Candidates Keeping Schools at Forefront of Campaign Issues

Twelve years ago, the Republican candidate for the White House campaigned on the pledge that he would become, in his own words and pronunciation, “the ed-u-ca-tion president.” That, of course, would be George Bush.

The Bush presidency came and went; Bill Clinton’s is nearing an end. And still candidates are talking about how to improve education in the United States.

Bush’s son George W. is seeking the presidency; so too is Clinton’s vice president Al Gore. Each, to a lesser or greater extent, is turning a campaign spotlight on education issues.

Indeed, Gore is himself vowing to be “the education president.” Bush’s rivals for the Republican nomination Steve Forbes, Alan Keyes and John McCain--and Gore’s only rival for the Democratic nomination, Bill Bradley--are also putting forward education plans, if not making them as much a focal point of their campaigns.

Schools Blamed for Many of Society’s Ills

That education would be front and center in the year 2000 makes sense. Never mind that throughout the history of the United States education has been considered one of the most local of all issues, and one that stirs great hue and cry at the local level when the federal government appears to be exerting too heavy a hand. Never mind too that education’s share of the federal budget is just a smudge on the blackboard of federal expenditures when compared with the dollars spent on national defense, Social Security or Medicare.

Education has risen to the surface at a time when the country is finding few areas of specific complaint in the political arena. Where war, taxes and economic malaise once dominated the debate, morality, leadership and education prevail.

With the ever-increasing attention paid to the nation’s schools in the political debate comes greater reliance on the education system to expand its reach. It is being asked to end youth violence, to lift families out of poverty, to instill old-fashioned values in a changing society.

In short, schools are being saddled with an array of society’s ills--and being blamed for not curing them.

Too Few Teachers, Too Many Students

Evidence of specific education problems is readily apparent. Test scores have not improved significantly--SAT results for college-bound seniors have improved in math to match levels of the early 1970s, but verbal achievement test results are down.

Enrollment in 1999, at more than 53 million children, set a record in the nation’s public schools, topping the bulge of the post-World War II baby boom. Classrooms exceed capacity; too few teachers are working with too many students.

In a rhetorical question few people could challenge, Gore asked last May in a speech outlining his education proposals: “How long can we continue generating one-third of the world’s economic output if one-third of our students continue to fail in meeting the most basic world reading level?”

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The Politics of Education Reform

The education proposals offered by the major presidential candidates address everything from Head Start, the preschool program for low-income children, to teacher training. Here’s a quick look at some of the initiatives candidates are proposing:

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BILL BRADLEY (D)

“We need to target areas where we can make the most difference, like putting 600,000 more teachers in high-need rural or urban schools.” * $2 billion more annually on preschool programs.

* $2 billion over five years to strengthen community colleges.

* $10 billion for Head Start over four years.

* $1 billion to create a national program of community centers, which would be open till late at night, to provide homework help, counseling and recreational opportunities for children.

* College aid for 60,000 students a year who agree to teach at high-risk schools.

* Opposes vouchers now but in Senate voted for experimental voucher program.

*

AL GORE (D)

“Reforming our schools is an urgent national priority that requires a national strategy.” * $5 billion annually to provide voluntary preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds.

* $2.3 billion over four years to expand Head Start and $3 billion annually to reduce class size.

* Scholarships to 60,000 college students annually who agree to teach in high-risk schools.

* Would provide raises of up to $5,000 for public school teachers who meet certain standards in poor and rural areas and an extra $5,000 for “master teachers” meeting even higher standards in those areas.

* Opposes vouchers.

*

GEORGE W. BUSH (R)

“I don’t want to tinker with the machinery of the federal role in education. I want to redefine that role entirely.”

* Offer scholarships of $1,500 a year for children in public schools who fail state testing for three years. The money could be used for private schooling, tutoring or “whatever offers hope.”

* States that improve schools could get awards from a $300-million federal fund; in states where test scores don’t improve, 5% of federal education financing would be shifted to charter schools.

* Guarantee $3 billion in loans in two years to help build 2,000 charter schools.

* Let families put $5,000 per year per student into education savings accounts from which money could be withdrawn tax-free for K-12 expenses.

* Overhaul Head Start to place greater emphasis on education, specifically reading skills and school readiness.

*

ALAN KEYES (R)

“We not only need prayer in schools, we need schools that are in the hands of people who pray.”

* Favors vouchers.

* Let parents decide what to do with their share of federal money for school.

* Eliminate federal Department of Education.

*

STEVE FORBES (R)

“I believe every parent should be free to choose schools, that ... reinforce rather than undermine the moral and spiritual values being taught at home.”

* Favors vouchers for private schools and home schooling.

* Send federal block grants to communities with the directive to let parents choose form of education, including charter and faith-based schools.

* Encourage saving for college in Educational Savings Accounts.

* Favored California’s Proposition 227, which banned bilingual education.

*

*

JOHN McCAIN (R)

“There is no reason why a good teacher should be paid less than a bad senator.” * School vouchers worth $2,000 for disadvantaged children under a 3-year $5.4-billion program to be paid for by eliminating ethanol, gas and oil subsidies, and sugar price supports.

* Tax-free savings accounts for children’s education expenses such as tutoring, computers and private-school tuition.

* Supports raising contributions for higher- education IRAs from $500 to $1,000 annually.

* A $500 tax credit for taxpayers who make a voluntary contribution to public or private schools.

* Opposes using federal funds for national education tests and standards. Says such standards “only result in new bureaucracies.”