funding hell

i had an interesting conversation with my principal today. it started innocently enough, when the other resource teacher and i went to talk to him about balancing our classes for next year. currently we have a scheduling nightmare in the form of 2 of our classes and kids are suffering as a result. we are adamant that this needs to be addressed. so, in the conversation we started talking about budgets. the superintendent of our district wants to cut teachers. it is understandable. a new high school is opening next year but we are receiving no more money than we have in previous years. cuts are happening everywhere. such is the nature of the public school system.

in the conversation, the possiblity of a new 3% rule was mentioned. right now, under NCLB, there is an exemption for 1% of the population of any given district when it comes to testing. this is essentially saying that 1% of the population is learning disabled "enough" to be exempt from testing and will not effect the districts "Annual Yearly Progress" (AYP). anyone who knows anything about the education system will know that 1% is a paltry number that in no way accounts for the special education population. so apparently, part of my job involves "miracle-worker". for the record, i don't get paid enough to do that. so. there is currently a discussion happening on the federal level to change the 1% rule to a 3% rule. all well and good, but not enough. my state will still not meet AYP. for the second year in a row. this means that we will see a serious hit in Title I funds. this means that low-income districts will take a HUGE hit in funding.

could someone tell me how in the holy hell it makes sense to take money away from the poorest districts? these kids are already at a disadvantage. this is what makes me see red. i am lucky enough to be in a district that is only marginally affected by this. my offspring is even less affected than i am. does that make me less angry? should that make anyone less angry?

why does education continue to get the shaft? why is education one of the least important issues in our country? how is it that our current president touted education as one of his biggest concerns yet he does nothing relevant in defense of education and his "home state" is one of the lowest ranking in the country? what is wrong with this picture?