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
Letter from Oakland: reflections on NPE 2017 |
Nov 2017
As I write this, the fourth annual meeting of the Network for Public Education is coming to a close...
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...
Facing a clouded future: options |
Dec 2009
Part II: The problem, and a glimpse at solutions we might consider
In this two-part essay, MIPFS...
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.