Political Quotes

“the last time I looked, our school boards were local, they are not Federal. As I look at the decisions that they make, whether it be in curriculum or different programs for the students that they serve in every community, they have a very tough job. They do it very well. As I look at a number of the programs that have been consolidated, some 31 programs to the tune of a little bit more than $2.5 billion, this bill that we are taking up today allows them the flexibility to use the dollars as they decide. I visited just about every school district in my district over the last year and visit a school virtually every week. I have seen programs work and I have seen programs that have not worked. One of the programs that works I think terrifically is the math and science program that we have across our district. That program is well under way in many areas across the country. Now that it is under way, in the future, if this bill passes, they can use funds that are already in place for something else. The gentleman before me spoke about reducing the classroom ratio. They can do that under this bill. That is a very admirable goal. My brother is a public school teacher. As a parent, I know the importance of having a small teacher-student ratio. If that is a priority as it should be under this bill, they can do exactly that. We do not need a Democratic substitute to this bill that solely does that because it is redundant. It is already included in the bill.”