Obama’s 2012 budget deepens attack on public education

[Hannah Bell]

The proposed fiscal year 2012 federal education budget is an escalation of the Obama administration’s war on public education and teachers. The White House is expanding its policy of forcing states to compete for desperately needed funds, insisting that they remove caps on charter schools and attack the living standards and workplace rights of school employees in the name of “cost-effectiveness.”

The overall proposed education budget for FY 2012 is $77.4 billion, including what the White House is celebrating as a “significant increase for K-12 education” and “tough choices,” or rather cuts, “to put the Pell Grant program on a sustainable fiscal path.” The woefully inadequate increase will be distributed through competitive grants and, as the budget proposal states, to fund collaboration with for-profit businesses.

Highlights...

•$26.8 billion to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which will direct funds to “reform-oriented competitive initiatives,” consolidate dozens of programs, and cut programs that do not “demand results.” This includes $372 million for charter schools, and $300 million for the Investing in Innovation (i3) program, which rewards partnerships with the private sector. (In other words, the federal government is escalating its program of looting the public treasury to give money to powerful business and “philanthropic” interests that run charter schools.)

•$2.5 billion investment in an overhauled teacher-quality formula grant and $500 million in the Teacher and Leader Innovation Fund. The latter is intended for districts “willing to implement bold approaches to improving the effectiveness of the education workforce in high-need schools by creating the conditions needed to identify, reward, retain, and advance effective teachers, principals, and school leadership teams.” (The inclusion of the concept of rewarding “effective” teachers is just another way of promoting merit pay for teachers whose students score well on standardized tests...)

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/apr2011/obed-a30.shtml

[BlueIris]

1. Kick. William who? nt

[mmonk]

2. We have quit having education as a public need and have begun

turning into a market commodity. This will just hasten a third world status.

[DrDan]

3. one further example of Obama's naivety in his choice of advisors

rather than listen to teachers and professional educators, he prefers the messages of corporatists advocating competition, cost cutting, efficiencies, and profit.

Some things are best handled outside the realm of competition.

[inna]

4. compare and contrast:

http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/6158

Striking (and damning) illustration of the difference between two policies (one promotes the public good, another one is aimed at destroying the public commons for private profit.)

Mind-boggling.

[Enthusiast]

5. These actions make me very

suspicious of President Obama. These actions aren't those of a traditional Democrat. Why would the president choose to alienate a large traditional base of support? I do not believe this is simple naivete on Obama's part. And this certainly isn't the change I can believe in.

Obama has always claimed he wanted to be open to a range of opinions. Well, it appears to me he has arbitrarily dismissed the opinions of millions of Democratic supporters that work in education. I do not see an upside to this. Does he want to lose the 2012 election? WTF?

[PufPuf23]

24. I concur with post #4 and #5, both factual and succinct.

Privatization of public education for profit and ideology is anti-American.

Sorry for the edit Sid. ;o)

[SidDithers]

6. Unrec for wsws...nt

Sid

[joshcryer]

7. Same.

crypto-Stalinst writings aren't welcome here.

[Exilednight]

9. Who appointed you DU police? n/t

[Karmadillo]

11. Is there something inaccurate in the article?

nt

[Karmadillo]

31. Kick for a listing of the inaccuracies.

nt

[Hannah Bell]

13. lol. wsws = trots.

[PufPuf23]

26. Neo-conservatives and neo-liberals resemble to trots

in perpetual war/revolution and that runny icky smell stuff.

May their asses be chapped IMHO.

[emilyg]

12. I'll raise you a Rec.

[SidDithers]

14. Good for you...

Sid

[dionysus]

15. vaht? do you have a candy heart i can borrow?

[SidDithers]

19. Why yes. Yes I do...

:hi:

Sid

[dionysus]

21. thank you! ceeeeeelabrate good times.... ..... come onnn....

[QC]

20. Thanks for the reminder to rec. n/t

[Phoenix63]

22. I'm confused ...

Sorry new here... Is there something not factual in the article? Is there a reason the WSWS is not welcome here?

[leftstreet]

23. It's because of the 's' word

:o

Welcome to DU!

[Name removed]

29. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Forkboy]

27. Few have the guts for specifics.

[Odin2005]

33. Fallacy Alert. "attacking the messanger", "ad hominem"

[Starry Messenger]

8. k&r

[Exilednight]

10. K&R

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. Strongly recc'ed

[somone]

17. The most anti-teacher administration ever

from a president who never attended a public school

[bluestate10]

18. I never un-rec, but you earned one. Clear the confusion out. A republican President would

fucking gut education. Take a look at what is happening in Michigan for a clue.

[Hannah Bell]

30. perhaps you haven't been paying attention.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=992386&mesg_id=995511

[leftstreet]

25. K&R

[Sabriel]

28. Funding charter schools...

The same charter schools that in Wisconsin, for example, will receive state funds but which also won't have to hire state-certified teachers.

It doesn't matter if a Dem or a Repub kills public education: the result is the same.

[Odin2005]

32. Why am I not suprised?