Earlier today the Obama administration had sent a request to Democratic lawmakers asking them to pass $26 billion in emergency education funding in the effort to save over 300,000 teaching jobs this summer. Obama’s administration is requesting these emergency funds to help offset the ongoing state and local budget cuts that are threatening hundreds of thousands teaching jobs across the country.
This request comes just one year after an unprecedented $100 billion in federal stimulus money was allocated to school districts as part of the $863 billion recovery act. Of that amount $48 billion was to be used to save teachers jobs while another $31 billion in stimulus funds was sent to school districts to use as they saw fit. Unfortunately it appears that this $100 billion was not enough money to save these teachers jobs for a significant period of time. With more than 300,000 teaching jobs at risk something else needs to be done to ensure that these jobs are not lost before next fall.
I can understand why some people would be frustrated with this recent request by Obama’s administration. Ever since the economy started to tank the government has given out a record number of bailouts to help various institutions around the country. With so many bailouts being given by the government some Americans are growing restless with the constant government support and would like to see tax payer dollars used in other capacities.
While it might make sense spend the tax payer’s money elsewhere we do need to make sure that we are investing in the education of America’s youth. These youngsters are going to be the ones who grow up and will take over the important jobs and eventually run the country. If we do not provide these youths with the best chance to succeed academically we could see a further decline in our country.
By making sure that these teaching jobs are not lost to state and local budget cuts we will be making an investment in the education of our kids. With fewer teachers it will be more difficult for some kids to get the education they will need to succeed in life as they will be given less attention by their teachers in overcrowded classrooms. I certainly hope that Obama administration’s request for emergency education funding is granted by lawmakers so that we can improve the education process in America and not see it decline even further.
I am curious where the first $100 billion went. The State of Indiana, which allocates school funds based on an obscure formula, cut education funding by $300 million. That has resulted in nearly every district in the state cutting teachers. If that money was distributed to Indiana, the local school districts never saw it.