May 28, 1999
May 21, 1999
May 14, 1999
May 7, 1999

5/28/99
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News from Capitol Hill...

AMERICA'S PROSPERITY AND THE LARGEST EDUCATION CUTS IN HSTORY!

Congress has divided the funding pie for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2000 Budget. Cuts to education as high as 12 percent or four billion dollars below this year’s spending level are projected. Despite the rhetoric about increased funding for special education and campus-based aid, the Education Appropriations Sub-committee’s allotment for high priority programs, including education, health research, and job training, is almost $11 billion less than current funding. School improvement will suffer gridlock without a bipartisan agreement to make more money available for education. NEA is urging Congress to support a 15 percent increase in education funding, including increases in Title I, IDEA, class size reduction, education technology, professional development, and Pell Grants.

Members of Congress are returning home for a Memorial Day recess, from May 28-June 6, before returning to work on the budget. Congress’ recess is our work time! To influence their decisions, we need to tell them NOW students need increased resources to achieve high standards. They cannot do more with less – less teacher time, fewer programs and instructional materials, less opportunity. When cuts are made, the pain is real.

Advocacy Action!
Help build the pressure on Congress to make education funding a top budget priority. Phone, fax, write, or e-mail your representative and senators. Tell your story. Urge them to “Be smart. Invest in education.” [www.nea.org/lac]

INTERNET ACCESS FOR SCHOOLS

FCC Supports E-Rate Funding
You made your voice heard! The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) this week approved a $900,000 increase in second year funding for the “E-rate.” The program funds Internet and telephone discounts for schools and libraries nationwide. In its first year, the program provided $1.3 billion for discounts ranging from 20 percent to 90 percent. In all, 640,000 classrooms got Internet access, serving 32 million students.

The increased funding supports the thirty-two thousand public and private schools and public libraries that submitted applications for this coming year. NEA President Bob Chase lauded the expanded funding for E-rate. “Now all Americans, regardless of age, income level, or geographic location, will have the opportunity to learn anything in the world. As an educator, I can’t imagine anything more exciting.” FCC Chairman William Kennard calls the program an important success. “It’s efficient, it’s affordable, it works,” and it is going to help immeasurably to prepare kids to be competitive for high-paying jobs in the information age.”

“Vigilance is the eternal price …” of this important benefit to schools and communities. Despite the program’s success and strong popular support, the increase comes against the wishes of Congressional opponents. Long-distance telephone companies initially agreed to the program, largely financed by them, as part of a bargain for deregulation concessions. Some companies are now quietly opposing the program and have added separate line items on telephone bills. Sen. Conrad Burns of Montana and Rep.“Billy” Tauzin of Louisiana are promoting legislation that would cut the program and leave millions of dollars in school and library requests unfunded. The New York Times said, “Their proposal would destabilize a program that works, and, worse, cut assistance even as telecommunications become increasingly important in education.”

YOUTH VIOLENCE, SCHOOL SAFETY, AND AN AMERICAN WATERSHED

Gun Control Debate Moves to the House
House Republican leaders this week endorsed mandatory background checks for all sales at gun shows and other steps to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and youth. Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois promised a June vote. House leadership support, following the Senate vote last week, strengthens prospects that some restrictions will become law. Supporting restrictions marks an historic reversal for many lawmakers. The public passions aroused by school shootings signal an historic watershed.

A Family-Friendly Workplace
The importance of connecting to our children is a haunting refrain as the nation looks within for answers. President Clinton this week directed that states be allowed to provide unemployment benefits to employees on leave to care for newborn or newly adopted children. States will decide whether to use surpluses in many states’ unemployment insurance programs to provide pay benefits to new parents. In Massachusetts, Maryland, Vermont, and Washington, bills have already been introduced.

The data quantifying the family time lost to working parents – almost a day each week that parents used to have –reflects the time-crunch parents experience, juggling family and job responsibilities. While Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) helps, too many simply cannot afford the time off without pay. State legislatures can now pave the way to paid leave benefits for new parents.

NEA, in addition, is supporting Congressional legislation (H.R. 91 sponsored by Rep. William Clay of Missouri and S. 201, by Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut) that would expand FMLA to provide working parents up to three days leave per year to participate in their child’s education activities, such as parent-teacher conferences.

COMING ATTRACTIONS -- ESEA
In mid-winter, the Wall Street Journal wrote, “Want to get the political parties excited? Mention the reauthorization of ESEA [the Elementary and Secondary Education Act]. The ESEA is quickening pulses all around town, months before it is even introduced.” This week, Rep. William Clay of Missouri and Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts introduced the Administration’s bill reauthorizing ESEA, (H.R. 1960 and S. 1180) and pulses are beginning to race. The next issue of the Update will report details.

WHO'S SIGNED ON FOR MODERN SCHOOLS?
Two House bills – H.R. 1660 (Rangel, D-NY), H.R. 1770 (Johnson, R-CT) give states and local schools access to $25 billion in interest-free bonds to repair and renovate school buildings and build new schools. Urge your representative to co-sponsor either [or both!]. If your representative is already a co-sponsor, thanks are appropriate! [www.nea.org/lac/modern]

5/21/99
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News from Capitol Hill...

YOUTH VIOLENCE -- "HOW MANY MORE...?"

Echoes of the Columbine shooting reverberated throughout the nation yesterday, as the Senate passed new gun control legislation and still another school shooting in Georgia left six students wounded. News of the Georgia shootings came as the Senate continued a weeklong angry debate over gun control. NEA President Bob Chase made an impassioned appeal for immediate action. “How many more students – children – must be maimed or killed before sensible gun laws are passed?” he asked. By nightfall, the Senate approved New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg’s amendment to close the gun show loophole by a 50-50 vote with Vice President Gore casting the tie-breaking 51st vote, and then passed the Juvenile Justice bill as amended by a vote of 73-25.

Juvenile Access to Guns. The Juvenile Justice bill, S. 254 (Hatch – Utah), stalled for two years, came to life following the Columbine shootings and became the vehicle for the Senate to address juvenile access to guns. The Lautenberg amendment extending background checks to include gun show purchases most riveted the public’s attention and was the hardest fought. S. 254 as passed by the Senate also includes, however, the following restrictions:

  • a ban on the importation of all high capacity firearm ammunition clips (over ten rounds) into the United States (Feinstein - California). Currently, such devices cannot be manufactured in the United States, but are still imported.

  • a ban on juvenile (under age 18) possession of semi-automatic assault weapons as defined in current law (Ashcroft – Missouri)

  • a requirement that child safety locks be sold with every handgun sold in the United States (Kohl – Wisconsin).

To those who sought to avoid the contentious debate on guns, Chase said: “Our children need moral direction, but they need more. Our children need a safe and healthy environment. A good moral upbringing will not stop a bullet. We must all take responsibility and personal action to stop gun violence.”

Violence in our culture. In addition to gun amendments, the Senate attempted to address the cultural issues raised by youth violence. It ordered a government study of the effect of violent entertainment on children and opened the way for the entertainment industry to develop codes of conduct to limit violence. The Senate bill encourages Internet service providers to offer filters to help parents block access to objectionable material.

House members push for votes on gun issues. The House has yet to act on any juvenile justice bill. The House Treasury Appropriations Subcommittee cancelled committee action planned for today when committee members threatened to offer gun control amendments. Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois called for stricter controls on juvenile access to weapons and promised to place the issue on the House calendar.

“It takes a village…”
“There is not one easy answer to preventing and addressing youth violence,” U.S. Secretary of Education reminded the nation.

  • The U.S. Department of Education this week announced the release of $2.3 million in grants to create character education partnerships in local school districts and communities in nine states: Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania.

  • The W.K. Kellogg Foundation last week unveiled a four-year $13 million initiative designed to broaden the use of service experiences linked to classroom instruction. The purpose of the initiative is “to improve communities and teach youth the value of civic participation.”

  • Music television (MTV), the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Justice earlier this month released an anti-violence youth action guide and CD that will be distributed to more than one million young people across the country. MTV also plans to promote a special toll-free hotline operated by the U.S. Department of Justice designed to help viewers receive a free copy of the CD/Action Guide

K-12 TUITION TAX SUBSIDY PASSES COMMITTEE
Meaningful School Construction Rejected

Georgia Senator Paul Coverdell’s education tax savings proposal passed the Senate Finance Committee this week as part of an education tax bill, “the Affordable Education Act.” Existing law allows families to contribute up to $500 annually to education IRAs and to make tax-free withdrawals for post-secondary education. Coverdell’s proposal increases the annual contribution limit to $2,000 and adds tax-free withdrawals for K-12 education, including private and religious school tuition and home school expenses. The President vetoed a similar Coverdell proposal last year.

-- Modern schools – a token acknowledgement. The bill also includes a full menu of tax “sweeteners” and a school construction proposal that falls far short of meeting the need. Virginia Senator Charles Robb and North Dakota Senator Kent Conrad made a strong effort to substitute modern schools language for the Coverdell proposal. The Robb-Conrad Amendment narrowly failed. The bill now goes to the full Senate. No date for floor action has been announced.

ESEA PROPOSAL UNVEILED --

President Clinton and Secretary Riley this week unveiled The Educational Excellence for All Children Act of 1999, the Administration’s proposal for reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). ESEA, authorized in 1965 as part of President Johnson’s War on Poverty, is the federal government’s single largest investment in elementary and secondary education. The legislation supports more than 40 programs, including the landmark Title 1. Congress reauthorizes the program every five years. The 1999 proposal builds on the changes made in 1994, with an emphasis on high academic standards, quality teachers, and school accountability.

-- Smaller classes; professional development. Among the strategies proposed to increase student achievement are smaller classes in the primary grades and quality, continuing professional development. The Administration’s bill includes the full six year continuation of the smaller class size initiative launched last year to reduce class size in the primary grades. Neither the House nor the Senate has yet drafted its version of the bill. This landmark education legislation will most likely become the lightening rod for this session’s education policy debates.

For a fact sheet on the Administration’s proposal and a title-by-title analysis, see the U.S. Department of Education’s website: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/ESEA/index.html

HOUSE PANEL SLASHES EDUCATION FUNDS

Budget Caps – The Battle Comes to a Head
The House Appropriations Committee voted this week to slash education spending. The cuts in education and other spending programs are the opening volley in a campaign to lift the caps, strict spending limits Congress imposed upon itself in the Budget Agreement of 1997. For Department of Education programs, committee action would mean the biggest education cut in history, $4.2 billion below Fiscal Year (FY) 99 spending levels. The biggest one-year cut in education programs ever approved by the House was $3.7 billion cut in FY 96, later rejected by the Senate.

The Senate appropriations committee has not yet officially approved its allocations, but preliminary estimates would cut more than $3.1 billion from current spending levels. House and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairs, Representative. Bill Young of Florida and Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, are warning colleagues that funding current programs while honoring the caps is akin to making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. With cruel irony, education program cuts strike at the very services most needed to stem the tide of troubled youth and violence.

COUNTING KIDS 2YK

NEA has entered into a partnership agreement with the Census Bureau and is encouraging members to participate fully in the census. A fair and accurate count is vitally important to children and public education. Federal programs that use U.S. Census data on poverty and/or population to funnel aid to states and school districts include such programs as Title I, Special Education, and Class Size Reduction. In the 1990 census, children made up more than half the undercount.

A dispute over census procedure had threatened the Census Department’s funding and timely preparation for Census 2000. Children’s advocates welcomed last week’s agreement that allows preparation to continue. NEA members in communities across the country can make a huge contribution to a successful count and in doing so, make a substantial difference in the lives of our nation’s children. To request a free kit of curricula and instructional materials for grades K-4, 5-8, and 9-12, call 1-800-296-5923 or Fax 212-343-4867.

E-RATE ADVOCACY ACTION --

If the E-rate program does not receive increased funding, over $1 billion in discount requests will go unfilled. The E-rate, short for "education rate," provides discounted telecommunications services -- including Internet access -- to schools and libraries. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) action on second year funding is expected on May 27. Opponents are stepping up efforts to restrict the program. Schools and libraries are now receiving $1.66 billion in E-rate discounts for first year applications. Thirty-two thousand schools nationwide have submitted second year applications.

Thirty-three senators - Democrats and Republicans - submitted a letter to the FCC noting the strong demand and resounding public support for the program. “It would be a mistake, and our country will pay a price in the future, if we fail to…make these technologies available to all Americans,” the senators wrote. “You have a chance to make sure that you are on the right side of history by funding this critical program.”

Students need access to modern technology for learning. Send your message to the FCC and your members of Congress. Urge them to support fully funding the E-Rate program. Go to www.nea.org/lac. (Click on NEA's Legislative Action Center -- Alert Take Action Now!)

SOCIAL SECURITY
New Report on the Price of Mandated Coverage –
Who pays? WE do!

A study released this week warns that mandatory coverage of newly hired public employees and their employers will cost states and localities $26 billion in the first five years. “The Cost Impact of Mandating Social Security for State and Local Governments,” was conducted by the Segal Company for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Coalition to Preserve Retirement Security. NEA is an active member of the coalition. The report dispels the most common myths about the nationwide impact of compelling the public sector to enroll in the Social Security Program.

No Bailout!
Proponents argue that mandating coverage for new hires would extend the solvency of Social Security. The study finds that, at best, it would buy only a two-year extension, and even that is questionable. The two-year estimate does not include the liabilities associated with bringing into the Social Security System five million additional workers.

“They” = “We!”
The most common myth holds that only a limited number of “uncovered” states are affected. “It is incorrect to think that this change will only impact certain states. As the Social Security Administration’s own data reveals, some jurisdictions in EVERY state will be affected,” the study confirms. “It is the taxpayers in each jurisdiction that will be the ultimate decision makers as to how to absorb the costs.”

“They,” indeed, are WE! Additional findings will be included in subsequent Updates.

5/14/99
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News from Capitol Hill...

ADVOCACY IN ACTION!

Helping America’s Schools Bring Up Their Grade
America’s school buildings continue to receive an “F” on the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 1999 infrastructure status report. Road renewal showed dramatic progress, thanks to last year’s $217.9 billion transportation bill. School repair, renovation, and construction, however, showed no progress. One-third of our schools need extensive repair or replacement. Forty-six percent lack basic wiring to support computer systems. Growing communities struggle with overcrowding. It’s time for Congress to help states and local communities rebuild America’s school buildings!

Two bills introduced in the U.S. House this month offer help: H.R. 1660 (Representative Charles Rangel, D-NY) and H.R. 1760 (Representative Nancy Johnson, R-CT). Each would make available to states and local communities interest-free bonds for school renovation and construction, sharply reducing the cost. Ask your Representative to cosponsor either (or both). For a current list of cosponsors, visit the NEA Legislative Action Center (www.nea.org/lac). (Click on NEA's Legislative Action Center -- Key Bill Status.) While you’re there, send a message to Congress! Children learn better in safe, healthy, modern schools.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM SCHOOL TRAGEDIES

A Focus on Juvenile Justice
Spurred by America’s worst school shootings ever, Congress and state legislatures are giving juvenile justice issues high priority.

NEA Urges Comprehensive Action

NEA President Bob Chase, in a letter to all senators as debate began on the Juvenile Justice Bill, S. 254 (Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-UT), advocated a comprehensive approach, including creation or expansion of programs and services to detect and deter future violence. School safety legislation would be incomplete, however, President Chase told Senators, without measures to block youth access to firearms and to protect children from gun accidents. “The need for both prevention programs and gun control was chillingly illustrated by last month’s tragedy in Littleton, Colorado,” Chase said.

NEA has strong reservations about the original bill that would increase placement of children in adult correctional facilities, weaken “separation” protections intended to protect children from contact with adult prisoners, and undermine efforts to mitigate the disproportionate number of minority youth who are detained. President Chase encouraged senators to take the opportunity provided by the debate to improve the juvenile justice provisions of the original bill and add measures designed to enhance school safety. The NEA specifically urged limiting youth access to weapons through provisions such as a ban on the transfer to and possession by juveniles of semi-automatic assault weapons and high capacity gun clips and increasing penalties for the sales of such weapons to juveniles.

The Nation Responds. The depth and intensity of the nation’s response to the Littleton shootings is reflected in a remarkable week of rapid shifts on gun control measures. After narrowly defeating an amendment to require three-day mandatory background checks on all sales at gun shows and triggering a strong public backlash, the Senate approved “24-hour background checks for all transfers of firearms at gun shows.” The controversy is still seething, however. The amendment approved by the Senate fails to provide for background checks when buying back weapons from pawnshops. The FBI now keeps records of background checks for up to several months, a practice opposed by the National Rifle Association. The amendment eliminates this record.

By a vote of 96-2, the Senate closed another loophole in current law and extended the ban on handgun purchases by anyone under 18 to include purchases of semi-automatic assault weapons like Usiz or AK47s. The Senate also approved a ban on importing high-capacity ammunition clips that let people fire scores of bullets without reloading. Such devices cannot be manufactured in the United States, but are still imported. Debate continues with additional amendments expected as this issue of the Update is transmitted.

A Bipartisan Voice. Concerned members from both parties continue to look for answers beyond the debate on guns. A bipartisan group of senators has vowed to press for more counseling in schools. Bill sponsors include Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Mike DeWine (R-OH), Bill Frist (R-TN), James Jeffords (R-VT), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD).

School Safety: Not an Emergency to House Negotiators. A number of Democratic senators sought immediate help this week in the emergency supplemental spending bill for Kosovo and disaster relief. Senators Boxer (CA), Durbin (IL), Feinstein (CA), Kennedy (MA), Leahy (VT), Levin (MI), Murray (WA), Mikulski (MD), Reed (RI), Reid (NV), and Schumer (NY) sent a letter to Appropriations Committee Chairman, Senator Stevens (AK), and Ranking Minority Member, Senator Byrd (VA), urging “emergency spending” for school safety programs. Senate negotiators responded with a scaled back plan that included some help. House negotiators, however, refused the Senate proposal.

Violence - A Public Health Issue. U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, calling violence and its aftermath a serious public health issue, announced a new study that will take a broad look at the roles of popular culture, peer pressure, mental illness, and the availability of guns in triggering homicidal rage by young people.

E-RATE - DECISION DAY: MAY 27

Continue support!
E-rate advocates anticipate that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will announce on May 27 the level of funding for the E-Rate's second year. If the program does not receive increased funding, over $1 billion in discount requests will go unfilled. The E-Rate, short for "education rate," provides discounted telecommunications services -- including Internet access -- to schools and libraries. Americans overwhelmingly support the discount program, according to a new poll released this week by The Education and Library Networks Coalition (EdLiNC). “The E-rate makes common sense,” NEA President Bob Chase said. “But as we all know, there’s a problem: the E-rate needs to be fully funded in order to meet the demand that has surfaced across the country.”

Tell the FCC and your members of Congress to support our students’ access to modern technology for learning by fully funding the E-Rate discount requests. [FCC Chairman William E. Kennard: wkennard@fcc.gov. Congress: E-mail directly from NEA's Legislative Action Center. [www.nea.org/lac]

COUNTING OUR CHILDREN

NEA urged the Commerce Department to use statistical sampling as a method of reaching a fair and accurate census count and will lobby Congress to fully fund the Census Bureau’s work. An accurate count affects every individual in every community, but especially children. Census data provides the basis for federal school aid, early childhood education, special education for preschoolers, childcare block grants, and many other children’s services. America’s children need an accurate count in 2000. Out of the 4,000,000 undercount in the 1990 census, more than half were children. If the undercounts for the 2000 Census are no greater than they were in 1990, the number of children missed in Los Angeles, for example, would equal, 77 schools staffed by 2,177 teachers. 1990 undercount data for each state is available online at www.civilrights.org/lcef/census2000.

SOCIAL SECURITY

The “off again/on again” Social Security reform debate is on again. Last month, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Archer of Texas released a reform proposal, but no committee hearings have been held. Now work is underway by Democratic members of the Committee on a bill incorporating the reform principles enunciated by the President. The ranking Democratic Ways & Means Committee member, Representative Charles Rangel of New York, has pledged to try to craft a bipartisan bill. The NEA, together with a coalition of national organizations, continues to oppose any “reforms” that mandate participation in the Social Security System by uncovered teachers and education personnel. This week, the Missouri Senate passed a resolution in opposition for submission to the Congress. Missouri House approval is likely to follow today.

5/7/99
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News from Capitol Hill...


MODERN SCHOOLS -- ADVOCACY IN ACTION!

The Public Schools Modernization Act of 1999, H.R. 1660, introduced this week by Rep. Charles Rangel of New York and 88 cosponsors is good news! H.R. 1660 would make available to states and local schools $25 billion in interest-free bonds. While more than a dozen school construction bills have been introduced this year, only Rep. Rangel’s bill, H.R. 1660, a bill that will be introduced by Rep. Nancy Johnson of Connecticut, and S.223, authored by Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, make interest-free bonds available to states and local schools.

Interest-Free School Modernization Bonds are Sound Public Policy. In lieu of states and/or local communities paying interest, bondholders receive a federal income tax credit. Interest on a 15-year bond can total close to half the amount of the bond. States and local communities thus realize very substantial savings, enabling them to undertake needed school renovation and construction. States and local communities govern the decisions about infrastructure and bond measures. No additional bureaucracy results. The program is administered through existing agencies. Interest-free school modernization bonds are fiscally sound. Three billion dollars in federal tax credits generates $25 billion in bonds, with every dollar going to repair, renovation, or construction.

Arbitrage Relief Doesn’t Get the Job Done. House Ways & Means Committee Chairman, Rep. Bill Archer of Texas, Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois, Sen. Bob Graham of Florida, and Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa favor supporting school modernization through “arbitrage relief.” Schools would be allowed to invest school construction bond money for up to four years and keep the profits. The dollars generated, however, fall well short of the need and the profits earned do not have to be spent on school construction. Further, many small rural schools that are already exempt would not benefit at all.

Send a Message! Education groups support interest-free bonds for school construction, an approach that offers the greatest gain for every dollar invested. Urge your Representative to become a co-sponsor of H.R. 1660. If your Representative is one of the 88 current cosponsors, express your thanks! For a list of cosponsors, visit the Legislative Action Center – www.nea.org/lac. (Click on NEA's Legislative Action Center -- Key Bill Status.) While you’re there, send a message. It’s that simple!

E-RATE - CONTINUE SUPPORT! DECISION EXPECTED NEXT WEEK

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may decide next week the level of funding for the E-Rate's second year. If the program does not receive increased funding, over $1 billion in discount requests will go unfilled. The E-Rate, short for "education rate," provides discounted telecommunications services -- including Internet access -- to schools and libraries. Americans overwhelmingly support the discount program, according to a new poll released this week by The Education and Library Networks Coalition (EdLiNC). “The E-rate makes common sense,” NEA President Bob Chase said. “But as we all know, there’s a problem: the E-rate needs to be fully funded in order to meet the demand that has surfaced across the country.”

Tell the FCC and your members of Congress to support our students’ access to modern technology for learning by fully funding the E-Rate discount requests. [FCC Chairman William E. Kennard: wkennard@fcc.gov. Congress: send an E-mail directly from NEA's Legislative Action Center. www.nea.org/lac]

“DOLLARS TO THE CLASSROOM ACT” = “VOODOO ECONOMICS”

NEA opposes the bill. H.R.1494, Dollars to the Classroom Act, introduced in the House on April 20 by Rep. Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania, block-grants 31 federal education programs. It would also require that 95 percent of federal K-12 funding reach classrooms and teachers. The bill has 122 cosponsors. The major premise of the sponsor and other supporters is that 35 percent of federal elementary/secondary education dollars never reach the classroom. By directing 95 percent of federal education dollars to the classroom, the sponsor and supporters claim, an additional 30 percent of program funds ($10,000 per school or $450 per classroom), allegedly now swallowed up in a bureaucratic abyss, would be available for use by schools.

What’s Wrong in This Picture? The basic premise is wrong! “We’ve got to debunk this myth that all federal funding does is create a state bureaucracy,” Missouri Education Commissioner Robert Bartman told lawmakers.

Dollars and Sense: Of the 31 programs consolidated to provide the funding pool, three have no funding. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the foundation of the nation’s commitment to quality education that includes 40 programs, already delivers over 95 percent of all dollars appropriated by Congress to local school districts. Less than 1.2 percent of the U.S. Department of Education’s budget is spent on Department management or “bureaucracy.” Studies show a greater percent of federal education dollars spent on instruction and related services than state and local education dollars.

What the bill does: It takes away from our neediest children the assurance of services, by removing the targeting of dollars based on poverty. It undermines Congress’ commitment to programs that benefit children through assured program funding. It creates the illusion of increased investment, without providing a single additional dollar to schools.

Thanks! … to Rep. David Obey of Wisconsin for going the extra mile to support safe schools!Rep. Obey tried to add $395 million in FY 99 funds for Safe Schools Programs last week by amending the Supplemental Spending Bill for this fiscal year. The Obey amendment was rejected by voice vote. Rep. Obey will continue his efforts to win increased support for Safe Schools initiatives under FY2000 appropriations.

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