Letter: Bush programs hurting schools

Monday, March 29, 2004 | 9:29 a.m.

I found Tuesday's letter from Rep. Jim Gibbons regarding the No Child Left Behind program to be both naive and insulting. NCLB is the right's attempt to undermine the public school system as we have come to know it, and to replace it with a voucher system and public monies going towards Faith Based Schools. Vouchers for tuition at private and religious schools is seen as the right's ticket to undermining public education.

The 2004 budget proposal from Bush reduced spending for NCLB programs and entirely eliminated some, including rural education, dropout prevention, gifted and talented education (GATE), and after-school programs.

It is not hard to see that public schools are being set up to fail, and that labeling schools as failures paves the way for vouchers. The program requires that states make adequate yearly progress, measured by improvements in mandatory tests. Any school that had any failing grades for two consecutive years would be labeled a "failure," and lose federal funding.

That means all students must pass all criteria, not taking into account individual abilities, student body make-up, location of schools (urban vs. suburban; rural vs. metropolitan; affluent vs. inner city), or parent participation.

For Gibbons to say that we "have provided an unprecedented level of funding" belies the fact that schools are being required to increase students' test scores without giving sufficient funding to do so, then cutting off federal funding if they do fail. It's a no-win situation for public schools!

RICHARD NELSON

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