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Is it really a new day for education in the U.S.? There is no dearth of opinions — or questions — about what could change now that Republicans have taken control of the House of Representatives in Tuesday’s elections. One conclusion is generally shared, though: Federal money will be scarce.
The economy — and not education — took center stage in candidates’ campaigns and voters’ minds, but the two are of course intertwined, Patrick Riccards notes on his Eduflack blog: “…those thinking there are new pots of money for additional rounds of Race to the Top, i3, edujobs, or other such programs are likely to be severely disappointed. We’re back to doing more with less.”
“Hear, hear!” says Mike Petrilli of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. “A new era of budget austerity is upon us and it won’t be popular at all … states and school districts are flat-out broke. Just about all of the typical budget tricks (cashing in rainy-day funds, refinancing debt, looking for one-time windfalls) have already been used. And a GOP-controlled House is very unlikely to come to the rescue with another bailout.”
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