Dive Brief:

• Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy has pledged $15 million to get parents and teachers behind the Common Core State Standards.  
• Malloy said the money would be borrowed in order to better prepare teachers for the changes in the curriculum and get schools and parents ready for changes to testing.  
• The move received support from the state's two largest teacher unions.  

Dive Insight:

Malloy's decision to use additional funding to better prepare school stakeholders for the Common Core may have an ulterior motive. The governor is up against third party candidate Jonathan Pelto, who has been incredibly vocal in his criticism of the standards. Perhaps if more teachers and parents were "prepared" for the standards, they would be less likely to side with Pelto?

Regardless, the decision does address a need to scale back and actually make sure the new standards are understood before being thrust into the classroom. It is unfortunate, however, that so much money is going toward the understanding and preparation of these new standards instead of directly into the classroom. No matter where one stands on the Common Core, it is difficult to deny how much money states have spent implementing the standards, advertising them, testing them, denying them, and trying to remove them. It's a lot of money being spent around education without ever actually making it into a classroom.