Jane on Education

From the Jane Mitakides for Congress website:

The future begins anew every day in the classrooms of America and Ohio. We must work harder and smarter to ensure that school administrators and teachers have the resources they need to make our system of public education work for all children. Instead of empty political promises to improve our schools, I believe that our elected leaders should take a hands-on, nuts-and-bolts approach, working closely with educators at every level to understand and overcome real, everyday challenges. As a mother, I know that education isn't about "teaching kids," it's about shaping and changing lives. It is the single most important component in the future of America, and yet it fails to be properly prioritized in budget after budget.

When elected to Congress, I will work to:

* Partner with state and local governments for fair, full funding of education – including higher pay for Ohio teachers
* Provide scholarships for students who commit to teaching as a profession
* Strengthen before- and after-school programs
* Partner with state and local governments to help achieve smaller classes and a more diverse curriculum, including technology, fine arts and music

Right away, I notice one very important word missing from this diatribe: "parents." Jane throws in the Democrat-required jab at the Bush administration's No Child Left Behind, but doesn't really give us an alternative plan beyond the usual talking points. This is a serious issue, so let's break it down:

Partner with state and local governments for fair, full funding of education – including higher pay for Ohio teachers

NCLB is and always was fully funded. Saying otherwise displays ignorance on the issue and panders to a constituency that hasn't bothered to learn about the issue.

Jane will have a tough time partnering with state and local governments on funding issues when said governments can't convince the electorate to pass levies. Educational funding comes down to a taxation issue, and the people have spoken on that time and again. They want their taxes low.

Provide scholarships for students who commit to teaching as a profession

This is just a bad idea and potentially a waste of tax money. Just because a college student intends to persue the education field, there are no guarentees that the student will finish or what the quality of teacher will result. Jane would also need to prove that there is a shortage of teachers in order for this to work too (this is where her last bit about class size comes into play).

Strengthen before- and after-school programs

Like the previous campaign promise, this one is nothing more than throwing more tax money at a perceived problem. "Stregthen" could mean anything: she could be talking about accountability, but if that were the case, she'd be a Republican; so we're pretty sure she means funding.

Partner with state and local governments to help achieve smaller classes and a more diverse curriculum, including technology, fine arts and music

Again with the partnering... Smaller classes and a more "diverse" curriculum are wonderful goals for education, but "partnering" isn't a realistic approach to achieving them. That is going to require legislation and funding; two things Jane can not secure for Ohio in the United States House of Representatives. Consider this from the US Census Bureau:

Education revenues from federal, state and local sources reached $419.8 billion in the United States in 2002, up 4 percent from the previous year, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today. The District of Columbia spent the most money per student ($13,187) of any state or state equivalent.

These findings are from the 2002 Census of Governments Survey of Local Government Finances — School Systems.

State governments contributed the greatest share of public elementary and secondary school funding, $207.4 billion. Local sources followed at $179.7 billion, and the federal government was the third largest contributor at $32.7 billion.

If Jane wants to increase funding for schools, it would appear she is running for the wrong position...

And then there are these findings:

* Public school systems spent $435.3 billion, up 6.0 percent from 2001. About $224.8 billion was spent on elementary-secondary instruction, $125.5 billion on services that support elementary-secondary instruction, $52.9 billion on capital outlay and $32.1 billion on other items.

* School districts received $155.6 billion, or 37.1 percent of all revenues from local taxes and local government appropriations.

* Instructional salaries totaled $160.7 billion in 2002, up 5.0 percent.

Once again, Jane appears to be pandering for votes, but not really offering a realistic vision for the district, its constituency, the state of Ohio, or the United States of America.

Jane on... Series:

...Health Care
...Jobs