A week ago (i.e., in a timely fashion), Andy commented on President Obama's budget request for education. I'm still catching up on the old Reform-o-Meter front, so let's get to work.
As Andy reported, there's plenty of good news for education reformers (key details here). The Teacher Incentive Fund, which supports pay-for-performance programs, would get funded to the tune of $500 million, up from $100 million now. The charter schools program got a more modest (but still important) increase of $50 million. And Teach For America will see $15 million if Obama has his way.
But let's not get too excited. In typical Obama style, there's a lot of love to go around. The Department's more traditional programs get plenty of funding too (voc-ed gets over a billion, for instance), so this is hardly a case of Obama's team showing preference for reform over business-as-usual. In fact, its temerity in cutting wasteful programs should be alarming to taxpayers. Whereas in its final year in office, the Bushies wanted to kill 47 Department of Education programs costing $3.3 billion, Team Obama has only found 12 programs worth sacrificing, to the tune of $550 million. And is that because its budget mavens have discovered diamonds in the rough? You decide; consider the Historic Whaling Program, which would get almost $9 million if the President's plan goes through. Here's the official description, from the budget document:
This program supports culturally based educational activities, internships, apprenticeship programs, and exchanges for Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, the people of Massachusetts, and any federally recognized Indian tribe in Mississippi. Activities include artifact exchanges, the development of culture-based learning models, collaborative research, teacher-driven curriculum development, and publishing print and web resources. Other, site-specific initiatives include exhibits, internships and apprenticeships, live cultural displays such as music and dance, gallery talks, guided tours, storytelling, and examinations of primary source material.
The unofficial description, as I've often stated, is: "Whales: The Other White Meat." It's pork, through and through, and it's no coincidence that Senator Ted Kennedy, the chairman of the education committee, happens to hail from a former whaling mecca. But if President Obama isn't willing to harpoon the whaling program (which has been ridiculed even by fellow Democrats), what chance do we have of reaching fiscal nirvana?
Budget requests are important, as they indicate policy priorities (even though Congress often ignores them). So I'll give this a 4 out of 10 for significance. But in terms of its reform-mindedness, I think it only deserves a Lukewarm. Supporting merit pay, charter schools, and alternative certification is great. But I'd get more excited if we weren't also funding the same-old-same-old too.
Do you agree? Cast your vote below.
How would you rate President Obama's budget request in terms of education reform?(online polls)
Whale image from stevehdc on Flickr.
