Budget Proposal Falls Short of Intended Education Goals
The Bush administration's proposed budget for fiscal year 2003 sends mixed signals about supporting the president's aggressive U.S. education agenda, says ASCD's Executive Director Gene R. Carter. President Bush and Congress have called for increased assessment and accountability in schools, yet the Bush administration's budget falls short in supporting these expectations, Carter says in a February 19 statement.
On the plus side, the proposed budget would increase funding related to low-performing schools, teacher quality, early reading programs, and research-based practices regarding student achievement, he says.
However, ASCD questions the diversion of federal resources to programs that do not directly support teaching and learning. Examples include proposed funding to expand public-private school choice programs, a new tuition tax credit that would shift public tax dollars away from public schools, and a proposed cut in funds earmarked for recruitment and professional development of school principals.
Amid daunting budget challenges and a weakened economy, Carter says, "we cannot forget that the future of our nation lies with our children—and the teaching and learning needed to support their success."
For more information, the full statement is available on the ASCD Web site (http://www.ascd.org) in the News and Issues section under the heading ASCD Press Releases.
NCREL Partnership to Launch Professional Development Center
ASCD is collaborating with NCREL, the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, to launch the John Edward Porter Professional Development Center, a resource to help schools and school districts plan, implement, and sustain professional development.
The center will help organizations create quality professional development plans, build capacity to implement them, and integrate research-based resources into these plans.
Based in Naperville, Ill., the center is expected to be operational by late 2002.
For more information, contact Claudette Rasmussen, center director, at Claudette.Rasmussen@ncrel.org, or Agnes Crawford, ASCD assistant executive director for program development, at acrawfor@ascd.org.