[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 115 (Thursday, September 4, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H6806]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IMPROVING EDUCATION NATIONWIDE

  (Mr. BOB SCHAFFER of Colorado asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BOB SCHAFFER of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, tens of millions of 
children this week headed back to school. Their parents were taking 
them to the front doors of the schools and sending them in with high 
hopes and high expectations.
  Those hopes and expectations, unfortunately, might be dashed if those 
parents were able to see the numbers that we know about here in 
Washington: that since 1960 we have spent 200 percent more on 
government schooling, and SAT scores have dropped 70 points in that 
same time period. Our international comparisons suffer when we line our 
math and science scores up against our international competitors.
  Sadly, people in some quarters still look to Washington to try to fix 
this problem.
  Well, I am here to tell you about some exciting things that have 
taken place throughout the country. Tuesday morning I was on hand as we 
opened up the first charter school in northern Colorado. Three of my 
four children are attending that school today. There are more charter 
schools in the State, hundreds more throughout the country.
  What concerned parents are realizing is that the answers to fixing 
our schools are not to be found here in Washington by a large, 
centralized bureaucracy. They are to be found at home where parents are 
treated like real customers, teachers are treated like real 
professionals, and school choice allows an opportunity to improve the 
quality of public education nationwide.

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