The superintendent of Orange County Schools spent some time Monday morning with President Obama. The meeting, with eleven other superintendents, centered on concerns about urban education.
One of their concerns is that the bill reauthorizing No Child Left Behind will change how school funding is doled out – spreading it across several schools instead of concentrating it on ones filled with poor students.
That would be harmful, said Orange County Schools Superintendent Barbara Jenkins. “And he pushes a notion of equity that we have to continue to serve all of our children,” she said, “that we have to be cognizant of those children that have greater needs, and that we certainly can educate all of our children in a nation such as this.”
Supporters of the reauthorization bill say it gives states more control over education spending.
Jenkins said the group spent an hour with the president and Education Secretary Arne Duncan. They also discussed standardized testing and assistance programs for the poor.
Jenkins said nearly 65 percent of Orange County students qualify for a free or reduced lunch.