THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 1, 1996 TAG: 9606010019
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 51 lines
And then there was one.
With New Hampshire's decision to join the pack in accepting federal Goals 2000 money, Virginia becomes the only state in the nation never to have applied for the education funds. This is a pathetic distinction, ill-advised and embarrassing.
Michelle Easton, chairwoman of the State Board of Education, says the feds proved their duplicity when they refused to write the commonwealth a blank check for computers from the Goals 2000 fund. ``I guess this proves it's a strings-attached program,'' she said.
Well, of course. The federal government is not, and should not be, in the business of distributing tax dollars without a single directive or stab at demanding accountability. By Easton's reasoning, the state could just identify any education accounts that are short on cash and send the bill along to the federal government.
Goals 2000 has a purpose, and a fine one at that. The idea is to tap the creative juices of 50 states and hundreds of local school districts to come up with ways of improving the nation's schools. Educators are expected to keep in mind some common goals (the subversive idea that ``all children can learn,'' for instance). They're supposed to follow some guidelines in developing improvement plans. And they're supposed to let federal officials know how they're doing.
There is nothing sinister in this, except in the minds of some very conservative folk who believe the federal government should get out of education altogether. It's Virginia's misfortune that the group has the ear of Gov. George Allen.
In an attempt to mollify critics, Congress amended some of the Goals 2000 rules in the recently approved federal budget. For example, instead of having the U.S. Department of Education review state improvement plans, governors and state education officials now can simply affirm that they're meeting the provisions of the law.
In a letter to The Washington Post this week, Secretary of Education Richard Riley noted that it's acceptible for states to use all their Goals 2000 money on technology. The stipulation is that ``this use fit into an overall plan for raising academic standards and improving student achievement.'' Fair enough.
Wyoming has focused its Goals 2000 fund entirely on introducing computers to classrooms since last year, he said.
Except for an overly suspicious few, Virginia could be doing precisely the same thing.
One is the loneliest number, the song says. When it comes to Goals 2000, Virginia's loneliness is a self-inflicted wound. by CNB