John Kerry: “I certainly don't question his desire to have kids in the United States educated. Obviously, there is a difference…”

“I certainly don't question his desire to have kids in the United States educated. Obviously, there is a difference between us, as he has said, in our confidence in what may occur. As the Senator from Washington knows, when title I began back in 1965, for instance, it was a block grant. Indeed, in Memphis, TN, moneys were used to pay for swimming pools. In Oxford, MS, moneys were used for cheerleading uniforms. In Macon County, AL, moneys were used for football uniforms. In Attala County, MS, two lagoons for sewage disposal were constructed with title I money. The record of States not choosing to reduce class size or have afterschool programs or improve teacher quality is already there. The question I ask the Senator, If everyone on his side is so willing to pass this bill with the notion there is a level of accountability that they will put in place for improving education, why would they not be willing to adopt a series of areas which we could all agree on to represent the top priorities in America for education, such as getting better teachers, improving teacher quality, having afterschool programs?”