Copyright 1999 The Hartford Courant Company
THE
HARTFORD COURANT
September 3, 1999 Friday, STATEWIDE
SECTION: MAIN; Pg. A3
LENGTH: 550 words
HEADLINE:
LIEBERMAN LAYS OUT SCHOOL REFORM PLAN;
;
SEEKS STREAMLINED FEDERAL
PROGRAMS, HIGHER STANDARDS
BYLINE: RICK GREEN; Courant
Staff Writer
BODY:
U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman
proposed a national education reform strategy Thursday that would reward
successful public schools, penalize longtime failures and pump in billions in
new federal money. --
And although Lieberman remains a supporter of
vouchers -- where public money is used to pay tuition for students at private
schools -- that controversial idea is not part of his proposal, which is
intended as a compromise as Congress takes up reauthorization of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The law provides
billions of dollars in funding for public schools across the country.
"Two thirds of the American people believes our public schools are in
crisis," Lieberman told an invited gathering of educators and students in the
auditorium at New Britain High School. "Our public schools are not working for a
lot of our kids."
"I am proposing that we streamline and consolidate the
maze of federal education programs . . . with more money and fewer federal
strings attached, and all of them geared toward raising standards and academic
achievement," he said. "Connecticut would quickly be rewarded under my plan with
additional funding."
Agnes Gutowski, a sophomore at New Britain High
School, listened to all of Lieberman's speech and wasn't convinced.
"He
was saying all these things that he plans to do. We'll see if he does it," said
Gutowski, who said she would like to see more emphasis on the basic problems her
school is dealing with -- such as a lack of books and adequate desks.
If
approved by Congress, Lieberman's plan would duplicate on the national level
many of the reforms under way or now being launched in Connecticut.
States would have to develop clear performance goals and detailed plans
for helping the neediest children. There would be substantial increases in
funding for training new and existing teachers and more money for teaching
English to immigrant students. Successful schools would be rewarded, and schools
with long-term low performance could be penalized. It would increase federal
education spending by $25 billion over five years, most of that targeted to poor
children.
About 6 percent of spending on public education in Connecticut
comes from the federal government. A recent Courant/Connecticut Poll found that
six in 10 state residents give high marks to their local public schools. In the
last decade, education reform efforts and student achievement here have won
Connecticut national acclaim.
"Connecticut is doing much of what we are
talking about here," said Lieberman, who is touring schools around the state the
next few days. He plans to introduce his so-called "Public Education
Reinvestment and Reinvigoration Act" this month as Congress debates the law's
reauthorization.
Gary Huggins, executive director of the Education
Leaders Council in Washington, D.C., said Lieberman's plan is too timid. The
council is a coalition of commissioners of education and others from around the
country pushing for more local control and freedom from government regulations.
Lieberman's "plan is minor tweaking. We need bold reform. We need to
free the states," Huggins said. In return for setting high standards and goals,
states should have the choice to get there any way they can. This could include
vouchers, he said.
LOAD-DATE: September 3, 1999
