Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Is this a genuine Catch-22?

Editorial, "Don't Penalize Success", Valley News Dispatch, Feb. 18, 2006, p. A8I'm still mulling last week's story and Saturday's editorial in the Valley News Dispatch.

I am well aware that the public schools need to care about how to get the funding that they need, and I resonate with the concern for how to make sure the young people in our community get a quality education.

But somehow the description of this Catch-22 sounds like the claim that people on welfare have a disincentive to getting jobs because then they would lose a source of income they have relied upon.

As I understand it, the Title I money is distributed to the school districts where there is actual need as measured by a number of factors. Success in education should produce results that change the level of need.

The article and editorial have pointed out a dilemma educators face. It would be a shame if educators experienced the current system of funding public education as a disincentive to doing their very best to help students succeed.

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