Governor Robert Bentley on Wednesday signed an executive amendment that would delay portions of the Accountability Act, the session’s biggest victory for Republicans, from taking effect.
The Governor’s executive amendment would immediately put into effect the portion of the Accountability Act that gives schools the flexibility to opt out of certain rules and regulations, but would delay for two years the ability of parents with children in failing schools to get a tax credit to help send their children to a non-failing public or private school. It would also delay for two years a scholarship program set up for children from low income families to do the same.
The amendment sent shockwaves through GOP circles and set the Governor’s team in motion working to frame the debate as an issue of fiscal responsibility.
The Governor’s argument is that the Accountability Act jeopardizes the state’s ability to pay back $423 million to the state’s rainy day fund by September of 2015, as is constitutionally mandated after the passage of Amendment 1 last year. “To be fiscally conservative Republicans,” the governor said, “We’ve got to pay our debts.”
It’s a compelling, easy-to-explain argument. While the overwhelming majority of Alabamians support school choice, it takes longer to explain the importance of what the Accountability Act will do than it does to simply say “we need to be fiscally responsible.”
That, in short, is what has put the Governor in such a strong position as he communicates his message on this issue around the state.
But it’s not that simple.
The Governor’s position is based entirely on the premise that the Accountability Act will jeopardize the state’s ability to pay back the rainy day fund. That premise is rejected by both the House and Senate budget chairmen, as well as one of the Senate’s chief budget hawks, Senator Scott Beason.
After spending most of Thursday digging into the nuances of the education budget with members of the Governor’s staff and the House and Senate budget chairmen, I’ve come to the conclusion that fiscal responsibility and the Accountability Act are simply not mutually exclusive.
Will there be a greater chance we will pay off the rainy day fund on time if the Accountability Act is delayed? Absolutely. Any time you take a line item out of the budget it makes it easier to pay the bills. However, I have not seen definitive evidence that the state’s ability to pay back the trust fund on time is in jeopardy should the Accountability Act be fully implemented.
But the question I have not been able to answer is, when did the Governor have the revelation that the Accountability Act is fiscally irresponsible? Was it fiscally irresponsible when he signed it in March? If so, why did he sign it? If not, what has changed?
Governor Bentley also believes that allowing the flexibility portion of the bill to go into effect immediately would give failing schools a window of opportunity to improve. But what truly makes this bill work — the very reason it got its name — is the accountability that comes with failing schools realizing if they don’t shape up, their students will leave. People respond to incentives. That’s the free market at work!
Without that accountability, we’re leaving this all in the hands of the same education establishment that has fiercely defended the status quo for decades — the same people who made the phrase “thank God for Mississippi” commonplace among Alabamians who were thankful that, hey, at least our state’s education system isn’t ranked 50th.
Why would we wait two years and lose another wave of students who aren’t ready for college or to enter the job market? What do we say to that tenth grader who would lose her last opportunity to get the education she deserves before graduating? Sorry?
“We only have one constituency when it comes to education in Alabama and that’s the children,” Sen. Del Marsh said in a statement. “For too long, students in failing schools have been stuck with the status quo and denied the opportunities they deserve.”
Every parent deserves a choice, and every child deserves a chance.
I have a great deal of respect for Governor Bentley and admire that he always does what he believes in his heart is right, on this issue and many others. And we could go in circles all day, as I have over the last 24 hours, debating who’s right or wrong about the budget projections.
The truth is, both sides in this debate are genuinely working hard toward the same goal — they just differ slightly on the path to get there.
But we can’t waste any more time. There are children in failing schools today, and we need to go get them.
Right.
Now.
[Yellowhammer will break down the political angles to all of this in an article to come.]
What else is going on?
1. Scandals Engulf D.C.
2. Rumors & Rumblings
3. Luther Strange weighs actions over IRS-tea party scandal
4. Campaign finance reform to get a shot on the last day of sessions
5. Media bias laid bare
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