A Modest Proposal: How to Cut Education Funding
As cited in a recent Seattle P-I article, Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, chairwoman of the state Senate education committee, warned
that budget cuts are coming and some proposals would make it harder for students to meet state graduation requirements. McAuliffe, a Democrat from Bothell, goes on to say that
it wouldn't be fair to ask students to work hard to overcome obstacles and graduate from high school, then take away support from the state to help reach that goal. As Seattle P-I reporter Donna Gordon Blankinship explains, school officials
who testified at the hearing before the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee said if the money from Initiative 728 is taken away, they would lose counselors who focus on graduation, teachers who help students meet alternative graduation requirements and special WASL math classes and summer preparation sessions. I share Sen. McAuliffe's concern, but with the recent U.S. Senate agreement to cut from the stimulus bill $40 billion in state aid, including aid for academic support, the need to cut state funding for education may have only increased. Gov. Gregoire's proposed budget was based on the assumption that the state would be receiving education funds from the stimulus package, but thanks to a bipartisan compromise, the federal government may let the states fend for themselves when it comes to supporting their most academically challenged students. The state budget deficits are real, and we can only expect them to get worse as unemployment rises through 2010, and, if Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman is correct, into 2011. The cuts will be widespread, they will affect state services on almost every level, and many people will protest the pain and injustice of it all. Many people, that is, but not all people. So here is my modest proposal:
The first things to be cut from the state education budget should be resources for children whose parents or guardians are least likely to protest. For example, the proposals to cut I-728 money that would support struggling students mostly affect the most vulnerable among us. These students often come from poor families whose parents or guardians, already overburdened by economic hardship, are unlikely to mount a big public protest over cuts to academic support for their children. Many other students are recent immigrants whose parents or guardians tend to keep a low profile.
Never mind that many of these students work after school to help support their families. Never mind that many of these students, when you combine job hours and school hours, work longer days than most adults. Never mind that many of these students do everything we ask them to do and overcome overwhelming odds to graduate from high school. Never mind that many of these students have survived war, refugee camps and unmentionable tragedies. Never mind that many of these students have believed what we've told them about education being the means to a better life for themselves and their families. Never mind that the support they've received from their teachers has enabled many of these students to become the first generation of literate, college-educated people in their families. What is important in this new era bipartisanship is that we find a way to balance the state budget that both Democrats and Republicans can agree to. And there is one thing that I believe members of both parties can agree to: the more they focus on cutting services to people who won't protest, the less flak they'll get from their constituents. The cynical among us may counter that our legislators and governor should seriously consider raising revenue by restructuring our tax system so that the rich pay more and the poor pay less. Forfend the thought! Can you imagine the hue and cry at a proposal like that? Former state Treasurer Dan Grimm had the right idea when he proposed extending the sales tax to health care transactions. However, in keeping with the principle that changes in fiscal policy should most affect those who will protest the least, I suggest the sales tax be extended only to those who don't have proof of health insurance. That way, we can discourage the uninsured who drive up health care costs for the rest of us and offset revenue losses that could cut into education programs affecting the middle class. Above all, we should keep in mind that people who find it difficult to write in English tend not to write letters and email to their elected representatives. Many of them can't even vote. So while my proposal to cut services to some of the most vulnerable among us may seem overly ambitious, I already see signs that the governor and legislators from both parties are quietly coming around to it. We may hear from a few hapless teachers who stand to lose their jobs, but at least we'll be spared the outcry of the many more students and parents who have lost their teachers. The most affected will have the least to say.
A Modest Proposal: How to Cut Education Funding | 572 comments (572 topical)
A Modest Proposal: How to Cut Education Funding | 572 comments (572 topical)
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