Education: Congress needs a clear plan, not a blank check

Congress should not revive a plan to send 23 billion dollars to countries in the case of public emergency in school aid. It is a very narrow focus on job creation and not to improve educational outcomes for all children.

No bills in the House and Senate justified as emergency deserves to be exempt from Obama's anti-deficit, pay-go rules.

The lawmakers are also spending Knight, which adds to the increased national debt. Estimated that 300,000 teachers could lose their jobs, without money is now very high. Placed most school districts budgets in the spring of this year and more in this region is less sent layoff notices than expected.

In addition, meteorologists in the budget tend to make the most conservative expectations that allows for wiggle room later, and that means it is unlikely that all teachers are notified of layoffs will lose their jobs in fact.

To K-12 system faces a serious crisis in the budget, but there is time for lawmakers to think and make large investments in the natural course of legislation. Not a high threshold of emergency spending and met.

In addition, expenditure on vehicles already growing deficit, the education bill for positions that were free of expectations. Have to come always accompanied by accountability and targeted improvements.

Prominent example is in Washington the other, where the District of Columbia school teachers ratified the five-year contract provides for an increase wages by 21.6 percent - in exchange for the ability to transfer teachers of poor performance and the results create the classroom, rather than seniority, as the standard be judged on teachers and carried out layoffs

Of teachers in primary schools Hawthorne Seattle, West Seattle elementary and high and Cleveland agreed to be evaluated under a new system holds them accountable for achieving the goals of student academic growth. In contrast, the teachers are eligible for additional compensation.

Congress should take a page from local areas and tie spending on education to expectations, the smart addressed. The current bills do not pass muster.