Regular Flypaper readers know that I've been skeptical of the stimulus package moving through Congress, at least as it relates to education. I'm worried that bailing out school districts will delay painful but necessary choices and reforms; that it sets a precedent for greater federal funding of education, which will inevitably lead to greater federal micromanagement; and that eventually, reformers are going to have to win battles without buying off the education establishment.
But then I listened to President Barack Obama's comments from last night. I finally heard what I've been waiting for: a clear, compelling case for saving hundreds of thousands of teacher jobs.
I took a trip to Elkhart, Ind., today. Elkhart is a place that has lost jobs faster than anywhere else in America. In one year, the unemployment rate went from 4.7 percent to 15.3 percent. Companies that have sustained this community for years are shedding jobs at an alarming speed, and the people who've lost them have no idea what to do or who to turn to. They can't pay their bills, and they've stopped spending money. And because they've stopped spending money, more businesses have been forced to lay off more workers.
And:
It is absolutely true that we can't depend on government alone to create jobs or economic growth. That is and must be the role of the private sector. But at this particular moment, with the private sector so weakened by this recession, the federal government is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back into life. It is only government that can break the vicious cycle where lost jobs lead to people spending less money, which leads to even more layoffs. And breaking that cycle is exactly what the plan that's moving through Congress is designed to do.
And:
More than 90 percent of the jobs created by this plan will be in the private sector. They're not going to be make-work jobs, but jobs doing the work that America desperately needs done, jobs rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, repairing our dangerously deficient dams and levees so that we don't face another Katrina. They'll be jobs building the wind turbines and solar panels and fuel-efficient cars that will lower our dependence on foreign oil, and modernizing our costly health care system that will save us billions of dollars and countless lives.
They'll be jobs creating the 21st century classrooms, libraries and labs for millions of children across America. And they'll be the jobs of firefighters and teachers and police officers that would otherwise be eliminated if we do not provide states with some relief.
This is the President's strongest case: this bill is an anti-deflationary measure. It's a jobs program, pure and simple. And so of course it makes sense to send money to the education sector: our school system is incredibly good at creating jobs. Mind you, many of these jobs are unnecessary, not terribly productive, and filled by people who should be doing other kinds of work. But they are jobs, and they provide paychecks, paychecks that teachers and other educators will spend in the larger economy.
So fine: open the spigot and get the money out there to make up for revenue shortfalls at the state and local level. (Of course, make sure you don't leave charter schools behind.) Even modernize schools if you want to, if that will create yet more jobs. But if you want any more support from the right, or if you want this investment to do some good down the road, make sure you attach some conditions related to, well, jobs. Specifically:
1. Get states and districts to promise that if they still have to lay off people over the next few years, they let go of their least effective employees, not just their most junior ones. In other words, get states and districts to sign on the dotted line promising to eliminate ???last hired, first fired??? policies and to waive tenure considerations when making these difficult decisions. Not only is this fairer, Marguerite Roza shows here that it will also save money big-time.
2. When the economic crisis has passed, ensure that states and districts are positioned to trim unnecessary jobs wisely. For example, making an investment in data systems, as Bill and Melinda Gates urged today, will allow schools to evaluate teachers at least in part based on achievement results. But there's no sense in giving money to states to build such systems if they turn around and pass laws (such as in New York and California) that will bar districts from using the data to evaluate teachers. So again: make states sign on the dotted line that they won't block experiments in this area.
3. Force states to address their unsustainable spending over the long term. Even when the economy recovers, our education system will still face a fiscal crisis. That's because we've been making promises around teacher retirements that we can't possibly afford. This recent Washington Post op-ed by Jim Snider, for example, illustrates that in one Maryland suburb, a typical teacher will receive over $2 million in retirement benefits. That's wonderful???but it's way more than we can pay for without wreaking havoc on our schools.
If the Obama Administration and its allies on Capitol Hill are serious about getting conservative support???and about making this a jobs program that doesn't retard reforms???it will work language like this into the package, ideally as conditions for receipt of state stabilization funds or as leverage that Secretary Arne Duncan can use in his incentive grants. Are they up to the job?
