Responding to President Bush's Educational Funding Plan

By Wendy D. Puriefoy
President, Public Education Network

"President Bush has talked tough in the past about holding our country’s public schools and students accountable. His last proposed education budget appears to free him and his administration from any serious accountability for the state of our nation’s public education system, which is remarkable, as such accountability was something that he and his party fought hard for in the early days of his administration. The president has said he supports education but this budget, as was true for previous budgets, is insufficient to support education to the extent necessary in our nation. The 2009 budget includes what appears to be increases for the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), but are really just restorations of previous cuts. These restorations are nowhere near enough to provide the resources necessary to meet the Adequate Yearly Progress mandated by NCLB. This is insufficient funding for what was once termed a bold initiative by both parties, and which is now seen by many as a liability because of the failure of the administration to properly fund NCLB. Several reading programs have had their funding levels restored to levels they had at least two years ago. However, restoration of lost funds does not equal increases and it does not equal forward movement. Monies are being cut from a number of other crucial initiatives, including pre-school programs and several programs aimed at making American children ready for the technology revolution sweeping our globe. But the most serious cuts of all are those being made to programs aimed at addressing this nation’s teacher quality challenges. Teacher quality and teacher efficacy are at the very heart of student achievement. For these programs to be cut indicates that the administration is not listening to the American public, who have long voiced their support for measures to bolster the nation’s teacher quality.”