With the presidential election cycle entering its final year, many observers have been speculating on the role education will play in the outcome. As state budgets begin to contract further due to the drying up of federal stimulus funds, the way these cuts affect education spending could potentially swing voters in ways they would not normally vote. The Fiscal Times recently published an article detailing this possible side-effect.
Republicans seems to be pushing the idea of “educational austerity,” asserting that redesigning education spending could be a chance to change everything from teacher compensation to union rights. “If states look at this as a way to really look at how education is structured, it can be seen as an opportunity. It’s a chance to be innovative, to rethink their staffing model,” says Chris Tessone of the Fordham Institute, a conservative think tank.
On the other side of the aisle, Democrats seem to be benefitting from this line of argument. Two republican state senators in Wisconsin have been replaced by Democrats. This week, Ohio voters are expected to overwhelmingly reject a law signed by Gov. Kasich (R) that eliminated public employee collective bargaining rights. However, when it comes down to more public layoffs, cuts in services and higher property taxes, Howard Fleeter of the Education Tax Policy Institute observes that “[Voters] are not going to be happy with any of the people that are in office. I don’t think they will distinguish between whether they are a Democrat or a Republican.”
So, can we expect 2012 to be the year of the “Education President,” the Commander-in-Chief who makes education his or her number one priority? It’s too soon to tell, says the College Board’s president, Gaston Caperton. But, he urges, the election is a “unique opportunity to seize the public dialogue and steer it toward a serious conversation about the future of education.”
In a blog post for The Huffington Post, Caperton explains why education should be a top priority for all presidential candidates:
Education can be the silver bullet if we invest the necessary time and the resources. Unfortunately, both are becoming scarce. As the United States continues to plummet in the global education standings, we can not afford to continue wringing our hands. We need bold, decisive leaders who are not afraid to take risks and have mastered the old maxim of “doing more with less.”
We have lots of big questions to answer when it comes to education–questions about the role of the federal government, the length of the school year, the nature of the curriculum, and the integration of technology. The winner of the 2012 presidential election will face these questions and many more. As custodians of the greatest and oldest republic on earth, it’s our responsibility to know how each candidate plans to answer them before we step into the voting booth. These are the questions that will define our future.
To read the Fiscal Times article, please visit http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2011/11/03/Education-Cuts-Could-Swing-the-2012-Election.aspx#page1
To read Caperton’s blog post, please visit http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gaston-caperton/education-and-the-2012-el_b_1076770.html
