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What will school districts do when the federal money runs out?; GR Press-August 21, 2010
Topic Started: Aug 24 2010, 08:37 PM (242 Views)
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What will school districts do when the federal money runs out?
Published: Saturday, August 21, 2010, 6:03 PM
Dave Murray | The Grand Rapids Press

Michigan schools are getting a $318 million boost from the federal government this year, but is that really a helping hand?

Experts speaking at an Education Commission of the States conference suggested schools used the time to start planning for when the cash by sharing services and combining their purchasing power — ideas discussed this week in or Michigan 10.0 series.

Alyson Klein of Education Week reports that school finance expert Michael Griffith told the recent gathering that states are becoming more and more dependent on the federal government, and that might not be a good thing, unless they don’t mind giving up bigger chunks of their authority.

Speaking at the event, Griffith said federal spending on K-12 schools used to be about 9 percent of the budget, but now it’s about 19 percent.

“When you're talking about driving policy, it's the golden rule, he who has the gold makes the rules,” Griffith was quoted telling the group.

But that federal tap might be closing a bit.

“But it's tough to say whether the feds will come through with big new money for education again any time soon,” Klein wrote. “It certainly doesn't look likely. The spending climate has shifted, and increased investment may not be politically sustainable. Case in point: Lawmakers went through far more drama trying to pass the $10 billion education jobs law than they did in passing the $100 billion in education money under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.”

Presenters are the conference noted that the federal money is supposed to help districts until the economy rebounds or ease them into changes.

“Griffith suggested that states and districts consider other steps to get more bang for their buck, such as combining special education services and pooling purchasing power,” she reported.

“Some states already encourage districts to make joint procurement decisions on a voluntary basis, but that doesn't always work, Griffith said. He joked that one school official will prefer a different brand of toilet paper than another ‘and the whole thing falls apart.’”

A Texas lawmaker told Klein that she’s considering drafting a bill that would mandate combined purchasing.

On Wednesday, Gov. Granholm called for setting aside $50 million to create a grant competition to push schools to combine services.

Former state Superintendent Tom Watkins told me the federal government should make such moves a requirement for anyone taking a handout.

“In education, change is avoided until it can not be avoided any longer,” he said. “Giving them more money without addressing the new ‘three Rs’ — restructure, reform and reinvent — is lubricating to protect the status quo.

“When the federal government took over the car companies, they demanded changes. They need to say to the schools, ‘We’ll give you the money if you make the reforms.’”

E-mail Dave Murray: dmurray@grpress.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ReporterDMurray

Related topics: Dave Murray, Michigan 10.0

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/08/what_will_school_districts_do.html
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