Obama’s virtual education budget

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14 februari 2012 | President Obama requests a $1.7 billion increase for education. What is left of it after the elections in November remains to be seen. Republicans already called the budget plan “a campaign document”.

Within the deeply polarized context of US politics, it isdifficult to unravel the true significance of the White Housebudget. The current financial plans leave the American budgetdeficits noticeably higher (above $600 billion a year for thecoming decade) than was projected in the debt-reduction plans thatPresident Obama submitted last year.

In a speech presenting his 2013 budget President Obama said that”reining in our deficits is not an end in itself” but “a necessarystep to rebuilding a strong foundation so our economy can grow andcreate good jobs.” Furthermore the US President says his proposal”rejects the ‘you’re on your own’ economics that have led to awidening gap between the richest and poorest Americans.”

Education budget increase

The Education Budget shows a continuation of the Race ToThe Top-programme (RTT) in which individual  Statescompete for federal funding on the basis of the level of ambitionof their policies. In total the White House demands $69,8 billiondollar, an increase of $1,7 billion compared with 2012

In 2012, the Administration is building on the State-levelprogress of RTT by launching a district-level competition tosupport reforms best executed at the local level. In 2013, RTT willbe poised to deepen the Administration’s investments in thesevarious areas, and address the unmet demand of States and districtsthat have demonstrated a commitment to implementing comprehensiveand ambitious reforms.

In addition to the Race To The Top-programme, the budget placesa heightened emphasis on postsecondary education reform withefforts to tackle college costs while improving outcomes forstudents. The budget also continues strong support for increasingaccess to college by maintaining historic increases for PellGrants, which are critical to creating future generations that arewell-educated and globally-competitive

STEM teachers

Another feature of the White House budget request is extrafunding for attracting 100,000 new teachers in science, technology,engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in order to thrive in the 21stCentury economy.

Steadily, the US has seen other nations eclipse America inpreparing their children in these critical fields. The STEM projectneeds to counter this trend.