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This is the only part of your post that I take issue with. I don't accept that Congress should be spending money on what is historically a state matter. In fact, such is not authorized by the Constitution.

I take issue with the concept of your not accepting Congress spending the money. What the heck does that mean? They are going to spend money on education. That is the political mindset of the nation. I don't like it, you don't like it. So what? What is either of us going to do to change it? Pounding your head against a brick wall badly damages your head and doesn't hurt the wall at all.

An annual debate over whether the Feds should spend 8 billion or 10 billion changes nothing and serves little purpose. Either way too much money gets spent for too little measurable gain and each year more will be spent. At least if you introduce measures which create accountability it creates an environment where the funds can be directed toward measurable gain. Those areas, and they are many, where money is being wasted or misappropriated stand at least some chance of being identified.

I have a serious problem with conservatives who start and end their argument with, "It's wrong and we shouldn't be doing it." If it is wrong, then identify actions that will start the corrective process. Myself, I think the president has slipped items into the education bill which will slow the momentum of free wheeling spending , create some accountability and with time give us an opportunity to turn things around.

And what exactly is "accountability" going to do for you? It's still the same amount of money being taken out of your pocket regardless. I know your goal is to make the best out of a bad situation, and I think that's fine. But the way to do that is to try to get Congress to cut as much spending as we can (at least not grow it further), even if they don't cut it completely.

Pushing for Congress to attach conditions for the money does nothing but encourage them to assume more and more power. We need them to be exercising less power, not more. Probably the worst practice of the federal government today is the way it uses money as mannequin strings over society. That needs to be reversed. Maybe it can't happen all in one day, but as the saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. But we first need at least be facing in the right direction, not in the direction that will make the problem even worse.

Also, I should remind you that it was only a few years ago that Republicans were advocating eliminating the Department of Education, and they were winning votes on that message.