House panel level-funds key education programs
6/27/06 -- The House Appropriations Committee has essentially rubber-stamped the subcommittee on education’s earlier recommendation to level-fund Title I and provide a minimal increase for special education for fiscal year 2007.
The funding bill approved by the committee June 13 would provide $12.7 billion for Title I, the major source of federal funding to implement the No Child Left Behind Act. That is the same amount appropriated for 2006. The bill would provide $10.7 billion for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a small increase over the current-year level of $10.58 billion.
The House measure also would eliminate funding for education technology grants and would cut funding for many other education programs.
The committee rejected an amendment introduced by Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.) that would have increased funding for various social programs, including education, by $6.3 billion.
NSBA sent letters to members of the committee who voted against the Obey amendment urging them to reconsider when the funding bill reaches the full House. NSBA called upon Congress to increase Title I funding by $2.5 billion and increase the investment in IDEA by an equivalent amount.
NCLB and IDEA have imposed significant challenges on school districts and local taxpayers, says NSBA Associate Executive Director Michael A. Resnick. “We estimate the fiscal 2007 federal funding shortfalls for those programs at nearly $18.5 billion when compared to Congress’ commitments at the time those bills were enacted.”
Some members of Congress have justified their lack of support for education by saying that too large a portion of the federal budget is going to education. But in reality, Resnick notes, “only one and a-half cents of every federal dollar supports K-12 education.”
NSBA is carrying out a major campaign to restore federal funding for America’s schoolchildren.
The campaign includes advertisements targeting key members of Congress; a survey of the public, which found strong support for public school funding; and a toolkit with a wealth of resources for local school board members, including talking points; local coalition-building ideas; and sample letters, board resolutions, and opinion editorials for newspapers.
| Reproduced with permission from School Board News. Copyright © 2006, National School Boards Association. Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect positions of NSBA. This article may be printed out and photocopied for individual or educational use, provided this copyright notice appears on each copy. This article may not be otherwise transmitted or reproduced in print or electronic form without the consent of the Publisher. For more information, call (703) 838-6789. |