[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 29 (Wednesday, March 3, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H1034]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 SCHOOL DISTRICTS FINANCIALLY STRAPPED

  (Mr. WITTMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. WITTMAN. Mr. Speaker, recently during my district work period, I 
met with officials from Matthews County Public Schools. Matthews County 
is representative of many of the communities in my district and around 
the Commonwealth that are dealing with difficult budget challenges.
  The Matthews County school system is projected to lose $1.2 million 
in the 2010-2011 budget year. For a small school district, this is a 
significant number. Unfortunately, in these cases, usually the only 
place left to trim the budget is personnel. This would mean less 
services and programs for children.
  Over the years, the Federal Government has expanded its involvement 
in funding and has added requirements on public education. In some 
cases, Federal requirements leave school districts strapped for 
funding. The Federal requirements and mandates are not joined with 
Federal assistance. In my district, I have formed an Education Advisory 
Council to look at these tough issues.
  Congress should carefully review these important programs and 
implement commonsense reforms to ensure that we are helping, not 
hurting, the education of our children. There are many counties like 
Matthews across Virginia's First Congressional District. We must be 
mindful of the impacts we have on their budgets.

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