[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3597-3598]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              QUALITY SCHOOLS SHOULD BE A BIPARTISAN GOAL

  (Ms. BERKLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to talk a little bit about the 
district that I represent. I represent southern Nevada, which is the 
fastest growing district in the United States. I have 5,000 new 
residents pouring into southern Nevada every month.
  We have the fastest growing school-age population in the United 
States. We need to have school construction in order to keep up with 
the unprecedented growth. We have 1,200 students for every school in 
southern Nevada. That is twice the national average. We have 210,000 
people in our school district. These students are being educated in 
trailers, they are being educated in portables.
  I say, Mr. Speaker, that this is not an appropriate place for our 
students in America to be educated. They are crying out for better 
educational opportunities.
  I believe education is a nonpartisan issue and should be approached 
in that manner. Our goal should be to prepare our students for the next 
millennium,

[[Page 3598]]

for the great challenges that lie ahead in our global economy. I ask 
the people on the other side of the aisle to join with us in order to 
do what is right for our American students.

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