[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 77 (Wednesday, May 26, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1104-E1105]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      DON'T ABANDON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MAJOR R. OWENS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 26, 1999

  Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, Washington is bloated with rhetoric about 
education reform. But when we examine the actual programs and projects 
being proposed there is a tremendous shortfall between the giant needs 
and the tiny proposed solutions. Our nation's children are being denied 
adequate Opportunities-to-Learn. The opportunity to learn begins with a 
safe, conducive school building. But the federal government is spending 
almost nothing to improve the education infrastructure of school 
systems across the nation. We we neglect and abandon school buildings 
we send a highly visible signal to our children and their parents. The 
message is that Congressmembers only want to play word games about 
education. The situation is serious, however, and requires a 
significant appropriation of dollars. For a mere 417 dollars per 
student per year we can turn the current downward trend upward. If we 
do less than this minimal effort we are stumbling into a process where 
our cities will be doomed to paralysis and deadly shrinkage. The 
following RAP poem sums up the looming possible fate of our neglected 
cities. Also, attached is a Dear Colleague letter requesting co-
sponsorship of H.R. 1820, an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary 
Schools Assistance Act. H.R. 1820 provides adequate direct federal 
appropriations for school construction, modernization, repair, 
technology, security and renovation.

                            Urban Cleansing

     Forget all Godly rules
     Go strip them of their schools
     Leave neighborhoods naked
     Ethnic cleansing is now banned
     But urban shrinkage is still planned
     Budgets will be raped
     Streets left uncertain
     Cops mandated to act real mean
     Forget all Godly rules
     Don't pay for education tools
     Go strip them of their schools
     Ethnic cleansing is now banned
     But urban shrinkage is still planned.
                                  ____



                                                     May 26, 1999.

In the Year 2000 We Launch The March Toward a New Cybercivilization--We 
  are Spending 218 Billion Dollars on Highways and Roads in Six Years


 LET US INVEST HALF THIS AMOUNT--110 BILLION--IN FIVE YEARS TO BUILD, 
                      REPAIR AND MODERNIZE SCHOOLS

       Dear Colleague: Please join me as a co-sponsor for H.R. 
     1820, an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education 
     Assistance Act which mandates a worthy federal investment in 
     education for the children of America. Public opinion polls 
     consistently show that our voters consider Federal Aid to 
     Education as the nation's number one priority. We must now 
     move beyond paltry pilot projects in our response to this 
     long-term public outcry.
       H.R. 1820 commits the Federal government to make the 
     contribution most suitable to its role. Through direct 
     appropriations we must make capital investments in the school 
     infrastructures. Offer leadership in the building of schools 
     and then leave the details of the day to day operations to 
     local and state authorities.
       H.R. 1820 proposes to help all schools by authorizing a per 
     capita (on the basis of school age children) distribution of 
     the allocations for the purposes of modernization, security, 
     repair, technology and renovations as well as new school 
     construction.
       H.R. 1820 deserves national priority consideration for the 
     following reasons:
       The best protection for Social Security is an educated work 
     force able to qualify for hi-tech jobs and steadily pay 
     dollars into the Social Security trust fund.
       The effective performance of our military in action 
     utilizing hi-tech weaponry requires an educated pool of 
     recruits.
       The U.S. economy will continue to be the pace setter for 
     the globe only if we maintain a steady flow of qualified 
     brainpower and updated know-how at all performance levels--
     theoretical, scientific, technical and mechanical.
       Invest in education and all other national goals become 
     reachable.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Major R. Owens,
     Member of Congress.
                                  ____


                          Summary of H.R. 1820


  To amend title XII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 to provide grants to improve the infrastructure of elementary and 
                           secondary schools.

     SEC. 12001. FINDINGS.

       (1) There are 52,700,000 students in 88,223 elementary and 
     secondary schools across the United States. The current 
     Federal expenditure for education infrastructure is 
     $12,000,000. The Federal expenditure per enrolled student for 
     education infrastructure is 23 cents. An appropriation of 
     $22,000,000,000 would result in a Federal expenditure for 
     education infrastructure of $417 per student per fiscal year.
       (2) The General Accounting Office in 1995 reported that the 
     Nation's elementary and secondary schools need approximately 
     $112,000,000,000 to repair or upgrade facilities. Increased 
     enrollments and continued building decay has raised this need 
     to an estimated $200,000,000,000. Local education agencies, 
     particularly those in central cities or those with high 
     minority populations, cannot obtain adequate financial 
     resources to complete necessary repairs or construction. 
     These local education agencies face an annual struggle to 
     meet their operating budgets.
       (3) According to a 1991 survey conducted by the American 
     Association of School Administrators, 74 percent of all 
     public school buildings need to be replaced. Almost one-third 
     of such buildings were built prior to World War II.
       (4) The majority of the schools in unsatisfactory condition 
     are concentrated in central cities and serve large 
     populations of poor or minority students.
       (5) In the large cities of America, numerous schools still 
     have polluting coal burning furnaces. Decaying buildings 
     threaten the health, safety, and learning opportunities of 
     students. A growing body of research has linked student 
     achievement and behavior to the physical building conditions 
     and overcrowding. Asthma and other respiratory illnesses 
     exist in above average rates in areas of coal burning 
     pollution.
       (6) According to a study conducted by the General 
     Accounting Office in 1995, most schools are unprepared in 
     critical areas for the 21st century. Most schools do not 
     fully use modern technology and lack access to the 
     information superhighway. Schools in central cities and 
     schools with minority populations above 50 percent are more 
     likely to fall short of adequate technology elements and have 
     a greater number of unsatisfactory environmental conditions 
     than other schools.
       (7) School facilities such as libraries and science 
     laboratories are inadequate in old buildings and have 
     outdated equipment. Frequently, in overcrowded schools, these 
     same facilities are utilized as classrooms for an expanding 
     school population.
       (8) Overcrowded classrooms have a dire impact on learning. 
     Students in overcrowded schools score lower on both 
     mathematics and reading exams than do students in schools 
     with adequate space. In addition, overcrowding in schools 
     negatively affect both classroom activities and instructional 
     techniques. Overcrowding also disrupts normal operating 
     procedures, such as lunch periods beginning as early as 10 
     a.m. and extending into the afternoon; teachers being unable 
     to use a single room for an entire day; too few lockers for 
     students, and jammed hallways and restrooms which encourage 
     disorder and rowdy behavior.
       (9) School modernization for information technology is an 
     absolute necessity for education for a coming 
     CyberCivilization. The General Accounting Office has reported 
     that many schools are not using modern technology and many 
     students do not have access to facilities that can support 
     education into the 21st century. It is imperative that we now 
     view computer literacy as basic as reading, writing, and 
     arithmetic.
       (10) Both the national economy and national security 
     require an investment in school construction. Students 
     educated in modern, safe, and well-equipped schools will 
     contribute to the continued strength of the American economy 
     and will ensure that our Armed Forces are the best trained 
     and best prepared in the world. The shortage of qualified 
     information technology workers continue to escalate and 
     presently many foreign workers are being recruited to staff 
     jobs in America. Military manpower shortages of personnel 
     capable of operating high tech equipment are already acute in 
     the Navy and increasing in other branches of the Armed 
     Forces.

     SEC. 12003. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE IN THE FORM OF GRANTS.

       (a) Authority and Conditions for Grants.--
       (1) In General.--To assist in the construction, 
     reconstruction, renovation, or modernization for information 
     technology of elementary and secondary schools, the Secretary 
     shall make grants of funds to State educational agencies for 
     the construction, reconstruction, or renovation, or for 
     modernization for information technology, of such schools.

[[Page E1105]]

       (2) Formula for Allocation.--From the amount appropriated 
     under section 12006 for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall 
     allocate each State an amount that bears the same ratio to 
     such appropriated amount as the number of school-age children 
     in such State bears to the total of number of school-age 
     children in all the States. The Secretary shall determine the 
     number of school-age children on the basis of the most recent 
     satisfactory data available to the Secretary.

     SEC. 12006. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
     title, $22,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and a sum no less 
     than this amount for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.

     

                          ____________________