop it.” Meanwhile, students continue failing to reach proficiency, and there’s minimal accountability for the educational establishment.

The Bottom Line

We’re spending more and getting less. School taxes keep rising—up nearly 3% annually in many areas. Union political spending just hit $915 million in a single election cycle. But reading scores are at 30-year lows, math scores have dropped to 1995 levels, and roughly 40% of students can’t read at a basic level.

The system is designed to grow itself, not to educate children. Public-sector unions have every incentive to push for higher taxes and bigger government budgets because that means more members paying dues. They have almost no incentive tied to whether students can actually read, write, or solve math problems.

Until we break this cycle—until funding is tied to results rather than just inputs, and until unions are held accountable for educational outcomes instead of just political power—taxpayers will continue paying more while students fall further behind.

That’s not a functional education system. That’s a money machine that’s failing our kids.