2008 education budget gives and takes away.

President Bush's proposed 2008 education budget offers a mixed bag for school districts, increasing Title I money for high schools but cutting funds for vocational education and a technology assistance program.

In its budget the Bush administration ostensibly emphasizes the importance of high school reform. Although the budget contains some support for such efforts--like the Title I increase--it also cuts programs that benefit high schools, says Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education.

"The real fundamental issue in terms of funding is if there's going to be a serious effort for high school and secondary reform," Wise says.

Overall, the proposed fiscal year 2008 budget for the Department of Education represents a $550 million reduction from the FY 2006 spending level, according to the Alliance. The budget proposes a $1.5 billion reduction in spending relative to FY 2007. (The U.S. Department of Education, which will receive $57.5 billion for FY 2007, has not yet released funding levels of individual programs for that budget year.)

Bush's budget would provide a $1.2 billion increase in Title I funds, targeted to high schools in an effort to expand the impact and rigor of No Child Left Behind.

The budget also would provide $122 million for advanced placement programs--a $90 million increase over FY 2006--to expand opportunities for students in high-poverty schools to take Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes.

The Striving Readers program, which supports interventions for secondary students reading below grade level, would receive $100 million, a $70.3 million increase over FY 2006.

But the proposed budget would also hurt high schools by cutting so-called Perkins funds for career and technical education from $1.18 billion in FY 2006 to $600 million, Wise says.

Perkins funds are "a way that a lot of schools are trying to address global competitiveness and workforce readiness issues," Wise contends.

Bush's proposed budget also eliminates funding for smaller learning communities, a growing area of high school reform. "We don't think eliminating funding is a smart idea," he says.

In all, Bush's budget would scrap 44 education programs, including the Enhancing Education Through Technology program, which provides money to states for teacher professional development and other initiatives that enhance the use of technology in education.

Scrapping the program would potentially produce a negative impact on student learning, says Keith Krueger, CEO of the Consortium for School Networking.

Krueger believes that with the new budget we "are going the wrong way on the escalator."

The FY 2008 Department of Education Budget Summary is available online at www.ed.gov.