Darlene Hooley: “I rise to show my strong support for the Lowey amendment. This is a crisis. When we have had crises before, the Federal…”

“I rise to show my strong support for the Lowey amendment. This is a crisis. When we have had crises before, the Federal Government has, in fact, stepped in. Over the last 4 years, I visited many of the schools in my district and, frankly, I was shocked by the conditions I found. Our teachers are holding classes in trailers because their classrooms aren't safe. Students crowd into these rooms. They sit on floors. They sit on radiators. They have classes in closets. Just this morning, a gentleman came into my office. He said his daughter in high school went into a classroom, 40 chairs, 60 students. Schools in my district are being forced to trade teachers for bricks and mortar. These children cannot afford the trade-off and they should not have to expect to choose between safe and adequate classrooms and more teachers. Studies show that on the average, students who attend schools in poor conditions score lower on achievement tests. This is just one more hurdle our students should not have to jump through. One-third of all of our schools need extensive repair and over half of our schools need repair of at least one major building. Please support this amendment. It provides the States the much-needed assistance to renovate the decrepit schools.”