Congress declares war on children

NEA Today, Oct 1995 by Winans, Dave

Through small-class instruction and lots of parental involvement, Title 1 reading teacher Kay Threlkeld--aided by a full-time assistant--helps students with rock-bottom test scores "discover pleasure and delight in books and pride in becoming fluent readers."

As a result, "we see significant increases in many students' test scores." she boasts. "They become better readers and this helps them progress in other subjects."

But Congress, which funds the Title I (basic skills) program for disadvantaged children, is keener these days on boosting upper-income tax refunds than reading scores.

In a virtual declaration of war on children, the House has voted to cut education spending by some $4 billion in Fiscal Year 1996. That means funding cuts in everything from technology and drug education to English language education and school safety.

And it means 1.1 million students would no longer get Title I services.

Senate budget action was expected in September. As you read this, the final decisions on the education budget will be occuring in Washington. Please take a moment to send Congress the message that you care about education and children. (See "What You Can Do," below).

Threlkeld, who teaches at Alta Vista Middle School in Carlsbad, New Mexico, worries about what the Congressional cuts will mean for her students.

"They don't qualify for special education," she points out, "but they'll flounder in a regular classroom unless we can help them improve their reading skills. A lot of them could drop out of school."

She also worries about cutbacks for food stamps--"we have so many people living on so little money"--and a possible scaleback of migrant and early childhood education programs.

In a community like Carlsbad--which has an unemployment rate exceeding 9 percent--the weakening of such supports is an economic death sentence. And that misery can only be compounded by pending Congressional cuts in health care, job training and summer employment, and college loans.

"It is striking to me," says NEA President Keith Geiger, "that even among professional educators, most people have no idea of the depth and danger of the planned cuts. They are real. They are written into the budget resolution passed by the House and Senate in May, and they will be finalized in the appropriations bills that pass this fall."

If Congressional leaders get their way, you'll see damage like this on a national scale:

* Funds for drug prevention and school safety will be eliminated in 97 percent of the school districts.

* Despite a documented need for 48,000 additional teachers for children with disabilities, a $90 million teacher preparation program will be eliminated.

* Some 250,000 students will lose eligibility for postsecondary education grants and vocational funding will be cut by 28 percent--at a time of greater need for highly skilled workers.

* Opportunities for language minority children to improve their English skills will be cut by 75 percent--in spite of the fact that in some areas they comprise one-fourth of the population.