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Search Terms: conservation and reinvestment act

Document 2 of 338.

December 22, 2000 Friday

SECTION: NATIONAL; Pg. 13

LENGTH: 736 words

HEADLINE: State to get $26 million to refurbish schools<;
Clinton signs education bill

BODY:
WASHINGTON -- Louisiana will get $26.3 million to renovate and repair aging school buildings under a record education spending bill signed into law Thursday by President Clinton.

The bill, which provides an 18 percent increase in federal aid for education, also gives Louisiana $39.9 million to reduce class size in grades 1 through 3, $8 million more than last year, and $99.3 million for special education programs, a $22 million increase.

The school construction appropriations marks the first time the federal government has provided direct assistance for school repairs and renovation, a change applauded by Clinton.

"Our first ever initiative to renovate classrooms will mean that, over time, millions of children will attend more modern, more dignified, more functional schools," he said. "This is about moving out of house trailers and it's about going to school in old buildings that provide modern education."

Clinton administration education aides said it also will help school districts that haven't been able to take advantage of the 3-year-old program to hire teachers in the lower grades because of limited classroom space.

Louisiana Superintendent of Schools Cecil Picard expressed hope that the incoming Bush administration would continue, and possibly expand, the school construction program.

He said Louisiana school districts suffer from a combination of aging school buildings and a limited tax base to pay for renovations and repairs.

"This program is needed nationally, but it's absolutely critical in states like Louisiana where many school systems haven't been able to do major repairs over the years," Picard said.

Federal officials did not have a breakdown on how the $26.3 million for school construction would be distributed to Louisiana school districts. J. Rene Coman, superintendent of New Orleans area Catholic schools, said he would try to get some of the construction money to help upgrade some of the system's 105 schools.

Private schools are eligible for school construction money if they serve a mostly poor population.

Republicans on Capitol Hill had fought Clinton's attempt to earmark money for construction, arguing that it was better to provide block grants so districts could use the money to meet their most serious needs.

In some districts, that might be repairing aging schools, but districts that have invested in new schools might prefer using the money to supplement new academic or high-tech services.

But Clinton, in a ceremony attended by Washington, D.C., area schoolchildren, said the construction program is a priority for local school officials. He expressed pride that the $44 billion provided for the Education Department is nearly double the money devoted to education programs when he took office eight years ago.

The overall spending bill, which was approved by Congress last week in a lame-duck session, contains an estimated $634.5 billion in spending, about $48 billion more than last year and $11 billion more than Clinton had requested.

The final budget package also includes $150 million for coastal impact assistance in seven oil- and gas-producing states, and provides Louisiana with $28 million. That's far less, however, than the state had hoped to get under the proposed Conservation and Reinvestment Act, which passed the House earlier this year, but never made it to the Senate floor.

"This will help restore and preserve our coastal areas," said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. "But I have high hopes that Congress will pass even more comprehensive conservation legislation next year through CARA."

The budget bill includes a $25.8 billion package of tax credits and venture capital initiatives to spur economic investment in poor inner cities and rural areas. It gives New Orleans another chance to win an empowerment zone designation, with its lucrative tax exemptions to encourage new development. The city failed twice to win such a designation during the Clinton administration.

The economic package also includes a proposal by Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, to provide tax incentives to build new homes in poor areas.

Clinton praised the program, a blend of his proposals and a GOP-sponsored community renewal plan, as a "triumph of bipartisanship."

. . . . . . .

Bruce Alpert can be reached at bruce.alpert@newhouse.com or at (202) 383-7861.

LOAD-DATE: December 27, 2000

Document 2 of 338.


Search Terms: conservation and reinvestment act
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