Election-year politics derail bid to save teachers' jobs
BY DAVID GOLDSTEIN
MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
WASHINGTON -- Congress bailed out Wall Street and the auto industry, but it appears to have drawn the line - at least for now - at rescuing teachers.
A Democratic plan to send $23 billion to the states to save the jobs of 100,000 to 300,000 public school teachers, librarians, counselors and other employees slated for layoffs looks dead for the time being.
Blame it on election-year politics. The anti-Washington, anti-spending mood has become so potent even Democrats are antsy about helping teachers, one of their most long-standing and generous allies.
"We are in a situation now where a portion of our caucus is rebelling against just about any kind of spending," said Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri.
The layoffs already have begun. Advocates for teachers are calling them catastrophic. Critics of the emergency aid say states need to clean up their fiscal acts and make changes.
In the meantime, large, populous states such as California and Texas, for example, are each expected to absorb the loss of more than 30,000 teachers and other personnel, according to White House estimates.
Schools are cutting staff and programs because the recession has depleted state tax revenues, which pay for public education.
Democrats in the House of Representatives had hoped to pass the $23 billion emergency bailout this
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