If you are an observer of the juggernaut called Reform, it's useful to follow competition among sectors within the for-profit education industry. This industry is, after all, a powerful promoter of the juggernaut.
So, here's one very small example of one sector eating another sector's lunch: A middle school in Mooresville, North Carolina, bought a lot of technology. How did the school fund this? It "quit purchasing textbooks several years ago to pay for the
technology." Technology companies 1, textbook companies 0.
This is just one example from one town. But since most school budgets are not growing, I'd warrant a guess that Mooresville's steal-from-Peter approach to funding technology is typical in thousands of schools across the country.
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A footnote for the Father Knows Best chronicles:
Obama and Duncan visited the Mooresville school to
highlight its "best practices" and to promote their federal "E-rate" technology
initiative - a push to provide schools
with fast Internet speeds and other technology resources. The visit is a bit peculiar given that the Obama/Duncan initiative didn't actually pay for Mooresville's purchases. Apparently, the E-rate program still needs funding. No worries. President Obama plans to "redirect" federal money for the program." Said Obama, "here’s the best news — none of this requires an act of Congress.” Father Knows Best.
Source: New York Times, 6/6/13
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