Money well spent
By Seyward Darby/New Republic
Forget the spending freeze. Obama's Department of Education announced on Monday that it is asking Congress for more money in the 2011 budget. The department wants $49.7 billion in discretionary funds, roughly $3.5 billion more than it got in 2010. (That's on top of the $173 billion that would go to student loans, grants, tax credits, and work-study programs.) And, if Congress finally reauthorizes No Child Left Behind (NCLB)--it's already three years overdue--to include the president's reforms, the administration says it would allot another billion to the discretionary pot. But the really big news about the proposed budget isn't how much is--or could be--in it; it's how the new money would be spent. Instead of channeling new funds to states and school districts based on pre-existing formulas, the department wants to reward progress. (more...)