Let's Saddle Up on the Economic Stimulus Pony My Public School Friends

The economic stimulus plan that Congress has scheduled for a vote on Wednesday would shower the nation’s school districts, child care centers and university campuses with $150 billion in new federal spending, a vast two-year investment that would more than double the Department of Education’s current budget.--Sam Dillon, New York Times, 1.27.09

With fifteen years in teaching public education I'm reminded, while reading this NYT story, of the line my mother used when somebody brought up buying something new for the house. "We don't deserve nice things," she would say in her unmistakable, three cars-on-cinder blocks in the front-yard Texas accent.

Golly. More than doubling the U.S. Department of Education budget. Guess we got us a new President or something. I'm might start shopping for some new drapes for my classroom. But not the real expensive ones. We still don't deserve those.