Byron Dorgan: “The message is pretty clear. We talk about education, but then if the schools are in disrepair and adults do not seem to…”

“The message is pretty clear. We talk about education, but then if the schools are in disrepair and adults do not seem to care about it, students feel that education and they themselves do not matter. I toured a school about a week ago with 150 kids. It had two bathrooms and one water fountain. It was in terrible disrepair. The teacher said, ``Children, is there anything you would like to ask Senator Dorgan?'' One of the little kids who was in about the third grade raised his hand and said, ``Yes. How many bathrooms does the White House have?'' Do you know why he asked that? I think it was because that is an issue in their school. They have long lines to wait to go to the bathroom--150 kids and two bathrooms. Why is that the case? Because these kids are sent to an old school. The school district has no tax base. When we send them through the classroom door, we cannot, as Americans, be proud of that school. We must do better than that.”