What one local school district hopes will happen in regards to funding
AMARILLO, TEXAS -- The Obama administration is looking to overhaul the "No Child Left Behind" education law. There are several proposed changes including the way funding is awarded to school districts.
While it's very premature; the Obama administration has started to speak out on what changes they would like to see when it comes to the governments role in education. The proposed changes include reworking the accountability systems for school districts and teachers as well as swapping the "Adequate Yearly Progress" or AYP for a different system. The administration would like to eliminate the 2014 deadline for academic proficiency, and change the federal funding model to a more competitive system based on academic progress.
We spoke to one local school district to see what they want to see happen in regards to funding.
"We like the funding to continue as it has or at least know that we're going to get similar funding in the future. Our concern is with this competitive grant funding system we may not receive even close to the funding we see right now. Keeping door to your schools open gets a little bit scary when you're not sure what kind of money you're going to see coming from the national government," said Christy Bertolino, Coordinator of District Communications, Canyon I.S.D.
The bottom line really boils down to this; the issue is really in the hands of Congress. No bill has surfaced yet, and right now no one really knows what if any of these proposed changes will be included in a final bill. The timeline may also be in question. If a bill is not passed by this spring the issue could easily push into 2011 before any of the proposed changes would be possible.
For another informative look into this issue check out the New York Times article written by Sam Dillon. Simply click the link provided below.
