Son,

The local news paper reported today that federal funds must be taken from the most impoverished schools. The money will instead be used for staff training. The shift is a consequence of special education students failing to meet the standards set by the No Child Left Behind legislation.

Mixed feelings abound – probably because the newspaper is only able to give a brief synopsis of the truth, which means that the general populace doesn’t have a clue about what is going on. I have questions, but I am left to surmise the rationale.

On the surface the logic does not seem to follow – it would seem that more resources are required, rather than less. But it also seems logical that perhaps the problem is in staff training.

This is where the liberal and conservative argument hits the road – should the federal government be telling local school districts how to spend money. Well – if the federal government provides the money we can reasonably expect some measurement of the product.

Liberal in this context says that it is the responsibility of the federal government to insure equality of educational opportunities. Conservative, in this context, think duty rests with the individual states and local communities.

The losers are the children. The children are lost in the debate over who is responsible.

Dad