Schools Lose on Spending Bill Passage (1-22-11)

For Immediate Release
January 22, 2004
Linda Embrey, Press Office
703-838-6737; press@nsba.org

Statement by
Anne L. Bryant, executive director, National School Boards Association
on
Senate Passage of the Omnibus Spending Bill

“We are deeply disappointed with the Senate’s passage of the omnibus spending package.  The meager increases proposed for critical programs like Title I and IDEA are over $17 billion short of the federal commitment to our public schools. Instead of providing the necessary resources and support, Congress opted for criticisms of schools and portrayed them as awash in federal money.  Today’s action is a clear signal that many in Congress are out of touch with the realities in our classrooms.

“The Omnibus bill shortchanges public schools, but Congress found millions of dollars to create a new federal program - private school vouchers - without requiring even the most basic of accountability standards deemed so important for our public schools.  This double standard is an insult to the 47 million students and school board members working hard in America’s public schools to meet the challenges and goals of No Child Left Behind.  Instead of a partner, Congress is an impediment to true education progress.

“When the voucher plan failed to pass the Senate, politicians instead went behind closed doors and tucked vouchers into a massive, pork-filled spending bill in order to slip it into law.  The creation of the nation’s first federally funded private school voucher program - an idea repeatedly rejected by voters - should never have occurred in such a manner. Vouchers have been shown time and again to drain dollars from public schools and fail to improve student achievement. Today, the Senate let down America’s schoolchildren and taxpayers.”

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