Notepad

NEA Today, Mar 2006

More Funny Math

Here's a quick solution to classroom cash shortages: Cut spending for media centers, food service, bus drivers, nurses, guidance counselors, professional development, instructional support services, building maintenance, and so on. Sound good? It does to a group called First Class Education, which has called for all states to spend no less than 65 cents of every education dollar "in the classroom."

Called "the 65 percent solution," the idea-which assumes all districts have the same needs-could have drastic consequences. Currently, on average, 61.5 percent of state education money is spent on "classroom" expenses. Meeting the proposed standard likely would require laying off thousands of education support professionals, according to NEA analysts.

And yet, First Class Education's efforts, which are extremely wellfunded, are taking hold. Governor Rick Perry of Texas has ordered the 65 percent solution to be law, and legislatures in Louisiana and Kansas have approved similar nonbinding measures. Ballot questions are expected in a large number of states, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, and Ohio.

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