Bush Budget Proposal Sparks Debate on Educational Priorities

President Bush has proposed reducing the federal education budget for 2006 by 1 percent. His budget proposal reflects his intention to expand No Child Left Behind (NCLB) to high schools, increasing Title I money for programs aimed at high school students. However, this increase is offset by the elimination of other programs for high school students, including a $1.2 billion dollar cut from vocational education and the elimination of programs designed to prepare disadvantaged high school students for college, such as GEAR UP and Upward Bound. The federal government provides a nationwide average of about seven percent of education spending.

Implications for NCLB and Other Programs

The budget proposal includes a 4.7 percent, or $603 million, increase in Title I funding compared with fiscal year 2005 level of Title I funding. However, as pointed out by the National PTA and others, coupled with this increase is the proposed elimination of programs the Administration views as duplicative of Title I, such as Comprehensive School Reform, the Education Technology State Grant program, and the Smaller Learning Communities program. The cost of these three programs alone is almost $800 million.

The announced reductions drew criticism from supporters of these programs, including United States Representative Chaka Fattah. Rep. Fattah has been a champion of the GEAR UP program, which has been in existence since 1999. Nationally about 1.2 million middle and high school students are in the program, which partners schools, colleges, and community organizations and provides tutoring, mentoring, college visits, and other services to low-income students. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings was quoted in the Philadelphia Inquirer as contending that there was no evidence that this program moves students to college.

The National Association of Secondary School Principals lamented the “decimation” of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Program, which provides vocational programs for high school students. While applauding the goal to focus more attention on high school students, the organization questioned the value of doing so at the expense of other long-standing programs, such as those providing career services to students who may not continue to post-secondary education.

Other programs slated for elimination include arts in education and foreign language assistance. The Education Department described the programs to be eliminated as wasteful, duplicative and/or unproven.

The Bush Administration seeks, through this budget proposal, to expand NCLB into high school. Accordingly, it has asked for $1.5 billion dollars for that purpose. Included in this request is $250 million to expand testing through 11th grade. The National PTA reports that one third of the requested amount, $500 million, is to provide state grants to encourage top teachers to work in low-income schools, and $50 million of this amount is to help districts design and implement controversial merit-pay programs for teachers. The Administration is also seeking funds for its Striving Readers program and for its Community College Access program, which would enable students to take college-level courses while they are still in high school. The National Education Association has reported that the total amount of proposed cuts to existing high school programs is over $2 billion dollars.

Financial Strains on School Districts Nationwide

The reduction of the federal education budget comes at a time when many school districts across the country are struggling financially. Detroit has announced the closing of 34 schools in an effort to address its huge budget deficit, and Cleveland is also closing schools and laying off teachers. Illinois districts have closed budget deficits by cutting spending on buildings, equipment, supplies and teachers. In addition, states are continuing to question the cost to states of implementing NCLB. Vermont is considering a bill to pull out of NCLB, citing, among other things, the cost, which is estimated to be four times more than Vermont is receiving in federal education funding. In Idaho, two senators wrote a memorial to Congress calling NCLB the largest unfunded mandate in history and a “de facto takeover of Idaho public education.”

The Bush Administration’s proposed expansion of NCLB will most likely meet with resistance on Capitol Hill. Rep. Michael Castle of Delaware, a Republican supporter of NCLB, reportedly predicted the proposal to expand testing into 11th grade will face serious objections from both parties. Patricia Sullivan of the Center on Education Policy in DC was quoted as saying that she hadn’t “seen a presidential proposal so dead on arrival in a long time.”

Prepared by Wendy C. Lecker, February 14, 2005