American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten had a brief call with reporters this afternoon in which she praised the Obama administration for proposing to boost education spending even as most other areas are slated for cuts.
“We very much appreciate that the core education budget has been preserved,” she said.
Whether she’ll like the specific education priorities in the budget is another story. So I asked about the Teacher Incentive Fund, since in a briefing Ed. Sec. Arne Duncan intimated prioritizing rewards for teachers and principals, according to this Politico story. Here’s Weingarten’s response:
We've seen some good examples out of TIF and we're looking to find the labor-management partnerships that TIF could help fund. So as I said in my speech a couple of weeks ago, it is the glue that helps this new path forward, and hopefully TIF will be the vehicle to facilitate that."
Weingarten added that she’s concerned about cuts to programs that support the economic safety net.
(We’ve since learned that the Promise Neighborhoods program, based largely on the Harlem Children’s Zone, will also receive an increase.)