Obama's Education Assistant Says Throwing Money At Problems Doesn't Fix Schools

By Jeff Marchesseault

GUAM - This week, Mr. Peter Cunningham, Assistant Secretary of Education for the U.S. Department of Education, is on island to tour Guam's schools and better understand the unique challenges we face in improving education. His visit could not have come at a better time.

The Guam Department of Education faces federal sanctions requiring a third party manager to approve the expenditure of all federal grant funding to GDOE. The school system is dealing with teacher shortages, operational challenges and a budget shortfall for this school year. And, most timely of all, leaders from throughout our region are on Guam discussing regional challenges and forging partnerships critical to sustainable development for all the islands.

Mr. Cunningham has stated that his trip is to better understand the unique challenges that face the different school districts so that reforms to the No Child Left Behind program can reflect those challenges and that policies developed will provide the kind of help that will affect meaningful change.

After just one day on island, Mr. Cunningham appears to understand the problem with Guam's school system as well as anyone, including those who have been in the system for decades. Schools are rundown, classrooms – particularly science labs – are outdated and unable to teach our kids to today's standards. This, coupled with a very diverse student population, makes for serious challenges.

Yet, as regional leaders gather to discuss sustainable development, it seems that one critical area fundamental to sustaining a qualified workforce is missing from the agenda: education. As Guam and our neighbors address areas critical to our collective response to the massive military buildup on Guam and the region, raising a highly skilled workforce must be central to any hopes of economic development. And while workforce investment is a key discussion item on the agenda, the gap between early learning and workforce development continues to widen on Guam. As these leaders meet over critical issues, the state of education on Guam and in the region must be added as a vital discussion point.

As for funding for education, Mr. Cunningham's advice to the school system and to island leaders, according to the Marianas Variety Guam Edition, is as commonsense as common sense comes: "There is a broad and growing frustration with education in America. We keep on spending money on education and it doesn't always get better. We keep on trying things and they don't always work. Why can't we get better and when people say more money, more money, I think the legitimate answer is more money for what?"

"Reform needs to come first," Cunningham said to PNC news.

He also said that you can't just keep throwing money at a problem and hope to fix it. You have to have a plan first, Cunningham said.

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