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By U.S. Rep. GEORGE ALLEN
It is clear that changes are needed in the way we are educating our children. It is just as clear that money alone is not solving our problems. The United States spends more money on education than most other nations. Yet, test scores demonstrate that countries spending less money are doing a better job in educating their young people. Where then does the problem lie?
Much of the blame can be laid on the federal and state governments. It seems that many congressman and governors believe education (as well as a host of other things) can best be handled out of a central bureaucracy in Washington or at the state capitol. Their attitude is, “Parents and local school boards surely don’t know how to best educate their own children.” But these bureaucrats do not help our children to actually learn to read or write. At best, they are inconsequential.
And, of course, these same “leaders” also feel that the more money spent, the better the result. The only problem is, they’re dead wrong.
Instead of increased student performance and a better managed system of education, they have given us a self-perpetuating, money-digesting bureaucracy which is out of touch with reality, let alone local school needs. We need to set priorities concerning the spending for education.
The first is a bill which I will soon introduce to cut personnel costs from the Department of Education and return most of the resulting savings directly to local school districts. The legislation will cut bureaucratic overhead by 10 percent over a twoyear period. Ninety percent of the savings will be sent to local school districts; 10 percent will go toward reducing the federal deficit.
The personnel budget for the Department of Education this year is nearly $284 million, which supports a staff of more than 4,600. My legislation would redirect over $56 million to local school districts and to deficit reduction.
My purpose is simple. The people, that means you, in local school districts can determine, better than the federal government, how to use this revenue to actually deliver improved education to our elementary and secondary school students. You all know whether textbooks, teacher salaries, new buildings or some
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