Patty Murray: “Al Bauer is a former colleague of mine in the State Senate of Washington. He is also a former educator, and he speaks…”

“Al Bauer is a former colleague of mine in the State Senate of Washington. He is also a former educator, and he speaks from his heart when he talks about education. He wrote in his letter that hiring more well-trained teachers will help school districts stave off cuts to other special programs for at-risk students. He argues that more teachers does not have to mean more classrooms. It is the number of well-trained adults in the room that is important, because students' access to time with the teacher is at the heart of learning. He argues that Congress can pay for class-size reductions if we can put billions of extra dollars into transportation. State Senator Al Bauer is absolutely right. The arguments against this proposal are not valid. It doesn't mean that we need more class space. It doesn't mean that we will siphon money from other places. It does mean that this Congress, this Senate, the people on this floor are listening to what parents and educators and people across this country are saying. When we send our children off to school, we want to know they are safe, we want to know they will learn, and we know they will be safe and they will learn and get the attention they need if we begin to focus on class size in this country.”