The Cost of Education

As federal government grows more intimate with public schools through national benchmarks linked to funding (NCLB, et. al), many worry about the possibility of the federal government extending its reach into curriculums. NCEA Director, Lindalyn Kakadelis, in an interview with UNC-Chapel Hill’s Daily Tarheel, said that educators should choose the specifics of curriculum.  Keeping
that power in the hands of educators allows for needed flexibility in
the classroom.  But, when the federal government holds the purse,
choice can suffer.  This is especially intrusive when it comes to
charter schools, says Roy Cordato in a blog mentioned in the Myrtle Beach Sun News. 
Not only this, but when government controls the flow of money, there
will always be cries of inequity (whether they are true or not), an
issue discussed by JLF staffers in the Coastland Times, Cherokee Scout, Salisbury Post.  Sometimes problems with funding equality can be solved by cutting the program and redirecting the funds, as Terry Stoops recommends the state do with its class-size reduction initiative. Rick Martinez, in the N&O agrees, recommending that an initiative that doesn’t help student achievement is a waste.