[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11445-11446]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           EDUCATION FUNDING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Kuhl of New York). Under a previous 
order of the House, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Wu) is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WU. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, May 23, I read a disturbing story in 
The Oregonian newspaper. It was not about the war in Iraq, the rise of 
unemployment in Oregon, or even the growing problem with 
methamphetamine abuse. Instead, this story focused on a school 
fundraiser.
  What was so disturbing about this fundraiser is that the students and 
their parents at Redland Elementary School in Oregon City were hosting 
a jog-a-thon to raise money to hire a physical education teacher. It 
was not for band uniforms, not for supplies, or even for a field trip; 
it was to hire a teacher. The parents and students have hosted this 
fundraiser every year since 1994 when the school district no longer had 
enough money to pay for a PE teacher.
  Sadly, this is not the first tale of such fundraisers in Oregon. In 
2003, the Eugene Register-Guard reported on similar efforts of parents 
who were hosting fundraisers to pay for a math teacher. Math classes 
were jeopardized because the then current math teacher was retiring and 
there was not enough money to hire a new math teacher. The parents and 
teachers decided to give their blood to fund the position. That is 
right, blood. After realizing that bake sales would not raise enough 
money, parents and teachers decided to sell their blood plasma to raise 
money to fund a teacher.
  When it comes to education funding, it is increasingly parents and 
teachers who are scrambling to cover budget shortfalls; and, 
unfortunately, Oregon has been one of the States hit hardest by budget 
shortfalls. Across our State, schools are closing, increasing class 
sizes, or eliminating or cutting music, art, athletics, marching band, 
and other important so-called ``extracurricular'' activities.

[[Page 11446]]

  Oregon's school districts have carved a total of almost 500 days or 
12 million instructional hours off the 2003 school year, and at least 
1,100 teacher positions have been lost so far. Oregon has abolished 
State tests for writing, math, and science in middle schools; and some 
schools have received no new textbooks since 1988.
  Spanish is emerging as the sole option for Oregon students who want 
to study a foreign language, as budget cuts translate to reduced 
programs in languages such as German, French, Russian, Chinese, and 
Japanese.
  In Douglas County, 80 new teaching positions were eliminated, class 
sizes are expected to increase from 20 or so students to the low 30s, 
and sports and other extracurricular activities are going to take a 
hit.
  Yamhill High School in my congressional district saw average class 
size jump by 10 to 20 students. That is 10 to 20 more students in the 
average classroom.
  A math teacher in Hillsboro has two classes that top out at 54 
students in each class, and other classes throughout our State 
routinely have 40 or more students per class.
  In Portland, high school students and their parents were running 
telethons and auctions and collecting recyclables to pay money for 
teacher salaries and basic supplies.
  The Medford School District eliminated 23 staff members, including 
seven child development specialists, two school nurses, two 
psychologists, and several maintenance and secretarial positions; and 
the district will start charging each student, each student, $100 to 
pay a fee per sport in high school and $50 in middle school.
  In Lake Oswego, families are paying as much as $900 a year for their 
children to play high school sports.
  In order to retain as many teachers as possible and to keep class 
sizes down, the Dallas school district was unable to purchase new 
textbooks. Many students were studying from textbooks older than 
themselves until an anonymous donor gave $185,000 and provided 2,700 
students with new science and math books. Other school districts have 
asked parents to help curb the supply shortage by pitching in a variety 
of items, including crayons and even toilet paper.
  And after Junction City School District cut art, music, and gym 
classes, laid off three teachers, and eliminated all field trips, some 
local male farmers ages 40 to 70 decided to drop everything, Full Monty 
style, by modeling for a nude pin-up calendar to raise money for 
schools.
  These stories would be funny if they were not so deeply disturbing. 
We have a responsibility so that our children can get their education, 
and we should not be relying on parents to do bake sales, students to 
do jog-a-thons, parents to do pin-up calendars, or, worst of all, blood 
sales to bridge budget gaps; but they are, and sadly, they are not the 
only ones making sacrifices. A couple of years ago, the teachers in the 
Portland public schools taught for 2 weeks without pay.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge this Chamber to do a better job, and I urge my 
home State of Oregon to do a better job.
  Parents, teachers, and community leaders continuously demonstrate 
their deep pride in and commitment to public education. Most parents 
will make any sacrifice to ensure that their children receive a quality 
education. And I know that teachers want nothing more than to see their 
students learn. While this generosity and commitment are heartwarming 
and inspiring we should hang our heads in shame that our schools are so 
desperate that parents and teachers have to sell their blood, pose for 
pinups, or work without pay to provide our children with the education 
they deserve.
  I ran for Congress to improve the quality and accessibility of our 
education system. I believe strongly that an education is the best 
investment that we can make in our children and for our future.
  We already have a glimpse of what our future can bring.
  We can now travel the globe in a matter of hours. Business 
transactions can be performed with the click of a mouse. And our cars 
have more computing power than the Apollo spacecraft.
  In this fast paced, digital age, it is important that we provide our 
children with a high quality education that will equip them for what 
the future holds.
  Since I have been in Congress, I have made over 200 visits to over a 
hundred schools, and I have talked to teachers, students and parents 
from all over Oregon. In every school I have visited, the parents, 
students and teachers all agreed about what works: quality teachers, 
small class size, high standards and shared accountability, parental 
and community involvement, and adequate and equitable funding.
  That is why I introduced the Class Size Reduction Initiative, which 
would hire 100,000 new teachers to reduce class size to 18 students in 
kindergarten through third grade. As a result of this initiative, we 
were able to provide over $3 billion to school districts all across the 
country, hiring over 30,000 teachers--including over 300 in Oregon. One 
of those new teachers was placed in Reedville Elementary School in 
Aloha and reduced class size in first grade 54-27 54-18.
  Yet, today the Administration and the Majority Leadership in Congress 
are turning their backs on education. President Bush in his budget has 
proposed a cut of $530 million in education. He has eliminated funding 
for the Class Size Reduction Initiative. In fact, of the 150 programs 
that the president has targeted for massive reduction or elimination, 
50 of them are education programs. He also shortchanges the No Child 
Left Behind Act (NCLB) by $12 billion. That guarantees children will be 
left behind.
  The Federal Government is not the only one at fault. States across 
the nation are also balancing their budgets on the backs of our 
children, and our schools.
  We can and must do better for our children, for ourselves and for our 
future. Common sense tells us that we need to prepare our students for 
the future so that the United States will continue to prosper. But this 
issue is more than about staying economically competitive. An education 
is necessary for everyone's quality of life. It is necessary for our 
society and for our democracy.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in fighting for high quality public 
education. Our children should not be short-changed. They should not be 
forced to jog to raise money for a PE teacher, their teachers should 
not be asked to work for free, and their parents should not pose nude 
or be drained of blood to keep the schoolhouse doors open.

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