Clinton Presses GOP on Federal Education Aid

Standing before a school trailer faded as gray as the sky above him, President Clinton argued Wednesday that the congressional GOP leadership needs to get over its “philosophical objection” to a greater federal role in education in these prosperous times.

Clinton urged Congress to pass his and Vice President Al Gore’s plan to build and modernize 6,000 schools nationwide through $25 billion in interest-free loans to school districts, pushing a key element of his final legislative agenda. “I’m not proposing to take over the schools,” he said. “I don’t think we ought to let philosophy get in the way of practicality.”

As Gore kicks his presidential campaign into high gear, Clinton has begun to step up the case for the spending and tax priorities of his administration’s final year. He’s trying to convince the public that his administration has guided the economy to its current heights, allowing for investments in health and education, while the Republican majority would squander the surplus with tax cuts.

He spoke at Crossroads Middle School in this central New Jersey suburb, a dated facility that is almost 20% above capacity and has eight gray temporary classrooms. More than 1,650 students attend the school built for 1,100.

“All across America, our faculties are better than our facilities,” he said, describing schools he’s seen in Florida, New York and New England where, in some cases, entire floors are closed because they need repair. “I believe the federal government has a responsibility to help state and local school districts deal with it.”

The school modernization program, which would cost $2.4 billion over five years, along with a package of education proposals, represents a key element of Clinton’s final legislative agenda.

He also called on Congress to approve $6.5 billion in grants and interest-free loans to make emergency repairs at 5,000 schools, which would cost $1.3 billion over five years. Though the loan proposal has bipartisan support, it has been stymied by the GOP leadership, he said. “I’ve been trying for two years to pass this bill,” he told a small group of students and teachers earlier as he toured one of the trailer classrooms. “The leadership in both houses is against it.”

A spokesman for GOP Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi said Clinton and Gore are trying to “straitjacket” local school districts, while the GOP majority and GOP presidential nominee George W. Bush are promoting flexibility. “The Republican Congress would like to make billions and billions of dollars available to school boards in districts across the country for computers and books and new roofs,” said John Czwartacki, Lott’s spokesman. “But we don’t want Washington to tell them what to buy.”