Judd Gregg: “Returning to the underlying issue, which is the District of Columbia appropriations bill, and specifically the language…”

“Returning to the underlying issue, which is the District of Columbia appropriations bill, and specifically the language in that bill which created new dollars at the request of the Mayor and the president of the school board and members of the school council to fund three basic programs, one is school improvement, the second is charter schools, and the third is a choice program which would involve not only public but also private schools within the city. Unfortunately, I was not here for all the debate, but it is important to talk about who is being impacted. Who is this debate really about? The District of Columbia has a very large school system. Unfortunately, it is one that has some very fundamental problems. Those problems have created an atmosphere where, regrettably, a large number of children cannot get a decent education. In fact, this picture highlights it. Statistics show that 47 out of 100 children are being sent to failure by being required to go through the entire public school system in Washington, DC. Essentially, the public school system in Washington spends a huge amount of money, but regrettably it doesn't educate kids very well. Seventy-five percent of the fourth graders in this city are reading below basic reading levels. Only 11 percent of the eighth graders in this city are proficient in math.”