I think this whole debate about how much money to spend on the federal government is going to continue under Democratic control. They’ll have a view different than President Bush and most Republicans, and we’ll do one of two things: find the sweet spot of compromise or he’ll veto the bill and we’ll see if we can sustain his veto.
I would argue that education spending at the federal level has gone up fairly dramatically and that if we’re going to spend any more money we need to make sure we get reform for our money. The idea of just throwing more federal dollars at education at a time when No Child Left Behind needs to be looked at anew doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
What I think we should do is look at No Child Left Behind and get it re-authorized in a fashion to make it more efficient, more user-friendly, less draconian, and less punitive – then set up a funding system designed to bring out the best under No Child Left Behind. I think we’re doing it backwards.