NYT: An Unwise Cut in School Aid

[ProSense]

Editorial

An Unwise Cut in School Aid

President Obama has rightly threatened to veto the House version of a spending bill that includes damaging and unnecessary cuts to his signature education grant program, known as the Race to the Top.

The $500 million in cuts, which come courtesy of the House Appropriations Committee chairman, Representative David Obey, a Democrat of Wisconsin, would help finance a $10 billion state aid package aimed at forestalling teacher layoffs. That’s a good aim. But the White House and its Democratic allies in the Senate are right when they say that the offset must be found elsewhere and that cutting this vital program would dampen a thriving school reform effort.

The $4.3 billion Race to the Top program has focused the country’s attention on the school reform effort as never before. By finally making federal grants contingent on policy changes, the government has pushed states to develop strategies for turning around chronically failing schools, establish data-driven systems for training and evaluating teachers and adopt the new, more-rigorous standards released earlier this year by the National Governors Association.

Only two of 40 states — Delaware and Tennessee — won first-round grants under the program. But the competition encouraged second-round applicants to do a better job of building statewide consensus around their applications. It also spotlighted innovative teacher and training programs like the one in Delaware, which holds teachers responsible for improving student performance while also giving struggling teachers the coaching and feedback they need to master a difficult job.

more

[rpannier]

1. Obey is right and the Times is wrong

[ProSense]

2. Obey

cut the funds to appease conservative Democrats and Republicans

[rpannier]

3. Irrelevant. He did the right thing

Cutting money from RTT was/is a good thing
I don't really care why.

[ProSense]

5. Yeah, conservative Dems forcing a Obey to make cuts is a good thing. n/t

[rpannier]

7. Funny. I went to the link you provided

Then went to the article itself

From the article:


Alter’s argument that Rep. Obey is “gutting” President Obama’s “signature” education program is equally dubious. Race to the Top was given $4.3 billion in funds in the 2009 stimulus package, of which $3.6 billion is still available. In addition $1.3 billion is requested for the coming year. Rep. Obey’s so-called gutting would leave 90 percent of the funds available for the program over the next year in place.

Wow... A mere 90% remains in place.

Also from the article:

What is disturbing to me is how those who are parading under the banner of school and teacher accountability are so unwilling to be subjected to accountability standards themselves. What reformers now argue is that the central problem facing learning today is the teaching force and the entrenched unions protecting that force. As popular as that criticism may be in many quarters, Congress has an obligation to find out what evidence backs up those claims. Are schools with weak unions or no unions producing better results? Do charter schools give more value to the taxpayer and the student than noncharter schools? Will Education Secretary Duncan’s plan result in schools attracting better teachers than the ones they succeed in firing?

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I'd put up the link, but since you already have it, I'll leave it at that

[impik]

9. Yea, because god forbid we'll demand excellence in schools

[rpannier]

10. Please site evidence where RTT has produced excellence in schools

[frazzled]

4. Ah, facts are stubborn things

I wouldn't count on many people clicking your link, however: it might disturb their preconceived notions.

[rpannier]

8. I did click the link

And then went to the original story.

Alter’s argument that Rep. Obey is “gutting” President Obama’s “signature” education program is equally dubious. Race to the Top was given $4.3 billion in funds in the 2009 stimulus package, of which $3.6 billion is still available. In addition $1.3 billion is requested for the coming year. Rep. Obey’s so-called gutting would leave 90 percent of the funds available for the program over the next year in place.

Wow... A mere 90% remains in place.

Also from the article:

What is disturbing to me is how those who are parading under the banner of school and teacher accountability are so unwilling to be subjected to accountability standards themselves. What reformers now argue is that the central problem facing learning today is the teaching force and the entrenched unions protecting that force. As popular as that criticism may be in many quarters, Congress has an obligation to find out what evidence backs up those claims. Are schools with weak unions or no unions producing better results? Do charter schools give more value to the taxpayer and the student than noncharter schools? Will Education Secretary Duncan’s plan result in schools attracting better teachers than the ones they succeed in firing?

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As you say, facts are stubborn things

[w4rma]

6. *All* of it should be cut! Obama can go down in flames for this veto. (nt)