Cathey Kowalski of Cleveland, WI asks:

As a public school teacher I have written letters, lobbied in our state capital and demonstrated en masse with fellow teachers on the steps of the Madison Capitol building. Our governor, Tommy Thompson has made moves against the teacher's rights to bargain fairly for salary and working conditions. He has capped the salary of every teacher in Wisconsin, and has limited revenue that school boards can generate since 1993.

Would federal control limit a governor's ability to make such policies?

Chester Finn responds:

Certainly it could. But it shouldn't. And there's no constitutional basis for trying. I noticed that your passionate passage said nothing about children, only about teachers and spending. My impression has been that Governor Thompson has used the power of his office to press the education system to put children first. For too long school, U.S. public education has been organized to meet the needs of its adults--administrators, teachers, school board members. There are lots of exciting reforms happening in Wisconsin because Thompson has been willing to challenge "the system". I applaud him.

Jane Hannaway responds:

It is highly unlikely, since the U.S. Constitution gives states control over education, that greater marginal involvement of the federal government in specific areas would limit the general authority of the governor in education. Only if some constitutional right were in jeopardy, such as the equal protection clause in the constitution leading to court-ordered desegregation, would federal policies tend to dominate local policies. Of course, federal funding can be awarded "with strings" of various sorts, but the funding can typically be refused by a state or local jurisdiction.