Betsy DeVos: Deep cuts to Special Olympics, student programs are warranted

[GMDino]

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/03/26/betsy-devos-special-olympics/3278388002/?fbclid=IwAR38BFeijGU7OxY2c4TQ2hJqkcSYdLHZfcdBjMWDhe3GEsNnpb_IHyze86w

 

Quote:Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday defended deep cuts to programs meant to help students and others, including eliminating $18 million to support Special Olympics, while urging Congress to spend millions more on charter schools.


"We are not doing our children any favors when we borrow from their future in order to invest in systems and policies that are not yielding better results," DeVos said in prepared testimony before a House subcommittee considering the Department of Education's budget request for the next fiscal year.

It was the first time that DeVos, a wealthy former Michigan Republican Party chairwoman and school choice advocate, had been called before a Democratic-led panel in the U.S. House to explain President Donald Trump's spending priorities.


While proposing to add $60 million more to charter school funding and create a tax credit for individual and companies that donate to scholarships for private schools, DeVos's budget proposal would still cut more than $7 billion from the Education Department, about 10 percent of its current budget.
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It calls for eliminating billions in grants to improve student achievement by reducing class sizes and funding professional development for teachers as well to funds dedicated to increasing the use of technology in schools and improving school conditions. In many cases, DeVos said the purpose of the grants has been found to be redundant or ineffective.


In the case of the $17.6 million cut to help fund the Special Olympics, a program designed to help children and adults with disabilities, DeVos simply suggested it is better supported by philanthropy and added, "We had to make some difficult decisions with this budget."

"Do you know how many kids are going to be affected by that cut?" asked U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., while also pointing out a recent report by a nonprofit group that concluded the U.S. government has spent as much as $1 billion on charter schools that never opened or closed because of mismanagement or other reasons. 


DeVos has been a longtime supporter of charter schools — independently run, publicly funded schools which typically aren't as closely regulated as traditional schools — and school choice for public school students, arguing that parents should be able to put their children into the schools of their choice and that funding should follow them.


Read more:
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Many public school supporters have argued that government support of charter schools and private schools can undermine traditional, geographic-based schools, which educate most students.


U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., who is chairwoman of the subcommittee which held the hearing Tuesday, called the budget proposal "cruel and reckless," saying it "will hurt the middle class and low-income families that most need our help."


"How can you support this budget?" I mean that genuinely," she said. "As secretary of the Department of Education, how can you support, even boast, about taking 10 percent ... away from our teachers and students?"


It's unlikely that any of the major reductions, or any major proposals to boost school choice, are headed towards passage, however. Even with Republican in the majority in the U.S. House the last two years, most of DeVos' strongest proposals for cuts or spending were turned back; now with Democrats in the majority, they are far less likely to gain traction.

She is just a wonderful person....

[Vas Deferens]

aborting special education funding.

hmmm

[*michaelsean*]

It's like they don't even consider the optics when they do these things.

[GMDino]

(03-26-2019, 04:47 PM)michaelsean Wrote: It's like they don't even consider the optics when they do these things.

It's one of my pet peeves about Trump and his cronies in particular:  They simply don't care because they "know" more than everyone and they are "right" because they are "rich".  

That's the bottom line.  People are put into positions of power not because they understand what they are doing but because they were "successful" making lots of money for themselves.

They honestly believe they are do the right or "brave" thing because they know what is best even if they have no experience in what they are doing.

[Belsnickel]

"We are not doing our children any favors when we borrow from their future in order to invest in systems and policies that are not yielding better results."

I agree completely. However, I'd wager that there is little evidence of significantly improved outcomes with her spending priorities, either.

[Benton]

(03-26-2019, 04:47 PM)michaelsean Wrote: It's like they don't even consider the optics when they do these things.

Would you prefer her to speak the truth and see it get approved?

"I'm helping out relatives and friends by increasing government funding in their areas while cutting out funding for services parents and teachers will have to provide out of their own pocket, many times to the benefit of my relatives and friends.'

[*michaelsean*]

(03-26-2019, 05:06 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: "We are not doing our children any favors when we borrow from their future in order to invest in systems and policies that are not yielding better results."

I agree completely. However, I'd wager that there is little evidence of significantly improved outcomes with her spending priorities, either.

That $18 million is going to secure the future for children for the next 50 years.

[*michaelsean*]

(03-26-2019, 04:50 PM)GMDino Wrote: It's one of my pet peeves about Trump and his cronies in particular:  They simply don't care because they "know" more than everyone and they are "right" because they are "rich".  

That's the bottom line.  People are put into positions of power not because they understand what they are doing but because they were "successful" making lots of money for themselves.

They honestly believe they are do the right or "brave" thing because they know what is best even if they have no experience in what they are doing.

Saving $18 million for a PR nightmare.  Even Scrooge (on his own scale) is smarter than that.  

[BmorePat87]

They're cutting all of the things that my grad courses are telling me help to improve schools. It's sad when you're more qualified than the Sec of Education and you're still 2 years shy of a decade in the profession.

[Dill]

(03-26-2019, 05:58 PM)BmorePat87 Wrote: They're cutting all of the things that my grad courses are telling me help to improve schools. It's sad when you're more qualified than the Sec of Education and you're still 2 years shy of a decade in the profession.

Sounds like it's time to cut grad courses. 

Collug don't make peeple smart anyway.  Mony does!!  

And shez got WAY MOR than u.

[BmorePat87]

(03-26-2019, 06:15 PM)Dill Wrote: Sounds like it's time to cut grad courses. 

Collug don't make peeple smart anyway.  Mony does!!  

And shez got WAY MOR than u.

I am going on the tax payer's dime. Only costs me $400 out of pocket a class. It must eat her up. 

[*michaelsean*]

(03-26-2019, 07:37 PM)BmorePat87 Wrote: I am going on the tax payer's dime. Only costs me $400 out of pocket a class. It must eat her up. 

It’s pissing me off.

[Belsnickel]

(03-26-2019, 07:37 PM)BmorePat87 Wrote: I am going on the tax payer's dime. Only costs me $400 out of pocket a class. It must eat her up. 

Hey, me too! All I have to pay for is books, though.

[BmorePat87]

(03-26-2019, 07:47 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: Hey, me too! All I have to pay for is books, though.

Nothing like getting a grad degree without any debt. 

[GMDino]

Hey remember that time Obama made a bad joke about the Special Olympics and the right thought it was then end of the world even after he apologized?

Guess they didn't really care about the Special Olympics as much as they said they did?

[*michaelsean*]

(03-27-2019, 08:40 AM)BmorePat87 Wrote: Nothing like getting a grad degree without any debt. 

[GMDino]

Betsy DeVos proposed cuts

•$51 million from Autism
•Eliminating all funding for Special Olympics
•$7.5 million from institute for the blind
•$5 million from books for the blind

“Don't tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I'll tell you what you value”. -Biden

— MommaT (@tweetmommybop) March 26, 2019

[NATI BENGALS]

Education cuts for the needy and tax breaks for the rich. Standard republican shit.

[GMDino]

DeVos has spoken!

It's the media's fault.....

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/devos-blasts-media-over-shameful-coverage-of-special-olympics-cuts

[/url]

Quote:Education Secretary Besty DeVos blasted the media Wednesday, accusing news outlets of reporting “falsehoods” about her department’s plan to cut funding to the Special Olympics.


“It is unacceptable, shameful and counterproductive that the media and some members of Congress have spun falsehoods and fully misrepresented the facts," DeVos said in a statement.

Quote:
Betsy DeVos

@BetsyDeVosED




It is unacceptable, shameful and counterproductive that the media and some members of Congress have spun up falsehoods and fully misrepresented the facts. Let me correct the record for you:https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/secretary-devos-corrects-record-trump-administration-support-students-disabilities …

[url=https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=1110951119663042562]3,990
1:06 PM - Mar 27, 2019
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"Make no mistake: we are focused every day on raising expectations and improving outcomes for infants and toddlers, children and youth with disabilities, and are committed to confronting and addressing anything that stands in the way of their success,” she continued.


BETSY DEVOS TO VISIT STRUGGLING SOUTH CAROLINA SCHOOLS


DeVos drew attention to the $13.2 billion in federal grants awarded to states for special education.


The secretary faced a storm of criticism after she was grilled by the House Appropriations subcommittee over proposed budget cuts that would eliminate nearly $18 million in federal funding for the athletic competition for disabled youth and adults while calling for a $60 million increase in charter school funding.


She said she has “personally supported” the Special Olympics, but added that it could be supported through philanthropy as well. The Special Olympics received $17.6 million from the Education Department this year, according to records.


In her statement, she said the organization raises more than $100 million annually and that “There are dozens of worthy nonprofits that support students and adults with disabilities that don't get a dime of federal grant money.”


“But given our current budget realities, the federal government cannot fund every worthy program, particularly ones that enjoy robust support from private donations.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., who chairs the Senate Appropriations subcommittee, declared Wednesday that the proposed cuts would not be approved.


"I’m a longtime supporter of the Special Olympics and proud that Missouri is home to the largest Special Olympics training facility in the world," Blunt said in a statement, according to the Washington Times. "I was just at the World Games and saw, as I have many times before, what a huge impact the organization has on athletes, their families, and their communities. Our Department of Education appropriations bill will not cut funding for the program."


Just last week, Blunt attended the 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games, held in Abu Dhabi, Roll Call reported.



DeVos is expected to present her budget to Blunt's panel Thursday.

[BmorePat87]

(03-28-2019, 09:44 AM)GMDino Wrote: DeVos has spoken!

It's the media's fault.....

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/devos-blasts-media-over-shameful-coverage-of-special-olympics-cuts

[url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/betsy-devos-to-visit-struggling-south-carolina-schools][/url]

"It's a shame that the media correctly reported my budget and comments on the budget."

The fact that the Special Olympics gets  private funding too doesn't change the fact that the DOE is cutting their funding to it.