BOND PROPOSED SENDING FUND TO LOCAL DISTRICTS

Along these same lines, U.S. Sen. Christopher Bond wants to cut the regulatory strings on education money.

Bravo. Bond's proposed Direct Check for Education is a step in the right direction.

The proposal would let local school officials decide how to spend their dollars. The amount would be based the number of students and average daily attendance.

Bond rightly berates the federal stranglehold on public schools. At last count, there were 763 separate federal educational programs and endless red tape burdening our schools.

Federal funding accounts for a little more than a nickel of every dollar in the budgets of Missouri school districts. But the paperwork probably costs the districts much more in terms of both time and money. Many of the program rules and regulations also tie districts' hands.

Bond's bill faces an uphill battle on Capitol Hill. Bureaucrats don't like anyone to rock the boat -- much less call for elimination of federal jobs. But this proposal can certainly help to raise awareness in Washington, D.C.