As published for education.nationaljournal.com on June 30, 2009:

It’s true that some states are facing state budget woes, and stimulus dollars will inevitably be used to stave off serious cuts—the best example of this is California. But we should not excuse states from advancing reform on this basis. The biggest impediment to reform is—and has always been—political will, not money.
Congress and the Administration have sent two messages with this unprecedented level of federal funding: fill in budget gaps, and reform education. There’s been lots of talk about how to fulfill both priorities at once. But the answer isn’t really about the money and what the fiscal situation looks like in each state. The reality is that Congress punted the issue to state and local policymakers to make these decisions, as almost all of the stimulus dollars are awarded by formula to states and districts. If local leaders have the political will to stand up to the status quo and really spend money on reform-oriented policies, then it’s within their ability to do so. But the real problem is that too many have been unwilling to engage in making hard decisions, and those that have taken on the fight have been defeated by a well-funded group who prefers the status quo.

Read the full post here