According to an article in The New York Times, Congress was scheduled to vote on a proposed economic stimulus plan Wednesday that would more than double the Department of Education's budget.
The plan would funnel $150 billion into school districts and universities across the country. It would also be the largest increase in federal spending on education since soon after World War II.
The money would be dispersed to states and districts based on greatest need. No matter where it goes, though, it is going to help alleviate some of the largest budget deficits in U.S. history.
“This is going to avert literally hundreds of thousands of teacher layoffs,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Tuesday.
With some of the money tagged for school renovations and construction, it would be the first time federal government entered those realms that have been left to state and local governments. Not everybody is happy with the potential long-term changes this stimulus package would incur.
Representative Howard P. McKeon, Republican of California and the ranking minority member of the House education committee, said, “By putting the federal government in the business of building schools, Democrats may be irrevocably changing the federal government’s role in education in this country.”
There are also some who believe the proposal does not do enough for the future or to solve the root of the problem.
“It’s like an alcoholic at the end of the night when the bars close, and the solution is to open the bar for another hour,” said Frederick Hess, an education policy analyst at the American Enterprise Institute.
Please read more in the New York Times article by Sam Dillon.
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