Thursday, July 1, 2010

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Support Obey's Amendment

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Support Obey's Amendment

Support Obey's Amendment

I hate the whole idea of school funding being attached to a war spending bill. It's obscene and degrading to educators. But here we are.

Wisconsin Rep. David Obey, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, is pushing an amendment to the bill that would cut Race To The Top and related programs like "merit pay" by a modest $800 which will be used instead to prevent more layoffs and keep class size increases within reason.

Obey is a long-time school reformer (in the real sense). He is also a critic of the massive troop build-up in Afghanistan. He was the force behind the Small Learning Communitiesinitiative in Congress and helped save that program year after year in the face of