Weingarten Calls for ‘Common Ground’ Solutions to Brunt Impact of Financial Crisis on Schools
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Jobs, home foreclosures, failing banks and falling stocks are often the focus of today’s economic discussions. But as AFT President Randi Weingarten reminds us, an often overlooked impact of the nation’s financial crisis is its effect on education.
Faced with declining tax revenues, state and local governments are cutting back on their most essential investment—educating the next generation. This disinvestment in education may help states and local government’s bottom lines this year. But it places our economy in a race to the bottom for years to come.
Speaking before an audience of lawmakers, education policy experts and union leaders at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., yesterday (see video), Weingarten outlined proposals to improve public education that would also make a long-term investment in the nation’s lagging economy. She signaled a willingness to find solutions on several long-standing controversial issues.
