Asa Hutchinson: “Let me finish my story. Then maybe I will answer the question and be glad to yield. After having looked at the terrible…”

“Let me finish my story. Then maybe I will answer the question and be glad to yield. After having looked at the terrible conditions in the building, the conditions to which the students were being exposed every day, I asked the principal: Where did you get the money? Where did you get the money to buy all of this state-of-the-art equipment? And he said, rather sheepishly: This was a Federal grant. We went back and talked about it. He applied for this grant. The school applied for the grant. This was the way they could spend the money. Then he said: I would much rather have spent the money on improving my facilities. I would much rather have lowered the ceiling, put good lighting in, painted the rooms. I would much rather have had some resources to do that. The answer on the other side is: Well, we will just start a school construction program from up here. Do you know what will happen then? We will spend school construction money where they don't need school construction. What we had here was a typical Federal Government approach, a prescriptive categorical grant. Do you know how much money they got? They got $239,000 for the Holly Grove school to buy athletic equipment. To my colleagues, I say that is the insanity we must end.”