February 2010

Capitol ideas

Dave McNeely discusses the politics and developments affecting public education in Texas

The continually roiling waters of public school spending in Texas can be confusing to ordinary folks – and with good reason, with acronyms like WADA (Weighted Average Daily Attendance) and LEA (local education agency) being thrown around.

Meanwhile, schools are often the tail wagged by several different dogs. Add in the federal stimulus program, student testing, a hot governor's race in Texas, and the national-versus-state standards involved in the Obama administration's "Race to the Top" scholastic ranking initiative (gasp for air!) and things get even more complex.

Then there are the who-tells-whom-to-do-what-and-who-pays-for-it squabbles. State legislators complain about the feds attaching to federal money requirements that amount to mandates. School officials often grouse that state legislators hand down directives without enough money to carry them out. What those dispensing the money see as due diligence, fiscal caution and good governance are often regarded by the recipients as unnecessary meddling and micromanagement.

The confusion, and accompanying expressions of concern about Bossy Big Brother in Washington, ramped up in 2009 because of the federal government's economic stimulus program, known as the American Recovery Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and the "Race to the Top" competition. Gov. Rick Perry has blasted the stimulus program as too much interference from Washington, even while officially accepting almost all of the money allocated for Texas. Read more about CAPITOL IDEAS.