Political Quotes

“I rise in opposition to Representative Boehner's amendment to strike title XII from H.R. 6. Title XII, which authorizes Urban and Rural Education Demonstration Grants, is designed to help our Nation's rural and urban schools in undertaking school improvement initiatives. Part B, specifically, recognizes that central city schools, along with rural schools, will face the greatest challenges in American education in attempting to meet the national education goals by the year 2,000. Clearly, the quality of public education in the Nation's major urban areas has a direct effect on the economic development of our innercities. Urban schools currently enrol a disproportionately large share of the nation's poor, and 40 percent of the Nation's African-American children and 30 percent of the Nation's Hispanic youth. The success of urban schools in boosting the achievement of its minority youth will determine the ability of the Nation to close the gap between the haves and havenots in our society. In addition, shortages of teachers in urban school systems are 2.5 times greater than shortages in other kinds of school systems. And of all urban school buildings, 75 percent are over 25 years old, and 33 percent are over 50 years old. The school buildings are often in such disrepair that learning and working conditions are demoralizing and unsafe. Certainly, State and Federal funding of urban schools have not accurately met the growing needs of such schools.”