Calls On The President To Keep His Promise in Budget Next Week

(Washington, DC) Today, Representative John Conyers, Jr., ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee and Dean of the Congressional Black Caucus called on President Bush and Republicans in Congress to fulfill the promise of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)to the children and parents in Michigan by making it a priority in the budget the President will submit on Monday.  Since the signing of this bipartisan education reform act two years ago, the President has proposed about $17 billion less for education than was promised in the new law, shortchanging millions of the state’s children.

Just last week, the President signed legislation setting spending levels for the federal Department of Education for this year.  That spending bill alone provided about $8 billion less than was promised for the No Child Left Behind Act -- shortchanging reading and math help for disadvantaged children, after-school programs, and teacher training,
“For the past two years, schools in Michigan have been working to keep their promise to improve education and increase accountability.  According to a January 29th  Detroit News article, some 120 Michigan schools, many of them in Metro Detroit, received an “F” in the latest round of NCLB measurements.   But it’s Bush and Republicans who deserve a failing grade for not keeping their promise to help pay the bill for NCLB,” Rep. Conyers said.  “On Monday, when President Bush sends Congress his new budget for next year, I urge him to forge a new direction and provide the promised investments in the No Child Left Behind Act.”

For the current year, schools in Michigan will get almost $300 million less than promised by the law, including:

      1. Almost $197  million less for aid to poor school districts in Michigan through the Title I program;

2.  Over $38  million less for Michigan children with disabilities through the IDEA program;

3.  Over $23 million less for Michigan after-school programs;

4.  Over $10 million less for training and hiring Michigan teachers; and

5. Over $5 million less for “Impact Aid” to Michigan school districts with high percentages of       military families.

“For two years the GOP Congress and President Bush have short-changed children, teachers and parents by under funding teacher training, after-school programs, special education and basic math and reading programs,” Rep. Conyers said.  “I will continue to fight for the children in Michigan, working to raise student achievement in core subjects like reading and math, to demand results from our schools, to provide after-school programs, and to involve parents, and the best way to do that is to fulfill the promise to parent and children of the No Child Left Behind Act.”

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