Sec Duncan: Ed tech can help cut costs

Education Secretary Arne Duncan told school officials Nov. 17 to look at saving money in their districts by increasing productivity.

Sec Duncan spoke at an American Enterprise Institute event called "Bang for the Buck in Schooling," and he warned that schools will "have to face the challenge of doing more with less." "It's time to start treating the problem of productivity as an opportunity," said Sec Duncan. He called the current crisis affecting school budgets "the new normal," suggesting that education leaders should get used to tighter school budgets and should adjust their practices accordingly. "The strategy is to pare back less-than-essential costs while minimizing the effect on children," said Sec Duncan. He suggested lowering textbook costs by using more digital or open-access materials, consolidating bus routes, and reducing office personnel as ways for districts to cut back on spending. "My hope is that the new normal will encourage all of us to explore productive alternatives to the old way of doing things," he said.