Letter: Schools’ funds going unspent

Thursday, Sept. 2, 2004 | 8:53 a.m.

According to Terry Hickman's letter of Aug. 4, No Child Left Behind is a "misguided law' which "wastes money on things they (schools) need least." His comments have inspired me to ask, "Why was $791,965 returned to the U.S. Treasury last September unspent? According to representatives of the U.S. Education Department, it is the "practice" to return approximately one half-percent of Nevada's allocated education funds each year.

Yet, No Child Left Behind has stressed that there is flexibility for states in how they can use their federal funds. Could none of this money have been used in Nevada's schools? What of this year's expected excess of $1.1 million earmarked for assessments and testing? What is to happen to the unspent $382,305 remaining in special education grants or the $22,822 left over for adult education programs? (Las Vegas Sun, July 19).

Finally, when will publicly funded charter schools be allowed to share in these unspent allocations? Charter schools are held accountable to the same laws and statutes as traditional public schools. Is it truly better to return this money to the U.S. Treasury rather than share these allocations with local charter schools? Charter schools are not in competition with the school district -- they offer nontraditional choices.

No Child Left Behind is not wasting money, but money is being wasted.

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