Stimulus Raises Education Reform Questions

The economic recovery package gives about $110 billion to education, and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said that he will use it to reform the U.S. public school system.

He has not answered all the questions, though, argues Frederick M. Hess, the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, in an article for the National Review Online. He raises 10 questions that he would like the secretary to answer, including the following:

"In making the case for the stimulus package, you repeatedly cited a University of Washington study that reported that 600,000 jobs were at risk. Indeed, the first directive in your department's guidance on stimulus spending is, 'spend funds quickly to save and create jobs.' Yet you've also indicated a concern about wasteful spending. Would you regard it as a problem if the money were spent inefficiently, but created jobs? If your answer is yes, what are you prepared to do to stop it?"

For the complete story, visit the National Review Online.

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