10 Questions on the President's Education Budget
K-12 EDUCATION
1. The 2008 Bush Budget proposes a No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) Title I program increase of approximately $1.2 billion that is to support high schools. All funds are directed through the Targeted Assistance Formula which is slanted to help urban areas and the Northeast Midwest. Don’t high schools in the rural south need more help?
2. Under the new proposed school voucher programs included in the President’s Budget, parents can send their child to a private school. Will private schools have to meet NCLB Title I accountability standards and provide the same information as public schools so that parents can make an informed decision?
3. The 2008 Bush Budget cuts $100 million dollars from the Improving Teacher Quality State Grants program and increases funding for the Teacher Incentive Fund by approximately the same amount. Does this decision reflect a change in Administration Policy on the highly qualified teacher provision of NCLB -- de-emphasizing efforts to ensure a certified, highly qualified teacher in every classroom and instead support performance or merit pay and alternative certification?
HIGHER EDUCATION
4. For the first time in several years, the budget request does not slash funding for GEAR UP and the TRIO Programs. Why did the Administration have a change of heart?
5. How does the Bush Administration respond to claims by student loan industry officials that the proposed student loan bank cuts would drive lenders out of the loan program, lead to reductions in lender-provided student benefits, and threaten the overall availability of loans?
6. Budget documents indicate that the Office of Management and Budget, the Treasury Department, and the Education Department are planning to examine the financing structure of guarantee agencies this year. What motivated the inquiry? And what are the agencies looking for specifically?
7. The President's Budget proposes to cut student loan provider subsidy payments by one half of one percent - 50 basis points. Why settle on that number? Why not 49 basis points, 51 basis points, or 100 basis points? How can we ensure that the government's subsidy level to student loan providers is high enough to guarantee that loans are made available widely, but low enough to keep taxpayer costs to an absolute minimum?
EARLY EDUCATION / SPECIAL EDUCATION
8. The Bush Administration has chosen to cut funds for Fiscal Year 2008 below the Fiscal Year 2006 appropriated level in the IDEA Part B program. How does the Administration propose local school districts make up the increasing special education short fall? Higher local property taxes?
9. Recent years have seen increased investments in early education at the state level, mainly through state-run pre-Kindergarten programs. However, federal funding for programs that could be used to support state programs (Head Start, and CCDBG to name two) has remained flat. Does the Administration believe the investments at the state level are worthy of federal support, and would the Administration be willing to support increased federal funding for state efforts to provide early education?
MATH AND SCIENCE
10. Are the Department of Education and the National Science Foundation collaborating to ensure that their respective Math and Science Partnership programs do not duplicate or conflict? Why do we have two Math and Science Partnership programs?
BONUS QUESTION
NCLB's Title I program currently provides $12.7 billion in funding to support improvement and accountability in Grades 3 through 8 and once again in high school. That's about $1.8 billion a grade for seven grades worth of accountability. The President's Budget proposes an increase of $1.2 billion in Title I funding to support accountability in three more high school grades. That's about $400 million a grade. Why less for high schools? Is high school improvement easier?
