I hate to be the skunk at the garden party but will all the education reformers out there please stop asking how to get their pet programs included in the stimulus package?? Not only should real reformers stay far away from this massive, one-time spending bill, they should understand that this stimulus is likely to result in less reform, not more, no matter what happens.

By its very nature, a stimulus is a boost, a kick. Several stimulus – stimuli – should produce many boosts. Boosts take energy – stimulus suggests forward movement, activity. It’s got positive connotations. Lots of good things happen when you stimulate them, right? That is, of course, unless the stimulus is an artificial substance, like a drug, which does something unnatural and temporary, and potentially addictive, to the user.

The stimulus package proposed by the President and being negotiated now in Congress is sort of like a bad drug, at least when it comes to education spending.  After achieving much success in finally convincing the American people of the destructive effects of the status quo - a reliance of inputs over results for kids - the stimulus package promises to return us to the oh so yesterday 80s, where money and government grew for education with little impact on student achievement.

There is much to say about this, and Edspresso will provide live, in person testimony about what occurs when federal spending, in particular, blows out through the Education Department, allegedly headed for schools. Here’s just one fact of life when it comes to federal education spending, than transcends political party or ideology:

Every dollar spent at the federal level will grow the federal bureaucracy first, state government second, local district personnel third, and will only then, reach the schools, where funds will be disbursed not to those who do the best or need it the most, but who have been around the longest.

The process by which the spending is determined will not be specified in the stimulus package. Those decisions will be made amidst the maze of programs, divisions, and branches in the Education Department, with little influence from new political parties (no, Secretary Arne Duncan won’t be able to reach down and change this). The rules and regulations for processing funds will result in increased power for those who distribute the funds, from feds, to states, and incorporate very little innovate thinking, as innovation is not a natural state of the traditional education agency.

Just like the famous story of the Annenberg grant, which spread out millions amongst the worst school districts with no impact, the stimulus bill’s education chapter will have the same impact. But like those drugs we warn our children to stay away from, the initial euphoria will be great when those dollars start flowing. And after it all wears off, we’ll be looking for more money to feed our habit. Will we ask ourselves if we really need it? Is that what addicts do? No, didn’t think so.

Don’t believe it? The Washington Post seems to agree.

“The party founded on the values of self reliance and national unity… those are values we all share… and while the Democratic party claims those values tonight, we do so with a measure of humility…” President-elect Barack Obama

The Center for Education Reform (CER) salutes the President-elect, Barack Obama, whose victorious grassroots and media effort to win election is one that all of us involved in education reform should consider in any effort we undertake from this day forward. Door to door, store to bus-stop, Wall Street to Pennsylvania Avenue, the Obama campaign is a reminder that to get the attention of the people and secure their support, we must do more than send out a few missives by email, or even wait for solutions to come our way.

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