Bush Budget Proposes Level Funding of Education Dept.

The U.S. Department of Education’s overall budget would remain stagnant at $59.2 billion under a fiscal year 2009 proposal released by President Bush that includes a modest boost for Title I grants to school districts, the main funding vehicle for implementing the No Child Left Behind Act.

Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings linked the proposed Title I increase with the renewal of the six-year-old NCLB law, which is pending in Congress.

“As we are on the eve of reauthorizing NCLB I think it’s important to note that resources follow policy,” Ms. Spellings said in a conference...