Private Dollars and Public Education
For years now, we have heard how school districts simply don't have the necessary funds to operate as we expect. Just in recent weeks, we've had education advocates lobby for $23 billion in federal funding to help pay teacher salaries, asking for outside assistance to avoid major cuts to their payrolls and their educator forces. And while this $23 billion for edujobs has gotten stymied in Congress, it hasn't been because folks feel it is inappropriate for anyone other than the school district to pay for teacher salaries.
So why the double standard when it comes to the District of Columbia Public Schools and Chancellor Michelle Rhee's plans for financial incentives and pay raises for teachers who excel in the classroom? Over in today's Washington Post, Bill Turque offers up another strong piece on the evolution of teaching in our nation's capital, this time focusing on efforts by the DC Office of Campaign Finance to investigate charges that the philanthropic support behind the new teacher pay pact somehow violates the law.
Let's pause to take a look at the basic facts. Rhee has pushed for nearly three years to enact her vision to boost student acheivement and teacher quality in DC Schools, offering up a new approach to scrap traditional teacher tenure and reward educators based on performance. To accomplish this, she secured $64.5 million from private foundations, including Broad, Walton, Robertson, and Arnold. Knowing the politics of our little city by the swamp, these generour philanthropic donors included language in their agreements that they could pull back the
So why the double standard when it comes to the District of Columbia Public Schools and Chancellor Michelle Rhee's plans for financial incentives and pay raises for teachers who excel in the classroom? Over in today's Washington Post, Bill Turque offers up another strong piece on the evolution of teaching in our nation's capital, this time focusing on efforts by the DC Office of Campaign Finance to investigate charges that the philanthropic support behind the new teacher pay pact somehow violates the law.
Let's pause to take a look at the basic facts. Rhee has pushed for nearly three years to enact her vision to boost student acheivement and teacher quality in DC Schools, offering up a new approach to scrap traditional teacher tenure and reward educators based on performance. To accomplish this, she secured $64.5 million from private foundations, including Broad, Walton, Robertson, and Arnold. Knowing the politics of our little city by the swamp, these generour philanthropic donors included language in their agreements that they could pull back the
