Oct. 17, 2013 - Cost Overruns or Racket? The Hidden Costs of Common Core

The Hidden Costs of Common Core Far Exceed the Carrot Money

Tennessee District Spends $5.2M to Align with Common Core 

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/09/18/tennessee-school-district-spends-52m-on-technology-to-align-wit...

Sep 18, 2013 - The new Common Core standards being implemented in states around the country are bringing unforeseen burdensome expenses to local districts.

"I don't think we should buy a car for every student in Drivers Ed," Smotherman told the newspaper.

It's a situation that is being played out all over the nation, according to The Pioneer Institute, a Massachusetts-based, non-partisan public policy research group, estimates that states and school districts will have to dole out close to $16 billion to implement the new education standards.

"Aligning state and local educational systems to the Common Core State Standards in English language arts and math will cost the 45 states plus the District of Columbia that have adopted them nearly $16 billion over seven years," the group said, citing a study it conducted with the American Principles Project, and the Pacific Research Institute of California.

"This does not include additional spending for reforms to help students meet the new standards."

States were persuaded in many cases to go along with Common Core by the federal Department of Education, which doled out "Race to the Top" grants tied to participation. But the costs of compliance will greatly exceed money flowing from Washington, according to Pioneer.

"The nearly $16 billion in additional costs is nearly four times the federal government’s Race to the Top grant awards," Pioneer Institute Executive Director Jim Stergios said.

"With state and local taxpayers footing 90 percent of the bill for K-12 public education, the federal government's push to get states to adopt national standards and tests amounts to one big unfunded mandate."