Diane Ravitch -- Education Funding Saved: What Does It Mean?

National Journal Online -- Education Experts -- Education Funding Saved: What Does It Mean?

Education Funding Saved: What Does It Mean?

President Obama did a remarkably good job protecting education funding in the recent pitched battle with congressional Republicans over spending. Despite disparaging comments from House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., about how Pell Grants are overfunded, there will be money this year to provide the full $5,550 tuition grant for all college students who qualify. Questions from Capitol Hill about Education Secretary Arne Duncan's signature Race to the Top program have been more muted, but it would have been easy for Republicans who think the competitive grants are too dictatorial to zero them out. They didn't. The department has $700 million to continue Race to the Top.

Other domestic programs haven't been so lucky. Public housing revitalization programs, for example, lost a collective $1.5 billion in the compromise spending deal that was enacted last week. One program for severely

Diane Ravitch responded to Education Funding Saved: What Does It Mean? on April 18, 2011 08:25 AM

Nothing to Celebrate It is not surprising that Race to the Top survived the GOP attack on federal funding. After all, Race to the Top reflects the long-standing Republican agenda of choice and accountability. So we will see more public schools closed, more privately managed charter schools opened, despite the clear evidence that charter schools do not produce better results than regular public schools. Privatization of public education will proceed, not only in Tea Party states like Florida, Wisconsin, Ohio, and New Jersey, but in other states hoping for more federal funding. The Obama-Duncan-GOP-Tea Party assault on public education,...