Figures don’t lie, and the teacher will check your work. Obama RAT Board officials responsible for reporting on the economic effects of the spring’s stimulus legislation must have missed class the day that lesson was presented. In a rush to produce figures showing a positive effect of the $787 billion appropriation on the American economy and employment, the Recovery.gov website got it wrong – way wrong. Just looking at numbers reported on Recovery.gov and comparing them to what we know about local suburban school districts here shows that “teaching jobs created or saved” as reported on the federal website exceed the total number of teachers employed in the district. Who knows what other mistaken numbers are contained in the federal information?
Recovery.gov says the $1.25 billion in education funding received by Illinois schools from the stimulus package saved or created 14,330 teaching jobs in the state. A quick review of district by district reports demonstrates, however, that the reported number on the website could be off by more than 20%. Some examples:
Dolton/Riverdale: Recovery.gov says 382 teaching jobs were created or saved. The district employs only 240 teachers altogether.
Kankakee: Recovery.gov says 665 teaching jobs were created or saved. The district employs only 600 teachers altogether.
North Chicago: Recovery.gov says 473 teaching jobs were created or saved. The district employs only 290 teachers altogether.
Wilmette: Recovery.gov says 166 teaching jobs were created or saved. The district’s superintendent says there were no teaching jobs created or saved.
The average margin of error in just these four examples is over 22.6%. That’s just not “close enough for government work.”
Recovery.gov says the $1.25 billion in education funding received by Illinois schools from the stimulus package saved or created 14,330 teaching jobs in the state. A quick review of district by district reports demonstrates, however, that the reported number on the website could be off by more than 20%. Some examples:
Dolton/Riverdale: Recovery.gov says 382 teaching jobs were created or saved. The district employs only 240 teachers altogether.
Kankakee: Recovery.gov says 665 teaching jobs were created or saved. The district employs only 600 teachers altogether.
North Chicago: Recovery.gov says 473 teaching jobs were created or saved. The district employs only 290 teachers altogether.
Wilmette: Recovery.gov says 166 teaching jobs were created or saved. The district’s superintendent says there were no teaching jobs created or saved.
The average margin of error in just these four examples is over 22.6%. That’s just not “close enough for government work.”
