by KYW's Dr. Marciene Mattleman
According to the Associated Press, the nation’s schools will get about $100 billion, an unprecedented amount of money over the life of the new stimulus law-- double the spending on education under President George W. Bush.
The Obama administration has warned states not to use the money to plug budget deficits, despite loopholes created by Congress, allowing that to happen.
It’s not surprising that Education Secretary Arne Duncan has recommended using funds to lengthen the school day and the school year and even adding weekends to the school calendar. Both he and President Obama have pointed out that kids in other industrialized countries have such schedules.
Duncan also suggests creating evaluation systems for teachers and principals, new charter schools, closing failing schools and reopening them with new staff, modernized science labs and training teachers to use more technology in their classrooms.
Perhaps the most controversial of the ideas he is putting forth are extra pay for excellence in teaching or as a means of luring teachers and administrators into struggling schools.
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