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State education policymakers gathered here for a conference last week outlined many of the same challenges as they look ahead to their 2011 legislative sessions, including the question of how far they want to go in supporting a new set of uniform academic standards, and finding ways to cope with a continuing fiscal squeeze.
But lawmakers from around the country taking part in a panel discussion at the 鈥� annual policy forum were sharply divided on how to tackle those issues.
For instance, while at least the benchmarks developed by the Common Core State Standards Initiative as of late last week, legislators from some other states were skeptical of the effort, which was led by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers.
And state policy leaders also disagreed about whether the $4 billion federal Race to the Top competition鈥攖he Obama administration鈥檚 signature K-12 initiative鈥攊s the right vehicle for reshaping national education policy.
One Republican leader in particular said during the panel that he鈥檚 worried about the expansion of the federal role in education.
鈥淲ith few exceptions, most of the things that the federal government runs, it screws up,鈥� said Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, who is often mentioned as a possible 2012 gop presidential contender. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 like the federalization of education policy.鈥�
Mr. Pawlenty said that his state elected not to sign on to the mathematics portion of the common standards, in part because expertsdecided that they were not as rigorous as the state鈥檚 current expectations.
But state Rep. James Roebuck, a Democrat and the chairman of the Pennsylvania House education committee, said that he 鈥渟upports the common core鈥� in part because it will provide continuity for students who move from one state or district to another and will ensure that students are held to rigorous expectations.
However, state Sen. Florence Shapiro, a Republican who chairs the education committee of the Texas Senate, questioned the Obama administration鈥檚 policy approach. She said she鈥檚 particularly concerned about Race to the Top, which gave an edge to states that adopted common standards.
Prodding the States
Like Gov. Pawlenty, Sen. Shapiro is worried about what she sees as an expanding role for the federal government in K-12 policy. She said it鈥檚 a challenge for her to grasp the needs and priorities of the many districts in her state, so she has trouble understanding how the federal government would be able to do it.
鈥淚 cannot begin to understand how the federal government has a better handle on [what is going on in] school districts than I do,鈥� said Sen. Shapiro. 鈥淭he best education is the closest to the students,鈥� she said, and the worst is the furthest away.
鈥淎nd I believe Race to the Top is as far away as you can get,鈥� she added.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has used the discretionary-grant competition to prod states to adopt more rigorous, uniform standards, revamp teacher tenure, andexpand charter schools, among other policies. Delaware and Tennessee were winners in the first round of the competition, and 36 states submitted applications for the $3.4 billion in grant money left in the second round, in which 18 states and the District of Columbia were finalists. (鈥淩ace to Top Finalists Prepare for Last Pitch,鈥� Aug. 11, 2010.)
Texas was one of only two states that chose not to collaborate on the early stages of the common-standards initiative, and it did not participate in the Race to the Top.
All the policymakers on the panel鈥攁nd those from nearly all states鈥攁re preparing to grapple with yawning budget deficits in their coming legislative sessions. But when policymakers were asked whether the panelists would rather face a lean budget session, or a considerable surplus, the answers differed sharply.
鈥淐risis equals opportunity,鈥� Sen. Shapiro said. When cuts have to be made, she said, 鈥渨e have a chance to drill down and find those areas where we鈥檙e not getting the bang for the buck that we thought we would. 鈥� When there鈥檚 lots of money, everybody has their hand out.
鈥淲e add and we add and we add programs that we really don鈥檛 need.鈥�
During a fiscal crunch, Sen. Shapiro said, lawmakers can work to 鈥渕ake sure the good programs鈥� are the ones that survive.
But not everyone agreed. 鈥淚鈥檇 rather have more money,鈥� Rep. Roebuck said flatly. In recent, better times, Pennsylvania has been able to invest in some promising programs, including early-childhood education, he said.
鈥淚t makes it difficult when you鈥檙e 鈥� cutting and cutting,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd then [find] that you still don鈥檛 have money.鈥�
