Closing Schools and Building Prisons: Not a Good Trend

Good folks,
It came to my attention today that some area schools are closing. This means hardship to the students now attending, to their families, and to the people working in those schools, and to the overcrowded classrooms that will have to accommodate those students. What is more important than the high quality education of our future citizenry?
I don't think that consumerism works as a way of life, or that the stock market numbers are the most important numbers. Or even that test scores are. Tests are flawed, skewed, and narrow, and don't recognize many types of intelligences and talents inherent in our species. These must be developed through education, and are essential to our survival as a species.
We make choices every day; let us all think about the ramifications of those choices. It is easier and more cost efficient to educate a child than to reform a criminal. Apples and oranges? Maybe, but they most certainly are all fruit, and we are in community together. Education and community values for the common good are a higher purpose.