A Presidential Flip Flop

In a Bridge magazine article published on April 29, 2014, Democratic State Board of Education President John Austin said this about “education adequacy studies,” which advocates claim can calculate the true costs to educate a child: “I don’t support an adequacy study as traditionally defined. … It’s a term the teachers unions and Democrats use to argue for more money. We’ve got to better spend money we already spend to get better outcomes.”

Fast-forward eight months. Austin performed a U-turn, according to a Jan. 7, 2015 MIRS News report about a Democratic plan to require a statewide study on what it costs to educate a child.

"We need to have this conversation about how and in what manner we change the way we fund education and pursue it very vigorously," Austin said. "And this study could be a contributor."

The flip-flop took place after Democrats succeeded in getting an adequacy study mandate enacted – reportedly in return for votes on the May 5 sales tax increase ballot measure.

ForTheRecord says: Mr. Austin was against adequacy studies as a ruse to clamor for more money until he was in favor of them.