The economic stimulus plan that is going through Congress right now has a significant amount of money to help states pay for their schools. The House of Representatives passed a $819 billion version of the bill last week, but the bill is still in the Senate.
Many negotiations have been taking place in the Senate to reduce the total amount of spending. It seems that most of the money being considered to eliminate is for education.
An excerpt from the CNN article titled: "Republican Senator on stimulus: We're close"
"Democrats wrestled over billions of dollars in potential cuts to education spending Friday as senators searched for a compromise to pass what is now a $900 billion economic recovery plan.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and other Republicans in an early morning meeting told CNN Radio that they've handed over a list of potential cuts to Democratic leaders and are waiting for a response.
'The ball's really in their court,' Collins said. A few hours later, Collins walked out of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office smiling and told reporters, 'We're close.'
The No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, confirmed Democrats are in a tough debate over cutting what they see as core programs. He singled out education as one of the largest areas of potential cuts -- and one of the hardest for Democrats to swallow.
'It's a painful area for all of us, as Democrats, to make these cuts in education assistance,' he said.
There are 'substantial' proposed cuts to a $79 billion fund created to help states deal with the economic crisis by giving them more money for schools, Durbin said."
The link to the complete article: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/06/stimulus/index.html
It seems that if this version of the economic stimulus plan is passed in the Senate, the schools may be left behind. It understandable that school funding is generally the state's territory, but as states make budget cuts this year, will there really be any money left for the schools? Let's hope the Democrats can pass the bill without too much lost in education funding.
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What might be more important than how much money is being designated for education, are the requirements necessary to receive that money. The House version of the stimulus package states that poor children must receive experienced, qualified teachers, whereas the Senate version speaks of effective teachers. Which is better, experience or effectiveness? After all, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld had lots of experience.
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