Federal Aid to Education: Is It Enough
Abstract
In under thirty years, the United States has gone from a position of pre-eminence in education worldwide to a position well to the rear of the pack among the industrialized countries. This is due to a number of factors including the failure of our schools to keep up with advancing technology, the lowering of educational standards, and drug and alcohol abuse in our schools, among others. But the single biggest reason has been the limiting of educational access by reduction in general funding at the federal level. The decade of the 80s saw the percentage of the federal budget allocated to education go from 2.3 percent to 1.7 percent and as a result the public school student lost access to quality educational opportunities across the board. This was compounded by state and local governments being beset by the same economic and political constraints as the federal government. In 1989, President Bush held an education summit with the nation's governors to set goals and objectives and to propose solution to the education problems in the country. There was, however, no defined path as to how to achieve these goals and objectives. More importantly, no established strategy has been set forth by the administration or Congress for fully restoring the federal share of support for public education. Until that occurs, we will continue to face the educational deficit that faces us now.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 05, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA237326
Entities
People
- Jesse R. Timmerman Jr
Organizations
- United States Army War College