While the overall spending level of the House and Senate budgets appears to be the same, the documents represent radically different priorities for funding public schools. The Senate bill reflects the work done by members of both parties over the last few legislative sessions, but with certain tweaks which reflect the priorities of the Senate Democratic majority. The House bill, in contrast, is a radical departure from the shape education budget bills have had for over a decade and reflects - sometimes openly, sometimes obscurely - the priorities of the House GOP majority. Recent posts
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From the archives
Historical Amnesia: Schools don't need that money, do they? |
Aug 2011
Talk of an ever-growing flow of money to schools is, like many such things, wildly exaggerated. But...
Director's Corner: Thoughts on schools, teachers and unions |
Feb 2009
The subtitle of a MIPFS position paper, “Why educating kids isn’t like building cars,” can get a...
Education is not like toothpaste |
Oct 2012
Will market competition really improve education?
As the policy debates over education “reform”...
We had hoped that the redrawn legislative districts would encourage moderation and compromise on education spending and policy issues. Evidently, we will need to keep waiting. So far, this year’s budget process consists of more posturing than governing, and there is no question that the costs of division and gamesmanship will continue to mount. In one of their first acts upon retaking control of the state House of Representatives, Republican leaders revealed their intended governing style: confrontation.