2000CRH10231 EDUCATION
no...@house.gov
[Congressional Record: October 18, 2000 (House)]
[Page H10231]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr18oc00-61]
EDUCATION
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) is recognized for 5
minutes.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, as I stand here and
think about how the economy is booming, we talk about how many jobs
that have been created; yet we have record unemployment, and we are
passing bills to bring people over under the H-1B visas to take the
better jobs. Now, I do not have a problem with that, Mr. Speaker; but
we have got to educate the people here so that we do not continue to do
this forever.
It has been said that a school is four walls and a roof with a future
inside. If that is true, then we need to start to look at the
investments that we make in education. I have heard far too much about
the trillion dollar tax break and far too little on the investment in
our future, which is with our young people. It is very simple. It is so
easy. And this administration has taken a lead in standing firm and
holding the line, hopefully until we can get some of these issues
addressed.
All of us know we need additional teachers and after-school programs.
We all know that we need to do something about our buildings. In my
State of Texas there are buildings that have more portables than the
main building, and some of the portables are a block from the first
restroom that kids can go to. I do not believe that we think that all
of this ought to be left to the local districts because they simply
cannot afford it when the districts are poor.
Mr. Speaker, this is a wealthy Nation. This is a Nation that can do
about whatever it wants to, and I do not believe that we are thinking
soundly when we are willing to leave here without addressing the real
needs of our future, which is our students. We have to get rid of these
leaky inadequate buildings that have no heat, no running water, and are
not even in a condition to be wired properly for today's education. Yet
we continue to talk about how much we can give for a tax break.
I do not know why it is so difficult to understand that kids simply
cannot grasp what they are being taught if they are in a class with too
many other children and only one teacher. In my State of Texas, the
ratio is one teacher for 22 children. That is really above the national
average, but every one of those asks for a waiver each year so that
they can have even more students in a class. Just imagine young
children coming to school for the first time and finding themselves in
a class of 25, 30, and 40 children with one teacher. We wonder why they
do not do well on tests and wonder why they drop out or start being
absent from school. No child wants to feel that they are being left
out, and yet that is what we are getting when we have our classes that
are too large because we do not have enough teachers.
One of the reasons we do not have enough teachers is because we do
not pay them adequately. If we graduate young teachers now from college
that are well prepared for today's classrooms, they can get a job
making twice as much almost anywhere else. We have got to address the
issue of educating our young people, and we have to acknowledge that we
have a long ways to go in many of these communities.
The answer is not vouchers for a private school. I do not have a
thing against private schools. I think whoever wants to send their
children to private schools should be able to do that. But I do not
think it should be with taxpayers' money while we are neglecting the
public schools, which is where 90 percent of the children have to go.
Imagine kids still going to school in areas that are not safe, where
half the teachers are eligible for retirement, but they simply cannot
retire because they do not have anyone to replace them. They go into
schools that are not equipped with our technology and computer hardware
that we all say we have to have.
In spite of all this, Mr. Speaker, the Republican leadership stands
in the way of bringing a bill to the floor to just spend a portion of
what we call the surplus to address these basic needs. I am hoping that
we can remember our ABC's. A, for additional teachers and additional
after-school programs. Without additional teachers, my own State will
lose something like $146.8 million to reduce overcrowded classroom
sizes.
And B is for building improvements. Current estimates indicate that
my State faces $13.7 billion in costs for school modernization; 76
percent of the schools in Texas report a need to upgrade or repair
buildings.
And C, of course, Mr. Speaker, is reducing classroom size. Hopefully,
that is simple enough that all of us can remember that and not go home
this session without addressing this.
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