EDITORIAL: Ga. should opt out of ‘Race’ game
It all comes down to money. Georgia barely lost out in its bid for federal “Race to the Top” funds. Now, the state is going to make another push in Round 2 of the bidding contest.
The question is, why are self-styled “conservative” Georgia leaders so anxious to become dependent on federal dollars and to accept additional federal rules?
It’s the money, plain and simple.
The “Race to the Top” program will prove, in the end, to be a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars. If Georgia should get those funds, they would only last for four years. Then what? Who will pay the cost of keeping the new programs created by the initiative going?
The problem in education today isn’t a lack of money. Taxpayers throw billions of dollars each year at education in this country.
The problem is an education system run by bureaucrats who 1. Have little background in fiscal accountability; and 2. Who are blinded by theories and programs that have little impact in improving education, but which employ an army of consultants.
Oh, educators are good at spending money. And why not? They play on the heartstrings by saying that more “resources” are needed “for the children.”
But in reality, tax dollars are being wasted on high salaries of those at the top of the education food chain.
There is little to be had from the “Race to the Top” program other than a quick influx of dollars. But in return, Georgia would be bound by federal mandates forever; and when the federal dollars run out, Georgia taxpayers will see tax hikes to pay for the continuation of the programs.
It’s a financial shell game, one that Georgia’s “conservative” legislators are too willing to play.
Georgia should not pursue the “Race” program; chasing federal dollars is not the same thing as improving education.
It’s the money, plain and simple.
The “Race to the Top” program will prove, in the end, to be a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars. If Georgia should get those funds, they would only last for four years. Then what? Who will pay the cost of keeping the new programs created by the initiative going?
The problem in education today isn’t a lack of money. Taxpayers throw billions of dollars each year at education in this country.
The problem is an education system run by bureaucrats who 1. Have little background in fiscal accountability; and 2. Who are blinded by theories and programs that have little impact in improving education, but which employ an army of consultants.
Oh, educators are good at spending money. And why not? They play on the heartstrings by saying that more “resources” are needed “for the children.”
But in reality, tax dollars are being wasted on high salaries of those at the top of the education food chain.
There is little to be had from the “Race to the Top” program other than a quick influx of dollars. But in return, Georgia would be bound by federal mandates forever; and when the federal dollars run out, Georgia taxpayers will see tax hikes to pay for the continuation of the programs.
It’s a financial shell game, one that Georgia’s “conservative” legislators are too willing to play.
Georgia should not pursue the “Race” program; chasing federal dollars is not the same thing as improving education.
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