Department of Ed to Get a Big Hunk of Stimulus

Posted on January 28, 2009
Filed Under News, The Daily Prereq | By Jessica Gross

Today, Congress will vote on our brand-new president’s economic stimulus plan. It’s expected to pass, which is good news for schools across the country.

This plan won’t just aid businesses: a huge chunk of it — $150 billion! — will go to the Department of Education. That will increase the ed budget by more than 100 percent, according to The New York Times.

This proposal — which would direct funding to projects from infrastructure to faculty salaries to scholarships — has provoked responses on both ends of the spectrum. Many think this is a necessary step (“This is going to avert literally hundreds of thousands of teacher layoffs,” said Education Secretary Arne Duncan). But others think that the plan requires the federal government to overstep its bounds, that schools will become accustomed to the funding and won’t know what to do when it ends in two years, and that there’s no obvious connection between funding and student performance.

What’s your take? Post in comments!

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