Gore Details $115-Billion Education Plan

Vowing to revolutionize public education, Democratic presidential front-runner Al Gore unveiled a $115-billion plan Thursday to provide universal preschool to all 3- and 4-year-olds, financial incentives to reduce class size, higher student standards and more quality teachers for under-performing schools.

“Reforming our schools is an urgent national priority that requires a national strategy,” Vice President Gore said as he spelled out his education agenda to students at Pearl-Cohn High School in Nashville.

Gore offered a broad outline of his education plan in May but did not provide many details until Thursday. The $115 billion he’s proposing to spend--more than he’s directed to any other proposed program--indicates that education is a priority for his campaign.

Gore said he would encourage states to require that high school students pass standardized tests for graduation--an approach adopted earlier this year in California that has been controversial with civil rights groups, which fear it is unfair to minorities.

Gore has said that all his proposed programs would fall within a balanced budget. The vice president said he would finance his education agenda by using 10% of the projected budget surplus that is not already dedicated to Social Security or reducing the national debt. The $115-billion price tag covers a 10-year period.

Gore would direct nearly half of that total--about $50 billion over 10 years--to provide voluntary preschool education for all 3- and 4-year-olds. The idea has been a priority for American educators in recent years, particularly since scientific studies show the vast majority of brain development occurs from birth to age 4.

California lawmakers have seriously considered the idea but have been given pause by the cost--estimated at $2.5 billion to $3 billion per year.

Gore also proposes providing federal funds to increase by at least $5,000--and as much as $10,000--the salaries of teachers in impoverished school districts that take aggressive steps to raise teacher standards.

Politically, the plan illustrates one of the starkest differences between Gore and rival Bill Bradley, both in terms of campaign emphasis and their respective visions of a more expansive federal government.

While Gore wants to dramatically boost school funding, Bradley favors a major federal commitment to expand the availability of health care. Bradley has offered a $65-billion-a-year health care plan--about five times the cost of Gore’s education initiative. He has described education as primarily a local issue.

On Thursday, Bradley criticized Gore’s plan for universal preschool, saying it would cost about four times the amount he projected. “Without a realistic price tag, people will not be able to trust it will get done,” Bradley said.

The Republican presidential candidates emphasize local control as a means of achieving the conservative goal of reducing Washington’s role in education policy. As part of that effort, unlike the Democrats, the GOP candidates all favor the use of vouchers--basically a taxpayer subsidy of private schools--to allow parents to move their children out of failing classrooms and instill greater competition in public education.

On Thursday, the reaction to Gore’s proposal was predictably split along mostly partisan lines.

His plan won a glowing endorsement from the National Education Assn., the nation’s largest teacher union, which has endorsed Gore’s White House bid. “His proposals . . . are the blueprint for a bold new era in public education,” said union President Bob Chase. “This is the kind of educational leadership America wants from its next president.”

But Rep. William F. Goodling (R-Pa.), chairman of the House Education and Work Force Committee, was critical. “If you . . . believe that more government and more money are the answer to every problem, you’ll love Al Gore’s proposals.”

Texas Gov. George W. Bush also criticized Gore for proposing an expanded federal role in education. “I’d be wary about federal politicians running around the country handing out pay raises,” the Republican presidential front-runner said during his own swing through Nashville. “That’s a local matter.”

Kati Haycock, president of the Education Trust, which has criticized both Democrats and Republicans for failing low-income students, said Gore “is homing in on the right problem.” But she cautioned that money should be earmarked for improving teacher quality, not just quantity. “Raises for all teachers regardless of quality would be a serious mistake.”

In other details of his plan, Gore also hopes to reduce the average classroom size nationally to no more than 20 students for all grades and no more than 18 in the early grades.

Toward that end, Gore would give grants to schools or districts that build small high schools--for no more than 600 students--or break up existing schools into autonomous “schools within schools,” career academies or charter schools. Recipients also must provide qualified high school students with the opportunity to take advanced placement, or college level, courses.

Gore’s plan also calls for increased spending for after-school and summer school programs--and the creation of a national teacher corps to eventually help 75,000 people become teachers in high-need schools, either through college scholarships or mid-career training programs.

The vice president would provide financial incentives to states that institute high school exit examinations. (Now 26 states impose such tests.)

Similarly, Gore would provide money to states that require students to attend school until age 18.

And as a condition of receiving federal funds, states would be required under Gore’s plan to test all new teachers for subject matter, general knowledge and teaching skills. Building on an existing Clinton administration proposal, Gore also said states and school districts should identify and shut down failing schools that cannot be improved. The schools would be reopened under a new principal and a full peer-evaluation system for each teacher.

The Gore plan closely mirrors reforms undertaken in California.

State Supt. Delaine Eastin called for universal, government-funded preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds two years ago. Since then, the state has slowly increased spending on preschool, to just over $200 million this year, for a half-day program for about 53,000 children.

An additional 44,000 preschoolers are served as part of the state’s full-day child care program. In addition, Head Start, a federally funded program for impoverished preschoolers, serves about 86,000 California children.

Yet many children who are eligible for such services cannot be accommodated. In 1998, it was estimated that more than 500,000 children from poor families were shut out for lack of space.

“More federal funding for meeting child care needs would be absolutely welcome,” said Deputy Supt. Kathy Lewis.

Other Gore ideas also seemed well suited to California, a state crucial to his presidential prospects.

The state needs to hire about 250,000 new teachers over the next decade, and schools serving low-income children, particularly in urban areas such as Los Angeles, will find it hardest to attract qualified candidates. A recent report called for differential pay for teachers in such “hard to staff” schools, just as Gore did Thursday.

As the vice president spoke, his campaign issued papers criticizing Bush’s education agenda and chastising rival Bill Bradley for the absence of a “comprehensive” education plan.

Bradley responded in kind. “Al Gore continues to attack without regard to facts,” said the former New Jersey senator. “The reality is that I have proposed significant steps to improve education by revamping the way we provide early childhood care, putting more high-quality teachers in areas of high need and strengthening our network of community colleges.”

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Times staff writers Ronald Brownstein and Richard T. Cooper in Washington and Richard Colvin in Los Angeles contributed to this story.