With negative ads already rampant on radio and TV, it’s clear that President Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney differ on most issues.
That statement carries over to education as well, as both offer starkly different views on K–12 and higher education policy for the fall campaign.
Obama is touting a large increase in Pell Grants and student financial aid during his watch, as well as new grant programs that are driving change in elementary and secondary schools. Romney is offering a different strategy that focuses less on government and more on school choice at the K–12 level and cutting regulations in the postsecondary sector.
As in many issues these days, it comes down to different opinions on the role of government. “The president has provided more funding for colleges, and that’s a good thing,” said Antonio Flores, resident of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and
Universities, noting that the Pell Grants program, the government’s main aid program to needy students, is at an all-time high.
Yet Julio Fuentes, president and CEO of the Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options and a member of Romney’s education policy team, said spending is exactly what’s wrong with the Obama agenda.
“President Obama’s solution is always the same for everything: more mandates and more federal spending,” Fuentes said.
