Stimulating Stimulus Discussion

The Department of Education is in the process or has distributed the first $44 billion of K-12 stimulus funding. Most of this funding will flow to school districts based on established formulas. Clearly this funding provides a great opportunity for local education leaders to do the right thing with the funds and make investments that will improve educational opportunities for students. But, many in the education reform community fear that most of this funding will be used to support business as usual. This should not be surprising especially in states where the new federal funds will largely be used to backfill reductions in state and local school funding. Yet, the educational investments made in the stimulus package have been marketed as supporting both jobs and reform. Round 1 has been heavy on the jobs, and light on reform. But in Round 2, the reformers get their shot.

The Department of Education has $4.3 billion in Race to the Top and $650 million in What Works Innovation funds which provide a historic opportunity to reward states, school districts, and entrepreneurs doing good work for kids. The stakes are extremely high for these pots of fund because this might be the most important opportunity school reformers get in the foreseeable future to make a difference. (If the Administration is serious about beginning to balance the federal budget, then there is not likely to be a lot of discretionary funds for the education world. And, without additional funding, the NCLB reauthorization debate may not be able to buy desired reforms like previous reauthorizations.) So this may be the education reformers shot. As some have questioned, can $5 billion leverage a $600 billion industry to change?

For these two pots us funds to leverage the types of changes necessary, the Secretary will need to ensure that he gets the governance and accountability structures accompanying these funds right. Here are some of the questions the Secretary will face. How should the department distribute these funds? What criteria should be used? How should the department evaluate recipients and ensure that the process is fair and transparent? And, importantly, how can the administration support educational entrepreneurs without the perception of cronyism?

Hear the answers to these questions and more! Join Education Sector next week, Weds. April 29 10:30 – 12:30 for:

Ensuring Accountability for Federal Incentive and Innovation Funds.


Panelists include: Ted Mitchell, CEO of NewSchools Venture Fund; Frederick Hess, director of education policy studies at AEI; and Andrew Rotherham, Education Sector co-founder. Education Sector Senior Policy Analyst Rob Manwaring, as moderator. To be held from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM at the Capitol Hilton (16th and K Street, NW) in the South American Room. To attend you must RSVP to: http://www.educationsector.org/events/events_show.htm?doc_id=863218