Austin American-Statesman re: Katrina & education

[struggle4progress]

EDITORIAL BOARD

Saturday, September 17, 2005

Congress has approved more than $60 billion in hurricane relief, but none of that apparently is going to school districts in Texas (or elsewhere for that matter) that are educating tens of thousands of students displaced by Hurricane Katrina. That means no money for extra teachers, textbooks, classrooms or transportation. That was the word this week from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to Texas school officials.

Texas is educating more than 28,000 hurricane-displaced students at a cost of $220 million. The Austin school district has taken in more than 600 of them, and that number is likely to increase. So what's a financially-strapped district to do?

One school official gave this answer: "Maybe, if we change our name to 'Halliburton ISD,' we'll get some cash!" http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/09/17asides_edit.html

[rodeodance]

1. they should complain to their suger daddy--DeLay!

[sonias]

2. Good slap!

I would caution the writer "be careful what you wish for" i.e. Halliburton ISD

Don't think they haven't already thought of the possibility of privatizing this crisis. The bu$h king has already said he won't raise taxes to pay for the reconstruction, so cutting education spending is not off the table. They will continue to try to push vouchers and privatization as a way of cutting costs.

The federal government has never fully funded mandates like homeland security first responders, and Austin has had to absorb a lot of costs like those. I don't expect they'll be giving our districts or any others, any reimbursements for this either.



Sonia

[sonias]

3. And here comes the privatization

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/16/AR2005091601723.html
Bush Proposes Private School Relief Plan
The Bush administration yesterday proposed nearly $500 million in federal funding to help displaced private school students from the Gulf Coast enroll in private schools elsewhere in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The proposal, fleshing out a goal President Bush had announced in a speech to the nation Thursday night, would amount to the largest federal school voucher program ever, if enacted. A groundbreaking school voucher program in the District receives about $14 million a year in federal funding.

The new administration proposal drew immediate criticism from senior congressional Democrats and teacher union leaders who have long opposed vouchers as a drain on scarce public school resources. But private school voucher advocates hailed it as a measure needed to address an immediate educational crisis.

That didn't take long did it?

Sonia