Nydia M. Velazquez: “we cannot prepare our children for the future with an educational system from the past. We cannot lift our students up…”

“we cannot prepare our children for the future with an educational system from the past. We cannot lift our students up by sending them to schools that are falling down. These are simple facts which must be addressed, and they must be addressed now. Communities like the ones I represent in Brooklyn and the Lower East Side of New York are in need of resources to build and improve schools. In fact, the Sunset Park Community of Brooklyn does not have even a high school. The result of the problem can be seen in dropout rates among minorities which is 13 percent among blacks and 29 percent among Hispanics. Unfortunately, Republicans want to ignore these realities. They want to spend the budget surplus on expensive tax cuts, instead of helping our children prepare for the future. They do not want to join Democrats in fixing schools, providing technology, and hiring more teachers. They want to leave the future of America's children to chance.”