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Guest Column: TARP Funds for School Districts?

An article in the New York Times last Sunday discussed the high stakes battle shaping up between some schools and teachers’ unions across the country over seniority rules that have been in place for decades.

The rules require that the most recently hired teachers be the first to lose their jobs. In New York, school leaders say the rules are anachronistic and in an era of accountability, they say, the rules will upend their efforts of the last few years to recruit new teachers, improve teacher performance and reward those who do best.  The full article is HERE

We think it isn’t that black and white. There is a lot to be said about having teachers with many years under their belts.

In another article about teacher layoffs in the Times, Morris Goodman, a Dearborn attorney, past president of the Dearborn Democratic Club, a longtime political activist and observer and regular reader of Deepsaidwhat.com, asks why schools can’t be given TARP money to make sure “our future doesn’t tank.” It’s an interesting idea given all of the bailout money our government has paid to other companies.

Goodman’s column begins below:

Morris Goodman

On Tuesday April 20, the New York Times had a front-page article about the tens of thousands of teachers about to be laid off throughout the nation- 2000 in Detroit alone. On Wednesday the 21st General Motors sent the US Treasury $4.7 billion ($1.1 billion to Canada) to pay off its post-bankruptcy federal loan 5 years early. Goldman Sachs and many other bailed out banks reported record first quarter profits.  What’s wrong with this picture? If GM and our nation’s major banks are taking in huge revenues because of the action of our government in the fall of 2008 and spring of 2009, shouldn’t some of their money be used to shore up our beleaguered schools.

As the stock market has risen to its highest point since before the financial and mortgage foreclosure meltdown in the fall of 2008 (11,200+ Dow), unemployment has hovered at 9.7% nationally and over 14% in Michigan. Without getting into the argument as to whether the $787 billion February 2009 Stimulus package has done all that it was supposed to, it is clear that in the 2009-2010 school year states and localities used a great deal of their Stimulus money to keep teachers employed and other government services intact.

Without a continuation of federal support, Michigan and most other states (Alaska, North Dakota, and a few other oil and natural gas producing states being the exceptions) are being forced to make significant cuts in their school budgets, not seen since the 1930s. Is that good for this country?

 

Yes, we need to be concerned about the future effect of the more than $1.3 trillion federal deficits of 2009 and predicted for 2010. Yes, it also true that future generations will have to pay dearly for today’s huge deficits. But isn’t it also true that the ability of future generations to pay today’s debt is dependent on the education of today’s children from K-12 to college and graduate school? Isn’t it also true that the US is the least taxed of the Western industrialized nations? Further, isn’t it also true that the deficit spending was intended to prop up the economy when consumer demand, as Warren Buffet said, “Fell off the Cliff?”

While there seems to be a great reluctance on the part of legislators in both the US Congress and the states to raise taxes, there also is a great imperative that our future workforce, creative scientists, and entrepreneurs be better educated than our international competitors. Well, we are simply falling behind the Indian, Chinese, and many European countries in all standard educational measurements. Moreover, the percentage of our national wealth that we publicly devote to education is at a post WWII low. The Tea Party activists might not like paying taxes to support “worthless” bureaucrats and welfare cheats, but they should all want their children to have the best education possible. That doesn’t come cheaply.

Very few people expected that the $700 billion in TARP funds that went to bail out the big banks, AIG, and GM and Chrysler ever to be paid back. Well, a great deal of that money has been paid back – in many cases with profit to the taxpayer. It is expected that sometime soon GM will pay back the $47 billion it still owes the US when the company has a new public offering and the 61% share the US owns in the company is redeemed. Yes, there is in fact good news on the economic front.

TARP stands for Troubled Asset Relief Program. Why can’t some of that repaid TARP money be converted to a new Troubled School Relief Program? If we can bail out companies that are “too big to fail” to make sure that our economy doesn’t tank, shouldn’t we bail out our schools as well to make sure our future doesn’t tank?

The anticipated deficits for 2010 and beyond in all probability do not include the unexpected repaid TARP funds. While not exactly “free money,” what better way to use these funds that are a direct result of an improving economy. Investing this money in local schools right now is the best way to insure continuing prosperity for many years to come. 

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 1st, 2010 at 10:26 am and is filed under Around Town. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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  • Joe

    While “not exactly free money” No, it is nowhere near free money. That money costs us all dearly!!
    Why are we pumping more money into schools that are continuing to fail our students? What is the point of throwing more money at programs that dont work? if you want to give more money to the schools how about for longer days or longer school years? oh that is right because the MEA is too powerful to be held accountable. Why is it that school funding has tripled in the last 30 years but test scores reamain stagnent? Why is it that Utah which has the lowest spending per student is within 1% point on test scores than NJ which spends the most per student?
    More money is not the answer, holding school districts and teachers is the answer. We cannot compete as a global nation, let alone a nation that can pay back trillions of dollars if we continue to fund an education system that does not work!
    When teachers are held accountable, students are LEARNING, and districts are responsible with the money they are given each year I will give the schools more money with a smile. Until then, learn to live within your means just like I do.

  • LifelongDbnRes

    Joe, as a teacher myself I feel I absolutely MUST set you straight. I now work in a unionized public district but in no way am I a staunch union supporter. I too think that the AFT and NEA are too powerful for their own good. Students ARE learning. Unfortunately, students are learning FAR LESS than they did in the past because the hands of their teachers have been tied by the standardized testing movement. We are forced to teach only the limited material that is on the test and questioned if we ever choose to do a project that would expand our students’ critical thinking skills because “that isn’t on the MEAP.”

    In terms of competing with other countries, let me let you in on a secret the media almost never shares. Most other modern countries only highly educate (and thus only test) those who are going into the highest of fields…doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc. Here in the US, we educate EVERYONE and thus we test EVERYONE and our scores reflect the performance of EVERYONE.

    Please do yourself a favor and do not simply assume from your limited experiences that teachers are not held accountable appropriately and that students are not learning. You are welcome in my kindergarten classroom anytime. When you see that I had students who entered who could not even write their names who are now reading at a first grade level and writing 4 complete, coherent sentences at a time, THEN tell me that students are not learning.

    PS–Utah and NJ is an apples to oranges comparison. Care to think about the difference in poverty rates or difference in parental support in those two states? WHY do people keep forgetting that if children are living in poverty it will take more money to help them simply because their families are not?!

    *sigh* I will step off my soapbox for now. I really wish people were less ignorant and less likely to believe whatever the news tells them. Walk a few miles in my shoes and see how school has changed since you were there.

  • Joe

    Life Long Dbn Resident:
    Students are learning, it is just far less. So I guess that is ok, because at least they are learning. Hey boss, I am only going to work 20 hours this week, but dont worry although I am working far less than last week, I am still working, so make sure you pay me full salary.
    You even say that students are learning far less because hands are tied and it is all about the MEAP. I know my student did not get textbooks until six weeks into the semester because they were doing MEAP prep. Teachers are scared to give bad grades for bad performace, wouldnt want to hurt a kids feelings. How about the fact that if you look at MEAP scores over 80% of Mi kids are shown to be “proficient” or better, however when Mi kids take the National Assessment test less than 50% are proficient. Is that becuase the MEA develops the MEAP and instructs just to that, or is it because they make it so easy so that so many kids are “proficient” they look good? How about the fact that we are graduating
    40% of high school graduates that go on to college have to take remedial, non credit classes. Why is that? Could that be because high schools are graduating kids that are NOT prepared?
    Lets go back to my example of Utah vs. NJ and your argument that I was comparing apples to oranges. How about that fact that 8.7% live below poverty line in NJ while 10.6% in Utah live below the poverty line, 13.2% nationwide. So you are right, I was comparing apples to oranges I just think you were mistaken on which state was the apple and which was the orange. Seems like Utah should be spending A LOT more than NJ eh?
    Walk a few miles in your shoes and see how the schools have changed since I was there? What so I can see kids on phones and teachers to lazy, unconcerned or not powerful enough to take them away? So I can see that my kid has more extra credit in a class than points possible? So I can see teachers who have my kid read for 2 weeks straght everyday in class with no teacher interaction so the teacher can play on the computer? So I can see that my daughters teacher has not given homework in 5 weeks becuase she “doesnt have time”?What exactly do you want me to see in your shoes?
    It is not that I am ignorant, or that I believe everything I see on the news, I am sure I watch much less of it than most. It is that I see the schools in practice everyday. I see them passing students that are not ready. I see the schools taking the easy way out. I see our schools down to 156 days a year of class, and next year starting late 16 days cutting another 2.5 days of instruction when what they need to do is add days.

  • Reason

    Joe, I don’t know how good schools could have been when you were a kid either. Your spelling isn’t so hot, and your writing in general is rambling. What were they teaching in English class when you were in school? Could it be your teachers were half-assin’ it back in the good ol’ days? Tsk-tsk. Those teachers…

  • Angelou

    LifelongDbnRes, thank you for your response.

    I have been very impressed with the teachers my 2nd grader has had. I think expectations are higher for kids today. When I went through kindergarten we were learning our letters and sounds. Now, if they don’t know their letters and sounds entering kindergarten they are behind and if they aren’t reading by the end of that school year they are really behind.

  • Joe

    Reason-
    you are right, I should proof-read better, however, I do not believe that takes away from the point of the argument. It is easy to criticize my spelling instead of addressing the valid points I brought up. Great job!

  • LifelongDbnRes

    Joe, I won’t sit here and tell you that kids who have no business passing aren’t. They are. And I’ll tell you why-because the politicians in this state and in this country have developed their guidelines of what THEY think children should learn. All education has been reduced to this very limited common denominator. All of a sudden every child should be an algebra master….God forbid they want to be an auto mechanic, plumber, or farmer. We have stopped even allowing kids to consider those kinds of careers with the courses we are requiring them to take. We are producing a nation of cookie cutter children and I believe with all my heart that it isn’t right. The MEA did not create the MEAP. In fact, if the MEA and its teachers had their way, the MEAP would not exist even remotely in the way that it does. Teachers are against the watered-down standardized tests we must give that suddenly have become the ONLY way to prove our children have learned. Do you know anyone who wasn’t a good test-taker? Somebody who struggled to read but could do everything else with amazing accuracy and ability? Somebody who screwed up their bubbles partway through the test? Or better yet, somebody whose parent got sent to the hospital/jail/died the night before taking the test? You think THIS is a good way to measure learning when that many variables come into play? I don’t give extra credit in kindergarten and I don’t generally agree with extra credit. There is too much inflation going on these days in high schools. But this article wasn’t just about high schools–it’s about ALL schools.

    And FYI when you count days, note that the calculations for length of time in school has changed. When we were kids the instructional time was counted in days. It is now counted in hours which is why it LOOKS like less time. With days being extended (when I was in school we started as 9-3, then switched to 9-3:30, and now it’s even earlier in elementaries for example), we have not lessened instructional time but actually extended it.

    Joe, please come sit in my classroom. NONE of the things you mentioned seeing happen in my building. I spend my time working HARD to make sure my students are meeting their greatest potential and so do all of my colleagues. I’m sorry you’ve had such poor experiences, but extrapolating them to all schools is ignorant. Don’t you dare suggest that I’m doing those things because not only is it wrong, but INCREDIBLY offensive. I work TOO hard to listen to someone like you spread such falsehoods about the most important profession in this world.

  • Mr.Blond

    First off,i dont put any credit in any article written in the “New York Crimes”,the paper is just a liberal branch of the democratic party and the obama regime.Does anyone else remember that the times printed a front page story about how our C.I.A. was listening in to osama bin ladens satellite phone calls in order to track him,a day after they printed it osama bin laden never used his satellite phone again. That editors should have been tried for treason!
    The other big lie is in Mr. Goodmans column “On Wednesday the 21st General Motors sent the US Treasury $4.7 billion ($1.1 billion to Canada) to pay off its post-bankruptcy federal loan 5 years early.”
    This is an outrageous lie by Goodman,GM and the U.S. treasury dept./Obama Regime.
    GM borrowed new money from the treasury department to pay off the old debt they owed!
    They owed 59 billion dollars and to this day GM still owes 59 billion dollars,they havent paid back a single dollar of our tax payers money. Goodman is either very naive or he just another corrupt dirty democrat just like the many in congress and the white house.
    When this liberal lieing NY Times and the lieing democrats want to write and talk about the truth maybe one day i will listen,but until them i will just count the days until Nov. 2nd

  • kay

    Mr. Blond, thank you for your comment. I read these posts last night, and Mr. Goodman’s article and thought the same thing as you. I, however, was too disgusted and tired to type out my comment. You did it for me and I thank you. Well said.

  • James

    Wow, based on Mr. Blond’s comments, I never would’ve guessed that this was an article on education in Dearborn. Keep to the topic.

  • Diogenes

    Dear Mr. Goodman: When are you and all the other liberals going to start living within a budget. How about a real cut in spending, not just the base line. Diogenes

  • NObama & NOreilly

    Just a few general observations:

    1) LLDR – Joe is making a generalization about education. By no means does it come across to me as EVERY teacher and EVERY student is not going their part. In your second reply, you actually are proving Joe’s point that the government agencies are too involved with the educational process. With that said, Joe (and I) do not agree that throwing more money in a broken system will fix a thing. So take the positions you both state and look at this from a 1,000 ft perspective, and not from 1 ft. From the much bigger educational position, there does appear to be quite a bit of waste within education.

    2) Isn’t part of this funding also paying for government subsidized meals? I’ve heard that there are situations where school systems are not just paying for lunch, but also paying for breakfast.

    3) Mr. Goodman even spells out what TARP was for (Troubled Assets). Probably the major contributor to our national debt is the ear-marking of money floating around in D.C. If, I repeat, IF more money is indeed required after all the waste is eliminated, then what’s wrong with having a simple yes or no vote on a bill with ONLY education included?

    Wake up fellow citizens. Do you not see what a socialistic type economy we are all faced with? Where does the government intervention and wasteful spending stop? Education is very important. Let’s eliminate wasteful spending to reallocate first, then look for assistance if needed.

  • kay

    James, If Mr. Goodman can take the subject of education and connect it to GM and their so-called payback of loans, Goldman Sachs and every other liberal talking point out there, then it follows that Mr. Blond and anyone else can make the connection as well. Federal funds for “everything” on earth seems to be the subject of any and all issues. It seems that Mr. Goodman has is under the impression that “free” money exists. Ridiculous. 2000 teachers in Detroit, in one of the most corrupt school districts in the country, sounds like a good start.

  • James

    I would disagree by pointing out that there is no connection by attacking the newspaper that printed the story. Attack the story, attack the points brought up in the story, but to attack the newspaper that published is not making a connection – that was what I was alluding at.

  • Mr.Blond

    Hey James i will keep to the topic when the original article stops lieing and misrepresenting the truth. The original article talked about Mr. Goodman and GM,it was an outrageous lie what he was saying,i am not going to read an article and make a legitimate comment on a complete lie,i first have to correct the lie with facts,and that’s usually something the NY Times deliberately leaves out,facts.

  • Mr.Blond

    Now that i have corrected the lie with facts i can comment about the article,but i do think its funny that james seemed upset about me being “off topic” and never seemed upset that the article had a major lie in it.
    To me Mr. Goodman needs to be mad at his own party,they just paid off the banks with the money and all of which were major democratic party money donors.
    Have a look at the facts,im sure Mr. Goodman wouldn’t want anyone to see this though:

    http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=d000000085

    In fact,many of Goldman Sachs employee’s and former employee’s work for the white house as consultants.
    I think its funny how Mr. Goodman’s tone sounds like he really believes that the TARP money was actually suppose to be used for troubled assets.

  • Marge

    What I would like to know is why we never hear about the lottery money that was supposed to go to the schools. The promise of raising money for the schools is how they passed the idea of lottery tickets to the public. I have never read anything about the benefits of these lotteries which have grown immensely in number over the years.
    Did they change this plan? Did I miss something?
    It seems to me the root of all the money problems (in schools and elsewhere) is good old greed. Its been around along time and runs rampant whenever there is an opportunity to get more. Just read the stories about the Detroit Public Schools and a few of the financial scandals in the banking industry in recent years. More money won’t help this problem!

  • Martin Kaltenbach

    Should we spend stimulus money on schools? I thought we were told that money was for job creation to get our economy going again. Come to find out; have we not, that 2/3 has not even been spent yet! What has been allocated has propped up state and local budgets.
    What’s ailing schools is not money. The worst schools in the country have the highest per pupil spending ratios. Folks in this town have been more than willing to vote more for schools. Look at the additions and new buildings in the past decade. Some built with millage renewals that never seem to end. Leaving asside weather that was really GM’s money they paid back to the Feds —- or if Goldman Sacks profits are really reflective of the whole market. (who go to process the TARP money). Let’s give that remaining stimulus money, or GM’s loan money, or taxes from all of Goldman Sack’s fines or profits to the schools this year. It’s all on a charge card you know. ——-then what?

  • James

    Not upset Blond. I just don’t understand how you can correct an error in an article that you refuse to read? If that really is your talent, the Times should hire you.

    Should we really have TARP money going to public schools? Most likely not. That becomes a bigger headache where you have a larger pool of contributors (the American taxpayer) and not enough oversight. So when it comes down to the worst performing schools receiving the most money and not having a negligible rate of success than the situation becomes no different than what we have today with GM, Chrysler, the Banks and the rest of the TARP recipients.

  • Diogenes

    First of all folks, there is no such thing as federal money. It is all our taxpayer money. And, GM did not pay back the government out of profits, it borrowed out money from a different government pot of money. Diogenes

  • Mr.Blond

    It should be obvious to everyone by now,the stimulus money (our tax payer money) is basically a democratic party slush fund.Doesn’t it feel good to know our tax money will be used to try to elect and re-elect democrats so that they can kill our economy,crush private sector business,raise unemployment rates,fund everyone’s health care,help illegals get amnesty,cut our military,weaken our national security and read terrorist (ooops i mean violent extremist that caused a man made disaster)their miranda rights and try them in civilian courts?
    This sounds like a great way to spend our tax dollars. (sarcasm)

  • Mr.Blond

    James this was an article in the TIMES “On Tuesday April 20, the New York Times had a front-page article about the tens of thousands of teachers about to be laid off throughout the nation- 2000 in Detroit alone. On Wednesday the 21st General Motors sent the US Treasury $4.7 billion ($1.1 billion to Canada) to pay off its post-bankruptcy federal loan 5 years early. Goldman Sachs and many other bailed out banks reported record first quarter profits. ”
    This statement about GM is a lie,and an obvious one,so why didnt the times notice this?
    My guess is because the TIMES knew it wasnt accurate but as long as its a statement that helps their beloved Barrack Husein Obama then they will print it even when its not the truth.
    What do you expect from a paper that printed classified information about our on going surveillance techniques to find bin laden?
    Oh thats right,alot of the writers at the TIMES feel America deserved 9-11.
    Embarrassing.

  • Michael D. Albano

    I’m not taking sides here, but it seems that school funding is at a terrible crisis stage. Due to the formula changing a while back, now much of Dearborn’s taxes paid for education go to poorer communities and we need to start getting this money back.

    Dearborn also has more poor and non-English speaking students than any other city in Michigan as far as I know. Due to Dearborn’s outstanding special education programs, we are also a magnet city for other cities who send their handicapped children here. All of this costs money and perhaps someone knowledgeable about the funding here could tell us if these English remedial courses and special ed courses are being funded by Dearborn alone, or if the state is giving Dearborn enough money back to FULLY fund these courses.

    Since most other workers in America have taken cuts in pay and especially benefits cuts, I’m wondering if Dearborn is still exploring this option with teachers and administrators. Another issue needing addressing is to start rewarding outstanding teachers and to start punishing or terminating poor performing teachers, although I doubt the union will ever agree to this.

    In my opinion, these are issues needing addressing that may help, although I’m reasonably sure they’re not all the issues. Can any teachers or administrators from the schools add their input here? Thanks…

  • James

    Oh, so your issue isn’t whether TARP funds should be used for school districts? It’s with the granola eating, sandals wearing, pot smoking hippies at the Times who have nothing better to do flush this country down the drain while applauding the collapse of the two towers that fell 1 mile from their offices?

    By the way, how do you feel about the last teacher in, first one out theory?

  • Mr. Blond

    Hey James i would love to see TARP used to actually help those that need it,but as i listed above is what the TARP money is actually being used on.
    Do you really believe that stimulus money and tarp money actually went to anything worthwhile?
    I think teachers need to be graded and the bad ones are the ones that should be let go.
    I recommend everyone watch the new movie called ” THE CARTEL” about how the government is partnered with the teachers unions and control everything.

    http://www.thecartelmovie.com/

  • MyTwoSenseToo

    Mr. Albano:

    Teachers getting paycuts or making concessions??????

    Maybe you can explain how the Teacher Union has been able to stall and not settle a contract with this school district for three years?

  • Food for Thought

    I believe Hamtramack has many more bilingual and economically disadvantaged than Dearborn. Numerically detroit may also win in one or both categories. Many bilingual students are on the west side where the migrant workers live -I believe they might be poor, too. Benton Harbor has to beat dearborn in the economically disadvantaged. I am not saying Dearborn is lacking but it can’t be #1

  • James

    Blond, I’d have to answer question in two ways. Not to be non-committal on the question, but my answer is NO and YES. It’s not an easy answer to come by, but this wasn’t an easy problem.

    I say no because, no. None of the money went to anything worthwhile because all the American taxpayer is doing is signaling to the corporate bigwigs who nearly brought this country to bankruptcy that what they did was good, and here’s some more money to go and do it again. When you drive around and see those construction signs saying that the project was partially paid for with funds from TARP you can kind of see how the money is getting to the guy working the backhoe. But that makes me wonder if that job would have been done had the TARP funds not been available and near financial panic did not consume our economy for two years.

    I say yes, because, it had to be done. What happened was a once in a lifetime perfect storm of economic failure that goes back years prior to different administrations and congresses who built a tower that became to big to support itself. It sucks that the American taxpayer is going to be paying for mistakes made on Wall Street and in Detroit for many years to come, but again it had to be done. If TARP did not happen and there are several different ways TARP could have happened that was either bigger or smaller than what we got, but if TARP did not happen we surely would be in worse off shape than we are now.

    I’ll take your recomendation and match you with a good read. “Too Big To Fail” by Andrew Ross Sorkin. I’m sorry to say he is a writer for the Times, but don’t let that cloud your perception of the book. It is a good read with insiders commentary on what happened and a very good lesson on what needs to be done so that this doesn’t happen, which sad to say, two years after near financial meltdown we still haven’t learned our lesson.

    I also agree with you on the point that the good teachers should stay and the bad should go. It’s the same with any job for any person. If you are not performing, you should not be working. Period.