Meet the new education boss; slightly worse than the old education boss

Rod Paige, the Secretary of Education throughout Bush’s first term, earned a reputation for breathtaking incompetence, a lack of influence, and bizarre priorities. His replacement, Margaret Spellings, is bound to be a better cabinet secretary, even if it’s succeeding from the soft bigotry of low expectations, right?

Maybe not. Spellings’ first step as the nation’s top educator was to warn PBS about the children’s program “Postcards from Buster,” which had filmed an episode that took place in Vermont, where an 11-year-old girl had two mommies. (The feature was about maple syrup and dairy farming, but Spellings was worked up about inappropriate “lifestyles.” One assumes she was referring to the lesbians, not the farmers, unless the farmers also happened to be lesbians.)

Apparently one sop to the Republican’s far-right base wasn’t quite enough. Earlier this week, in a speech to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Spellings explained that she’s committed as Secretary of Education to divert public funds into private schools.

“Thousands of students in your communities could benefit from the knowledge and skill of your teachers. We will provide federal funds. We just need you to open your doors…just as you have always done for children in need.”

Notice that “we will provide federal funds” comment? Thought you might.

In fact, Spellings not only wants to use federal funds to subsidize private religious schools, she told the Bishops that the Bush administration will make sure ministries can teach religion with our money.

“…You can do it in a program that protects your religious freedom because the Department has issued a faith-based regulation with strong language to protect religious organizations providing supplemental services.”

Paige may have been incompetent, but Spellings may be the dangerous one.

Federally-funded private-school vouchers were so despised in Congress and in the educational community that Bush dropped his support for them when negotiating his “No Child Left Behind” legislation. Indeed, it was one of the first things to go.

But Spellings is describing an even more problematic scheme that creates the same result. Forget vouchers; Spellings wants to give tax dollars to religious ministries’ schools through the White House “faith-based initiative,” not through tuition subsidies, but through direct grants.

My friends at Americans United noted a certain similarity to one of Spellings’ predecessors.

For those who remember the Reagan years, Spellings’ remarks were an unwelcome blast from the past. During the ‘80s, then-Education Secretary William Bennett spent most of his time and efforts trying to force vouchers and other forms of public support for private (mostly religious) schools onto the American people.

Meanwhile, the nation’s public schools continued to grapple with overcrowding, shortage of supplies, poorly paid teachers and an ever-expanding number of federal mandates.

Spellings is apparently determined to continue Bennett’s failed legacy. Only 10 percent of American schoolchildren attend private schools. Americans consistently tell pollsters they want more attention and funding for public education.

Yet in one of her first major public appearances since taking office, Spellings pandered to the religious school lobby.

I didn’t think it was possible for Rod Paige to get replaced with someone worse. And yet, here we are.