The value of education

Education has always, or at least for a long time, been a value in this nation, correct?  Thomas Jefferson said, "An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people."  Since Jefferson was in office many federal and state dollars have been put towards educating the citizens and future leaders of our society.  But have we lost sight, lost focus of this priority somewhere along the way?

It seems that the focus has turned to homeland security, and spending money on wars on foreign soil and anti-terrorism.  Homeland security has always had a fuzzy definition for me, but the current spending pattern seems to demonstrate that no one has a clear definition for it.

Furthering this thought about education and spending, what if we fully funded our schools?  Maybe then prison funding wouldn't be an issue.  Maybe, we would find money left over to fund our institutions of higher education, and the society of educated citizens that Jefferson envisioned would actually have a shot at reality.  Just some food for thought.