[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 145 (Tuesday, October 13, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H10674]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           FOCUS ON EDUCATION

  (Mr. SNYDER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, I visit a lot of school districts in my 
district, rural, suburban and urban, and they all tell me the same 
thing. They need help with school construction. They need help with 
building new buildings. They need help with reducing class size.
  The most recent one I visited made a decision some years ago to push 
the class size to the max in order to pay their bills. They do not like 
what they have done. They recognize, I am talking about both the 
teachers and the administrators, that there is a price the students 
pay. They need help. They want help.
  They understand that, in order to reduce class size, they have to 
build new buildings. In order to reduce class size, they have to hire 
new teachers. They understand they will control the hiring. They will 
control the building. But they want help from their government, their 
Federal Government in doing this.
  That is what this issue is about. That is why this week I hope we 
will focus on education, not to make partisan points, but to hopefully 
come out of here at the end of this week with a bill that helps the 
school districts in Arkansas accomplish what they want to with their 
school children.

                          ____________________