- Posted by David on April 13, 2009
Schools' 'Money Is Falling Off the Truck'
Local, State Budget Woes Chip Away at Federal Dollars Aimed at Reform
By Maria Glod and Michael Birnbaum
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, April 13, 2009; B01
Educators across the country are counting on a federal stimulus windfall to prevent teacher layoffs and improve schools. But while Washington is giving, some state and local governments are taking away.
After hearing that an initial batch of $11.8 million in federal funds would soon arrive in Loudoun County, supervisors slashed $7.3 million from the schools budget. They also made clear that if more federal recovery money flows to schools, schools might be asked to give back an equal amount of county dollars.
The Obama administration has heralded the stimulus -- which funnels an unprecedented $100 billion into public schools, universities and early childhood programs -- as a historic opportunity to reform education. But the budget shifts in Loudoun offer a case study of a phenomenon that worries educators nationwide. When the math is done, will the fiscal jolt from Washington be enough to transform classrooms?
"The money is falling off the truck between Washington and the local schoolhouse," said Robley S. Jones, director of government affairs for the Virginia Education Association, which represents teachers.
In the grim economy, state and local officials face tightening budgets and tough decisions. Some who had championed education while cutting other services now see no choice but to spread the pain.
Loudoun Supervisor Sally Kurtz (D-Catoctin) noted that the county has cut almost 100 positions, including building inspectors and fire and rescue workers. Without federal stimulus money, teachers might have lost jobs, too. So the county decided to take back dollars to limit a tax rate increase for residents.
"If it was meant to save the local economy, well . . . we saved jobs," Kurtz said.
A key goal of the stimulus law is to patch holes in state budgets and save and create jobs. Educators agree that $54 billion to be funneled to states will prevent thousands of teacher layoffs and drastic program cuts and that schools would be in dire straits without that bailout. An additional $25 billion will target aid to students who are disabled or in poverty, groups the federal government has long helped educate.
But President Obama has linked the funding to high expectations for schools. The administration wants school systems to consider lengthening the school day, expanding charter schools and experimenting with merit pay plans. Obama challenged the country to have the highest rate of college graduates in the world by 2020.
Education advocates say that they're sympathetic to local and state budget woes but that they have a mandate to make changes to raise achievement. And to make them fast.
The worst thing that could happen is "the federal government does its biggest investment into education ever and it does nothing for schools," said Amy Wilkins, vice president of the Education Trust in the District, which advocates better schools for the disadvantaged. "Education people are going to have to use sharp elbows and tight fists to hold on to their money."
Education Secretary Arne Duncan has warned states against playing "shell games" with money aimed at schools. The stimulus law and regulations have strings to protect against big drops in education funding but allow the most cash-strapped states to seek some flexibility.
"Where we see a state or district operating in bad faith or doing something counter to the president's intent, we're going to come down like a ton of bricks," Duncan said in a March conference call with reporters.
Schools are funded through a complex patchwork of federal, state and local money, with the federal government accounting for the smallest share. So even with the stimulus, budgets are tight. That can make it tough to take on new projects.
"I think for big and particularly innovative reform, you do need new money," said Bruce Fuller, a professor of education and public policy at the University of California at Berkeley. "You need fresh money to get the data systems up and running, and you need bright, shiny new dollars to assuage skeptical teacher unions to experiment with merit pay."
Stimulus dollars flowing to special education and programs for poor children might be protected from turf fights. For instance, Loudoun schools are expected to get an additional $10 million over two years to improve lessons for children with autism or other special needs. Kurtz said the county has no plans to intercept that cash. But if more money comes in that's not earmarked for a specific program, she said, she expects the 56,900-student school system to tighten its belt to help the county.
Duncan has a powerful incentive for states and school systems to invest in reform: They will be at the head of the line for a chance at a $5 billion pot he'll hand out to states and schools that propose ways to improve schools.
Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick said she plans to apply for that funding to measure how students stack up on tests compared with peers worldwide. She also wants to team with Virginia on a collaborative student-tracking system. In Maryland, where more than $500 million in stimulus money has been tagged for schools, the extra money has helped reduce "what would have been pretty onerous cuts," she said.
Still, in some Maryland localities and elsewhere across the country, battles are brewing over school funding. In Charles and Anne Arundel counties, school officials are protesting county plans to ask permission to give schools less money than last year. Typically, state law bars such cuts. In other school systems, including Montgomery County, educators and county officials are discussing how to spread various sources of money to share the burden of budget cuts.
In Rhode Island, Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline has said a state plan would unfairly substitute stimulus money for state spending. He has asked Duncan to intervene.
"The truth is the president and the Congress identified investment in education as a key strategy to rebuild our economy," Cicilline said. If schools don't get a boost, he said, "we've lost this opportunity to use this increased federal investment as a way to really make progress and to innovate."
Federal lawmakers also have warned cash-strapped California, with its yawning $8 billion budget deficit, to make sure the stimulus money gets to schools. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) assured them it would. But some educators are skeptical.
"Until I have the check in hand, we're not going to make plans for it," said Ron Lebs, deputy superintendent for business and support services at the 51,000-student Capistrano Unified School District in Orange County, which is laying off more than 200 teachers.