Duncan Plans to Cut, Consolidate Programs in 2011 Budget

While the budget for fiscal year 2011 won't be released until Monday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced a few of his proposals on Wednesday, which include reducing bureaucracy in the department.

Instead of having a lot of education programs that overlap or are ineffective, the U.S. Education Department decided to cut six and condense 38 of them into 11 as part of its new budget.

“Every year we’re going to push very hard to put more money behind what’s working and to stop doing what’s not working," Duncan said, "and this is just another step in that direction.”

That goes for states and schools, too. The department wants to shift toward rewarding programs that help students learn instead of awarding money by formulas.

"Philosophically, we’re trying to really change the business we’re in here from being an organization that just does formulaic grants to really fostering excellence and encouraging innovation,” Duncan said. 
 

Budget highlights

• Discretionary spending for education will increase by 6 percent at the same time that overall spending will be frozen, if President Barack Obama's proposed overall budget is passed.
   
• $2.3 billion boost in K-12 education
   
• $1.3 billion in new dollars for another Race to the Top program
   
• $9 billion over the next decade if the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act passes Congress. The bill calls for a shift to direct lending that would save $87 billion over the 10-year period, which would pay for increased Pell grants, early learning programs, community colleges, high school dropout prevention programs and college completion.
  
  The House of Representatives passed the bill on Sept. 17, 2009. Two-thirds of Duncan's budget relies on this bill going into effect, namely the early child learning and higher education pieces.
   
• If Congress reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Obama will add an additional $1 billion to the $3.6 billion proposed increase.
   

Duncan emphasized that education will help the United States through the tough economy, which is why the department is receiving more money this year. He wants to make sure that he uses the money wisely to give states incentives to improve education.

“More of the same is just going to get more of the same results, and that’s a big reason why we’re in such a tough economic position today,” Duncan said. “We have to get dramatically better, and just continuing to perpetuate the status quo is not going to get us the better results that we need.”