NEA's Delegates Vote 'No Confidence' in Race to the Top
After a protracted debate, delegates to the National Education Association approved a new business item that takes a position of "no confidence" in the U.S. Department of Education's Race to the Top guidelines, the use of competitive grants as a basis of the the ESEA reauthorization.
It came as a symbolic slam at the Obama administration. But as with President Dennis Van Roekel's keynote speech, it stopped short of actually calling out the U.S. president, a supporter of the program. And the debate over the item provided the clearest picture yet of both the internal and external difficulties the NEA faces pushing against an education agenda promoted by a Democratic, not a Republican, administration.
For one, the item passed by a razor-thin margin. Most resolutions pass with a simple voice vote. New Business Item 2 required a standing vote, where delegates pro and con stand, in turn. The room looked to be divided
It came as a symbolic slam at the Obama administration. But as with President Dennis Van Roekel's keynote speech, it stopped short of actually calling out the U.S. president, a supporter of the program. And the debate over the item provided the clearest picture yet of both the internal and external difficulties the NEA faces pushing against an education agenda promoted by a Democratic, not a Republican, administration.
For one, the item passed by a razor-thin margin. Most resolutions pass with a simple voice vote. New Business Item 2 required a standing vote, where delegates pro and con stand, in turn. The room looked to be divided