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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2009 > March > 18 > Entry
Strickland must do the work for Obama on education
President Barack Obama and Gov. Ted Strickland want many of the same things in education. So why has Gov. Strickland’s plan faced so much criticism, while Mr. Obama has been widely praised?
A big part of the explanation is that the president can stick to what amounts to guidance and inspiration. The governor, on the other hand, has to deliver money and actually execute ideas.
Still, for President Obama to make any real gains on the education front, he needs governors to push his agenda. Ohio’s experience isn’t encouraging for him.
In his speech last week to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, President Obama laid out five national priorities — better early education; more innovation; higher state standards; improved colleges; and better teacher quality.
So how aligned is Gov. Strickland?
• Early education. In a major overlap with the Obama plan, Gov. Strickland is proposing universal all-day kindergarten and expanded preschool.
• Innovation. Strickland might appear to be doing what the president wants by pushing a plan to extend the school year by 20 days and add time to the school day. But President Obama also called for more charter schools, while the governor is hostile to the publicly funded, privately run schools.
• State standards. Ohio already has standards that generally are well-regarded, and Gov. Strickland has pushed for several ideas on the president’s agenda, such as teaching new skills and finding better ways to test students.
• Colleges. Gov. Strickland has been out in front here, having launched an overhaul of Ohio’s colleges, including putting down measurable goals for them individually and as a group.
• Teacher quality. Revamping the way teachers are trained — a Strickland proposal — fits with President Obama’s plan, but the president goes further, calling for merit pay.
What’s politically shrewd about the president’s “five pillars” for education reform — besides his limited direct responsibility — is his careful language. He leaves a lot open for interpretation.
The federal education department, for instance, cannot dictate the standards for student success, nor can it demand a longer school year. The best the feds can offer on those fronts is guidance and goal-setting.
Then there is the potentially sticky issue of merit pay. President Obama is for it, he says. Why aren’t teachers’ unions blasting him? Well, under the right circumstances they favor merit pay, too.
One approach to merit pay would entail a new pile of cash being brought to the table to reward high achievers, while struggling teachers get mentoring. However, many supporters of merit pay prefer to redistribute pay from low performers to high performers and push for quick firing of teachers who don’t measure up.
President Obama has left the impression he could be in either camp. Of course, he also won’t be in the room when districts and unions negotiate about merit plans.
Gov. Strickland can’t just take to the bully pulpit. He has to make reform happen within the constraints of a state budget squeezed by recession. That’s where his critics say he is falling most short, relying on one-time federal money and the state’s “rainy day” fund to fuel new spending for his education ideas. Critics say his math does not add up and his reform will eventually collapse without new taxes, deep cuts elsewhere or a miraculous economic rebirth.
President Obama can talk about education reform, but if bold plans put forward by allies like Gov. Strickland can’t make it into state budgets, big changes won’t really happen.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Editorials, Education, National Politics, Ohio politics, Scott Elliott
Comments
By RAW
March 19, 2009 11:29 AM | Link to this
Can it be possible? I actually think this article hit the nail on the head. Obama can grandstand and campaign until he is blue in the face, but when it comes down to it, somebody has got to pay for these reforms (TAXPAYERS). I do not want to give the impression that reform is not needed; it has been needed for many years. The problem is always money. Obama does not seem to get that issue. You cannot spend money and never recoup that money, but if he had ever worked in business, he would understand that is a didsaster waiting to happen. States tend to be more conservative in their spending, as a general rule. I have simple and cheap solution to this problem. Accountability among students, teachers, and parents. Would be difficult to implement? Yes, but it would be cheap and more effective than spending billions on new testing procedures and pay restructuring.By davidss2
March 22, 2009 11:18 AM | Link to this
The president has triangulated like Clinton did. He says things that sound to both sides like he’s agreeing with them. Then he does another. I guess the problem is Obama is least prepared since Andrew Johnson to be president. His campaign showed and the 60 days show he considers himself special. A $500,000 book advance, unthought of for a president-elect to take. A $100,000 campaign donation from IAG. Cabinet picks with all kinds of pock marks of law violations of income tax laws because they are also special like BO. Couple the nacissism with a governor who was for Clinton, then he was for Obama, who can’t effectively govern because he’s so busy being a Democrat. It’s a sad state of affairs. At least they can’t blame this on Bush and Cheney, which seems to be their favorite excuse these days. I don’t recall Bush blaming Clinton for all the problems he had to handle. Maybe he had more ethics.