Political Quotes

“I support the bill, I think the bill does what it says, and I appreciate all the hard work the chairman and ranking member have put into this bill. But I am extremely upset about one single provision that only affects New York City and Hawaii. The provision known as the County Provision divides New York City as no other Federal law does. New York City is one unique local education agency; yet this provision mandates that the city be treated as five separate LEAs when it comes to title I funding. The provision, which was added in 1994 to the ESEA, allows for Staten Island to receive almost 150 percent more in title I funds than the city-wide average. In fiscal year 2001, Staten Island received $1,718 for a title I student, whereas Brooklyn receive $811 and the Bronx, which I represent, receives only $552 per title I student. This provision undermines the very premise of the bill. We tried to eliminate this provision. We thought we had a compromise, but we did not quite reach it. Overall I support this bill.”