college Education

  • August 18, 2010

    NYT: States not using federal bailout dollars to save teachers' jobs

    As Republicans correctly pointed out all along, the $10 billion slush fund for states that Congress approved earlier this month is not being used to help teachers keep their jobs. Instead districts plan to hold on to the money to address budget shortfalls next year or they plan to use it to hire bus drivers, nurses or coaches. I guess we should be grateful that states and districts seem to recognize that this is one time money, but Democrats should not be allowed to take credit for preventing large scale teacher layoffs with this slush fund.
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  • August 5, 2010

    Taxpayers Cannot Afford More State Bailouts

    After their failure to bring a budget to the floor, Senate Democrats are attempting to shove not one but two bailouts for states before leaving for the August recess. Although many state and local governments have been hurt by the economic downturn, they - like the federal government - are facing difficult decisions because of unsustainable spending. This irresponsible spending will only get worse if the federal government continues to bail out states.
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  • July 14, 2010

    Will Senate Democrats Follow the House’s Lead And Sell Out Education Reform To Appease Unions?

    On July 1, 2010, the House passed H.R. 4899, the Defense Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2010. This important legislation is intended to provide much-needed funding for our military at a time when it is defending our nation in two wars. Unfortunately, Democrats decided to include controversial funding for their other spending priorities that are wholly unrelated to defense spending. One of the more controversial provisions is the inclusion of $10 billion for an “Education Jobs Fund” that would use federal dollars to supplement state budgets to pay salaries of teachers, administrators, janitors, and other school personnel.
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  • July 14, 2010

    WSJ: Dems pick unions over kids

    Today the Wall Street Journal chronicles the ongoing rift between the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats over funding for education jobs. The editorial points out that Democrats have consistently chosen the best interests of unions, who advocate for more money and less accountability, over those of students. It also highlights that school districts have been adding to their payrolls for decades without regard to student enrollment so in reality districts could economize and trim the bureaucracy without having to lay off as many teachers as they claim.
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  • July 13, 2010

    Politico: The Dems' education debacle

    Today’s Politico has a nice article about how the Democrats biggest problem when it comes to education policy are the Democrats themselves. It highlights the ongoing war between Congressional Democrats and the White House, with Congressman Obey even claiming that the President’s veto threat of the defense supplemental, and its $500 million cut to Race to the Top, actually helped the bill pass in the House. He goes on to claim that the Administration uses members of Congress as “cannon fodder.”
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  • July 6, 2010

    The Hill: $10 billion for education jobs highlights Dem infighting

    Today The Hill points out that the controversy over the House’s decision to include $10 billion for the education jobs slush funding in the Defense Supplemental is yet another example of the growing rift in the Democratic party over education reform. Some Democrats in Congress (supported by teachers’ unions) are becoming increasingly uneasy with the education reforms proposed by the Obama Administration. They seem particularly concerned about efforts to move away from formula grants that reward all states equally and to promote bipartisan reforms such as performance pay and charter schools. As you know, 12 Democratic Senators (and one Independent) have gone on record opposing the House’s decision to very partially offset the $10 billion with $800 million in cuts to education programs liberal Democrats have concerns with.
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  • July 1, 2010

    Washington Post: Bill to save teachers' jobs would slash reform programs

    This morning the Washington Post published a highly critical editorial on the House Democrats’ efforts to include the $10 billion education jobs slush fund in the Defense Supplemental. It points out that school districts are managing to find other ways to cut costs and keep teachers in the classroom. It also points out the Democrats proposal does nothing to address the fact that teachers will not be retained based on effectiveness. The editorial goes on to say, “If his measure is approved, fewer states will get funds to reward high-performing teachers who work with at-risk students, there will be less money to help effective charter networks like KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) and there will be no incentive for states to enact reforms.”
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  • June 23, 2010

    WP: Congress should reconsider ending DC Opportunity Scholarship in light of new study

    Today the Washington Post editorialized onthe final impact study on the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. The report found that recipients are more likely to graduate from high school, while parents of scholarship recipients are more satisfied with the educational choices available their children. The Post also encourages Congress to reconsider ending the program since the program is making a difference for some of DC’s poorest students.
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  • June 14, 2010

    Politico on $23 billion state education bailout

    Please see the following article from Politico which touches on the uncertain future of the Democrats $23 billion state bailout for education.  It references a letter from the White House that was leaked on Saturday night asking Congress to pass the tax extenders bill the Senate is currently considering.  While the President does not cite a dollar figure he encourages Congress to support the “Teacher Firing Prevention Fund” in order to avoid “massive layoffs of teachers…”  The Politico article also mentions that Cong. Obey and Speaker Pelosi both seem comfortable with trying to divert un-used stimulus funds to cover the $23 billion, although there is no reference to this in the President’s letter to Congress.

    From Politico:

    Obama moved over the weekend to try to reassure doubtful Democrats that he also supports new state aid to avert teacher layoffs and cuts in medical services. But the White House has yet to back up its words with formal budget requests, and Saturday night’s letter to House and Senate leaders — leaked in advance to maximize coverage in the Sunday newspapers — was greeted as more of a public relations ploy.

    “I’m asking myself, ‘Why is this coming up on a Saturday night?’” said House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) on ABC News’s “This Week.” Privately, congressional Democrats agreed.

    Senior House and Senate aides said they got no warning before Saturday evening. And the letter follows a week of increased tension with the White House over aid to education and complaints of double dealing in an effort to roll the House on the war funding.

    …

    The most pointed case is a proposed $23 billion aid package for state and local school boards to avert the threat of layoffs because of budget cuts for the coming fiscal year.

    Education Secretary Arne Duncan has championed this so-called Teacher Firing Prevention Fund, urging that the money be added to the war funding bill. Obama himself says “the urgency is high” in his Saturday letter, but the White House has yet to submit a formal budget request and was conspicuously silent on the issue when the war funds were before the Senate last month.

    Now that the war bill has moved to the House, Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey (D-Wis.) is threatening to go back into last year’s Recovery Act and cut from White House priorities to pay for the teachers. The Wisconsin Democrat appears to have the tacit support of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and their combined force may explain the sudden Saturday night letter.

    Appearing on ABC, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) seemed to suggest that the administration was open to this approach. But Obama’s letter doesn’t appear to address it directly, offering no offsets and speaking of the teachers’ aid as an “emergency.”

    RPC Analyst Amanda Farris

  • June 8, 2010

    USA Today: $23 billion state bailout "defies credibility"

    Please see today’s editorial from USA Today about why another $23 billion in deficit spending for Senator Harkin’s state bailout for education is a bad idea.  It wisely points out that, “It defies credibility to argue that there's nothing in the entire $3.7 trillion federal budget that could be cut back or done without to help keep teachers on the job.”

    The editorial is also critical because Senator Harkin’s proposal makes little or no effort to send the money where teacher layoffs are most likely, or to insist that any money go to keep the best and most effective teachers working, not just those with the most seniority.  It also points out that additional federal money simply puts off the need to make tough decisions and eases the pressure to find other ways to cope.  It also calls into question whether running up the federal deficit to do things like this still makes sense.

    According to the Washington Post, Congressman Obey is continuing to look for offsets in order to move the provision through the House.

    RPC Analyst Amanda Farris