Vouching for a better man than Bush
Today, George Bush made his annual summer-time pitch for private school "vouchers". What is he talking about?
Well, vouchers are a pet issue for private schools that can't get enough kids to attend. They hope that the government will fund private schools by taking public school money and putting it in their own coffers. Bush supports the idea. He calls it "choice." What this is really all about is a further attack on Public education, which Bush always tries to undermine.
Bush's Secretary of Education is a radical named Rod Paige. He has made the statement before that "given the choice, he would have his children in private schools, not public ones." Odd that Bush would put him at the head of the Department of Education, isn't it?
Even conservatives I know have made comments such as: "once the Federal Government gets control of our schools, there won't be any private schools." Isn't it funny that Bush plays himself as a conservative while trying his best to expand Federal Power?
There's a choice out there all right, and it isn't defunding public schools to promote some strange right wing religious agenda. It is a choice for President. If you want to choose a better education system, change Presidents. Get out and support America's best education advocate, Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts.
Think about it.
And in the meantime, here are a few remarks from Senator Kerry's web-site:
John Kerry opposes private school vouchers that will drain scarce funds from public schools. Instead, he supports efforts to increase resources to public schools to ensure all students have quality teachers, high standards, smaller classes, and safe, modern schools.
John Kerry works hard to strengthen early childhood education. High quality early childhood education programs get kids ready for school and in later years cut crime and increase job productivity by giving young children the opportunity to learn skills early on that put them on the path to success. Kerry has supported increases in quality early childhood programs like Head Start and child care. His Early Learning Opportunities Act, which became law in 2000, helps families by expanding and coordinating early childhood development efforts. He believes we must continue to expand quality programs so that children can get off to a good start in life.
John Kerry has been at the forefront of the fight to obtain federal funding for school construction. There are $127 billion worth of school construction and emergency repair needs nationally. 14 million children are learning in substandard schools in need of major renovation. Half of all schools have at least one unsatisfactory environmental condition, such as polluted drinking water or soot-filled ventilation. At the same time the schools are getting older, the number of students is growing, up nine percent since 1990. John Kerry responded to these challenges by introducing legislation that would allow the federal government to issue $24.8 billion in school modernization bonds in order to help states and school districts repair and build modern schools.
The federal government has never met its funding obligation for special education. John Kerry has worked with many of his colleagues to ensure that the federal government becomes a true partner of state and local governments in the provision of special education. When Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, it agreed to fund 40% of the cost of special education. However, the federal government is only actually proving a mere 18%. Kerry has consistently supported efforts to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and will continue working toward full funding.
Today, George Bush made his annual summer-time pitch for private school "vouchers". What is he talking about?
Well, vouchers are a pet issue for private schools that can't get enough kids to attend. They hope that the government will fund private schools by taking public school money and putting it in their own coffers. Bush supports the idea. He calls it "choice." What this is really all about is a further attack on Public education, which Bush always tries to undermine.
Bush's Secretary of Education is a radical named Rod Paige. He has made the statement before that "given the choice, he would have his children in private schools, not public ones." Odd that Bush would put him at the head of the Department of Education, isn't it?
Even conservatives I know have made comments such as: "once the Federal Government gets control of our schools, there won't be any private schools." Isn't it funny that Bush plays himself as a conservative while trying his best to expand Federal Power?
There's a choice out there all right, and it isn't defunding public schools to promote some strange right wing religious agenda. It is a choice for President. If you want to choose a better education system, change Presidents. Get out and support America's best education advocate, Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts.
Think about it.
And in the meantime, here are a few remarks from Senator Kerry's web-site:
John Kerry opposes private school vouchers that will drain scarce funds from public schools. Instead, he supports efforts to increase resources to public schools to ensure all students have quality teachers, high standards, smaller classes, and safe, modern schools.
John Kerry works hard to strengthen early childhood education. High quality early childhood education programs get kids ready for school and in later years cut crime and increase job productivity by giving young children the opportunity to learn skills early on that put them on the path to success. Kerry has supported increases in quality early childhood programs like Head Start and child care. His Early Learning Opportunities Act, which became law in 2000, helps families by expanding and coordinating early childhood development efforts. He believes we must continue to expand quality programs so that children can get off to a good start in life.
John Kerry has been at the forefront of the fight to obtain federal funding for school construction. There are $127 billion worth of school construction and emergency repair needs nationally. 14 million children are learning in substandard schools in need of major renovation. Half of all schools have at least one unsatisfactory environmental condition, such as polluted drinking water or soot-filled ventilation. At the same time the schools are getting older, the number of students is growing, up nine percent since 1990. John Kerry responded to these challenges by introducing legislation that would allow the federal government to issue $24.8 billion in school modernization bonds in order to help states and school districts repair and build modern schools.
The federal government has never met its funding obligation for special education. John Kerry has worked with many of his colleagues to ensure that the federal government becomes a true partner of state and local governments in the provision of special education. When Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, it agreed to fund 40% of the cost of special education. However, the federal government is only actually proving a mere 18%. Kerry has consistently supported efforts to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and will continue working toward full funding.
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