Too Funny: Wealthy Districts Receive More Aid Then Needy Districts From Stimulus Bill

Maybe they should read the legislation before they sign it into law. The Education secretary says he was okay with it since they figured it was the quickest way to rush funds to schools. That is weak, to excuse bad policy on the grounds it needs to be rushed is mighty thin to say the least.

RANDOLPH, Utah — Dale Lamborn, the superintendent of a somewhat threadbare rural school district, feels the pain of Utah’s economic crisis every day as he tinkers with his shrinking budget, struggling to avoid laying off teachers or cutting classes like welding or calculusJust across the border in Wyoming, a state awash in oil and gas money, James Bailey runs a wealthier district. It has a new elementary school and gives every child an Apple laptop.

But under the Obama administration’s education stimulus package, Mr. Lamborn, who needs every penny he can get, will receive hundreds of dollars less per student than will Dr. Bailey, who says he does not need the extra money.

“For us, this is just a windfall,” Dr. Bailey said.In pouring rivers of cash into states and school districts, Washington is using a tangle of well-worn federal formulas, some of which benefit states that spend more per pupil, while others help states with large concentrations of poor students or simply channel money based on population. Combined, the formulas seem to take little account of who needs the money most.

But what the heck free money is free money, right. Anyway no one is complaining now since everyone is allegedly awash in cash so the inequality is being excused by the immediacy. How long will that last?