By Eliz Dowdy

Last week, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, White House Director of the Domestic Policy Council, Melody Barnes, and White House Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors Christina Romer met with the media via a conference call to discuss the jobs bill and education reform. They were joined by Commissioners of Education for Missouri, Chris Nicastro, and Florida, Eric Smith.

The discussion began with Secretary Duncan speaking about states’ budgets, and the plans to balance those budgets by laying off teachers. California is one of those states literally looking at balancing the budget by laying off teachers and increasing class sizes. Barnes stated the administration’s policy of pushing support to avoid teacher lay-offs. Through federal funding, states may not have to make those hard choices between teacher lay-offs and budget reforms. This effort is an investment in our nation’s future, Barnes stated.

According to Christina Romer, states’ budget gaps continue to increase; nationally that could result in one to three hundred thousand teacher lay-offs. The Federal stimulus funds keep states and districts from having to make those choices. Although incredible progress has been made in the economy, we are still some seven million jobs down. Therefore, the money given to states to keep teachers employed is very important. A supplemental education fund was included in the House.

The Education Commissioners from Missouri and Florida weighed in on the topic. Nicastro from Missouri stated that at least 3200 jobs will be saved in her state. They were looking at cuts to full day kindergarten; it is not only teachers’ jobs that are impacted, but other services within the communities are also affected by what happens in the school districts. She concluded with the statement that the money for teachers’ job retention cannot be rolled back.

Eric Smith of Florida echoed support for the federal government’s effort to help keep school districts afloat. He added that a need exists for education reform.

Despite the efforts of the Obama administration to reverse the severe economic decline he inherited, many in our nation point to his inability to handle hard situations and make tough decisions. The administration is countering those attacks with truth sessions, making sure the American public has a choice in what they choose to believe.

Questions for the officials ranged from “No Child Left Behind” authorization, answered by Barnes. “We are working to get the jobs bill passed, then we will work on No Child Left Behind, The administration has created the “Race to the Top” for school districts to increase the learning curve in math and science for students who fall behind those in Japan, India and China in scientific skills and applications. Race to the Top will bring more quality teachers back to classrooms to prepare young people for success.

A media question from Florida addressed the prison system and the incarceration of minority children, stating that more African American teachers are needed in classrooms to bring a balanced perspective back to teaching. For instance a Caucasian teacher telling Black/Latino students they can be anything they desire when those students are trapped in dire poverty situations does not carry the same weight as an African American teacher sharing some background information that says to the child, “Yes, you can.”

The conclusion was that all areas that are critical to a community’s survival must be factored into economic recovery. State budgets impact communities, the businesses in those communities, and the services they offer to the residents. In spite of the federal budget deficit, due to war spending, federal funding is necessary for the nation’s recovery and the Obama administration is moving ahead in spite of obstacles and hurdles placed in his pathway to cause him to stumble.