By almost every measure, George Bush has fallen short of his campaign pledge to be the "education President." He continues to back the ineffectual Lauro Cavazos as Education Secretary, while promoting "choice" and other cost-free nostrums as remedies for ailing schools. True, his proposed 1991 budget, unveiled last week, calls for an additional $500 million for Project Head Start. But student aid comes in for cuts, and the Education Department's paltry $500 million increase does not even keep pace with inflation. Little wonder that in a recent New York Times/CBS News poll 68% of those surveyed felt Bush had "mainly just talked" about improving education.
The President talked about education yet again last week in his State of the Union message. Using language that at times bordered on the visionary, Bush outlined six national goals to be met by the year 2000. "Real improvement in our schools is not simply a matter of spending more," he said, "it is a matter of expecting more." Although his goals were almost as fuzzy as they had been at last fall's education summit, at which the President and Cabinet officials met with the nation's Governors, White House aides boasted that Bush had boldly advanced the cause. Said one: "It's a cradle-to-grave approach to education."
Outside the White House gates, however, many considered the President's plan less than earthshaking. Some educational hawks complained that Bush, eager to maintain warm relations with the politically powerful education lobby, had fixed on aims far too modest to have much effect on the crisis in the classroom. No one, of course, could argue against raising graduation rates -- especially in inner cities with large black and Hispanic populations. But overall, 84% of young Americans already earn a high school diploma or its equivalent by age 24. How ambitious is it, then, to set a goal of 90%?
Many educators were impatient with the President for offering yet another dose of rhetoric with no specifics. "He needs to give us leadership on how to get there," complained Jeanne Allen, an education analyst at the conservative . Heritage Foundation. Agreed Senator Jeff Bingaman, a New Mexico Democrat: "I don't think we can make it on cheerleading alone."
Some Governors were miffed that the President had stolen their thunder. The original plan had been to unveil education goals at the annual convention of the National Governors' Association later this month. Governors Bill Clinton, an Arkansas Democrat, and Carroll Campbell, a South Carolina Republican, held meetings throughout the fall to work out the details. In early December talks were thrown into disarray when the White House told them Bush wanted to announce the goals himself in the State of the Union. "It had the effect of derailing the process," said one gubernatorial aide.