As the United States Senate debated an economic stimulus plan that could tally in at over $900 billion Thursday, with a large portion of the package designated for education, tax and education experts said the possible effects of the plan on education are not clear.
The House of Representatives passed their $819 billion version of the plan Jan. 28, with $150 billion allocated toward the Department of Education, which includes aid for elementary and secondary school education systems, as well as funds for higher education. Approximately $26 billion would go toward No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, along with doubled spending on Pell Grants, according to the Associated Press.
This amount of aid for the formative years in education is an important investment, Boston University School of Education Dean Hardin Coleman said.
The best way to invest money is in ways that will improve economic stability in the long run, he said.
‘A point that is consistently ignored by economists is the role of high quality educational institutions,’ Coleman said.’
National Taxpayers Union Policy and Communications Vice President Pete Sepp did not agree. He said student financial assistance may not be appropriate within an economic stimulus package.
‘While this package may provide some relief to student’s financial burdens, it does not really belong in the category of stimulating the economy,’ Sepp said.
Doubling spending on Pell Grants, which the plan includes, would increase need-based grants, allowing more students to pay for college who previously could not afford it, according to the Associated Press.’
College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Elizabeth Perry said she would like to see this approved as part of Congress’s final plan.
‘I have lots of friends who can’t go to the college of their choice because they cannot afford it,’ Perry said.
However, money for younger students will benefit more people in the long run, Perry said.
‘Lots of kids don’t end up going to college because their secondary education isn’t good enough,’ Perry said. ‘I think those are the formative years. If you don’t get a good education then, you are not going to want to continue on in school and go to college.’
SED senior Suman Krishna said early intervention is important.’
‘The achievement gap only becomes larger as kids get older,’ Krishna said. ‘So it is important to try and keep kids on the same level right from the beginning.’
Schools must spend any money they receive wisely, Krishna said.’ In her SED classes, she said she has noticed that it is not always about the amount of money, but rather, how it is spent.
BU spokesman Colin Riley said BU would appreciate any additional funds, but with so many different sections in the stimulus plan, it is hard to tell exactly how a private university like BU would be affected, if at all.
Despite the debt that increased education funding would cause, investment in education is worth it, Perry said.
‘I think that education is one of the best things to go in debt for, rather than for a war,’ she said.’ ‘We are trying to improve society.’
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