Bush ‘Played Hooky’ on Schools: Dukakis : Democrat Stresses Education as He Steps Up Attacks

Democratic presidential candidate Michael S. Dukakis said today that Vice President George Bush was “playing hooky” when the Reagan Administration slashed education programs.

In Oakland marking the public school system’s back-to-school day, the Massachusetts governor said voters this fall have a choice “between those who see education as a lifetime commitment and those who see it as an election-year strategy.”

The hard-hitting speech followed a pattern set in recent days by the Democratic nominee, who has markedly stepped up his attacks on Bush.

Upon arrival in California late Wednesday night, Dukakis described Bush as “one of the charter members of the environmental wrecking crew which went to Washington in 1981.”

Hits Bush on Drilling

He said Bush, while opposing offshore oil drilling in California where it is politically unpopular, recently supported it in Texas. He said the nation needs “a President whose environmental policy doesn’t change with the time zones.”

Dukakis was on a brief pre-Labor Day West Coast campaign swing through California, Oregon and Washington.

In his education speech, Dukakis also portrayed the difference between himself and Bush as one “between those who believe that good education should be the property of a few and those who believe it is the birthright of every American, no matter who they are or where they come from or what the color of their skin.”

He charged that the Reagan Administration has eliminated remedial math and reading programs for 500,000 poor children, while in Massachusetts he started an “essential skills” program. The Reagan Administration sought cuts in the remedial programs in 1981 but was unsuccessful. In an April, 1988, report, the Education Department said the number of children in remedial programs had dropped from 5 million in 1979-80 to 4.5 million in the 1985-86 school year.

‘Nowhere to Be Found’

“While they’ve been lecturing teachers and cutting teacher retraining programs, we’ve invested in ‘professional development centers’ to help our teachers keep pace with changing times,” he said.

“And where was George while all this was going on? Where was the man who now says he wants to be the ‘education President?’ He was playing hooky. He was nowhere to be found.”

Dukakis’ first stop of the day was at the California Museum of Science and Industry in Los Angeles, where he proposed a “domestic Peace Corps for teaching” to meet the increasing demand in this country for quality educators.

Dukakis, accompanied by state schools chief Bill Honig and other dignitaries, told a round-table meeting that “we’re going to need thousands and thousands of new teachers here in California.”

Proposes Teachers Corps

If elected, he said, he will create a “National Teachers Corps” to fill that need. It would be patterned, Dukakis said, after the domestic version of the Peace Corps.

Two polls today showed Dukakis running either even with or just slightly ahead of Bush.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted nationwide Aug. 24-30 showed Dukakis barely edging Bush 48% to 47%, with a 3% margin of error.