Just a Bill on Capital Hill

Whew! What a rollercoaster ride the House and Senate versions of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 have been in recent weeks. “There’s too much pork and not enough tax cuts!” we hear from GOP members. And from the left come reprisals of “You’re hardly in a position to point fingers when it comes to overspending” and “Haven’t the last eight years demonstrated well enough that tax cuts don’t work?” Both sides claim to be pushing for jobs creation and yet have different opinions on what constitutes “jobs.”

Proponents of Education have watched the sparring with wringing hands and petitions flying as spending on Education got whacked, and then replaced, then whacked again and now half remains on the cutting room floor waiting for the two houses of government to meld their tentatively approved plans together into something the President can sign.

So where did the Education chunk wind up, you ask? Well that depends entirely on whether you’re a Programs person or a dollars person and whether you favor the House or Senate version. The House version provides $141.6 billion for Education while the Senate version cut that figure by more than $60 billion, specifically in Head Start/Early Start and completely eliminates the amount for school construction and renovation. Senate cuts are as follows:

• $98 million for school nutrition
• $3.5 billion for school construction
• “At least half the funds to subsidize state education spending were eliminated”
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• Funding for computerize health records “is all but gone”
• Funds for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Make Work Pay payroll-tax holiday is dramatically reduced
• The child tax credit for the working poor was “also trimmed”.

Those in Ed Tech watched the Senate deliberations over what to cut with trepidation because the House version would have provided funds through a variety of avenues to improve student achievement with technology. Specifically, they could have used Title II D of NCLB, the School Facilities, Modernization, Renovation & Repair, the Broadband provisions, and portions of the funds allocated for K-12 to advance technology and technology infrastructure in schools. Included in the Senate version for Broadband provisions was $9 billion for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program which would have been a benefit to school districts in rural areas by providing access to broadband and wireless services. The allowable use language in the House version provided for “upgrading or installing educational technology infrastructure to ensure that students have access to up-to-date educational technology, technology activities that are carried out in connection with school repair and renovation, including wiring, acquiring hardware and software, acquiring connectivity linkages and resources, and acquiring microwave, fiber optics, cable, and satellite transmission equipment.” The House version also included $250 million for statewide data systems that would have pertained to Education that is not included in the Senate version.

So now we wait to see just what emerges from the pow-wow between the House and Senate to try to produce a final package to be sent to President Obama for signature. Will it be enough?