[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 133 (Tuesday, October 5, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H9380]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               EDUCATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, as I travel my district in central New Jersey, 
I am constantly confronted with the growth of these communities. Young 
families are moving into new houses and school principals get phone 
calls daily from parents who are moving into the area. The opening days 
of school are challenging for school principals. Some schools in my New 
Jersey district have kindergartens that are twice the size of the 
senior class.
  Communities across the State and the Nation are struggling, 
struggling to address the critical need to build new schools and 
renovate existing ones to make up for years of deferred maintenance and 
to accommodate rising school enrollment.
  Urban and rural and high growth suburban areas all face different and 
difficult school modernization problems.
  The General Accounting Office estimates that $112 billion is needed 
just to repair existing schools across the Nation. Twenty-four hundred 
new public schools will be needed by 2003 to accommodate 1.3 million 
new students and to relieve overcrowding.
  With schools bursting at the seams, new schools being constructed 
every year, property taxes are reaching astronomical rates. These 
growing communities need relief. Communities in my New Jersey district 
are voting down needed construction because they cannot afford even 
higher property taxes.
  That is why, together with the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
Etheridge), I am working for legislation to ease the burden for fast 
growing communities as they construct new schools.
  The interest on school construction bonds is a big item. Even on a 
short-term, 15-year tax exempt bond, the interest on the bond may be an 
additional 65 percent of the value.
  Under our legislation, the Federal government would provide tax 
credits equal to the interest the local communities would pay to 
investors on these bonds. This emergency Federal assistance would help 
communities like mine and others across the country meet the needs of 
our children.
  Let me give my colleagues an example from my district to illustrate 
that we are facing a serious situation. In Montgomery Township, 
Somerset County, in 1990, their school enrollment was about 1,500 
students. Now Montgomery has to provide seats for 3,500 students, an 
increase of 134 percent in 10 years. Enrollment is expected to rise 
another 1,500 students over the next 5 years.
  The residents of Montgomery have been very supportive of their school 
system. However, the strain of paying for an annual operating budget 
coupled with the payment for new buildings is testing the pocketbooks 
of even the most ardent supporters of public education. They need our 
help. In some towns in my district, there is now the added expense to 
rebuild and repair after Hurricane Floyd.

                              {time}  1930

  These days school construction and modernization also includes 
technology infrastructure. Our schools need to keep up to date on 
technology to ensure our students are ready for the jobs of the 21st 
century. Employers depend on talent, skills, and creativity of their 
workforces for their success. Companies, communities, and students all 
benefit from a vital and a successful educational system.
  Many high-tech firms in my district in central New Jersey already 
invest in the local schools. They have much to offer, especially in 
technical areas of science and math. The New Jersey State Chamber of 
Commerce has a program called Tech Corps New Jersey which recruits 
business volunteers with expertise in computer technology to work with 
schools that need assistance in the area of education technology. I 
believe we need to encourage these partnerships where businesses can 
invest in their local communities.
  Businesses can easily help schools keep up to date with their 
technology infrastructure. The E-rate, which supports discounted 
internet wiring and services to schools and libraries, is a good 
example of effective Federal local partnership which can help finance 
technology infrastructure in our schools.
  Certainly local taxpayers bear the responsibility for educating their 
children, and local taxpayers shoulder most of the cost, but the 
education of our youth is a national responsibility, similar to 
national defense, and it is time the Federal Government steps up and 
accepts our responsibility to local districts for the education of our 
children.




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