Democrats critical of education budget

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- House Democrats issued a report Monday that was sharply critical of the White House for a budget that includes no additional spending on local schools.

The report said spending had been rising dramatically since 1996, but President George W. Bush is calling for a halt to increases in support.

"Within weeks of signing the 'No Child Left Behind' Act, he submitted a budget that stopped six years of steady progress in federal support to local schools dead in its tracks," said the report, entitled, "The Real Bush Initiative: Stop the Growth of Federal Funding."

"Instead of the strong and consistent growth in support to local schools that the federal government has provided for more than a decade, the president's budget holds aid to schools virtually flat," he said.

Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, said he was surprised to hear the Democrats call for further increases in education funding.

"When it comes to funding education reform, Democrat leaders have no plan, no budget and no credibility," Boehner said. "By contrast, President Bush put forth a responsible budget that makes education a priority even in a time of war and economic turmoil."

The report noted that federal spending on schools increased from $14.7 billion in 1996 to $32.8 billion in fiscal 2002, or from $323 per student to $624 -- a 93 percent jump, amounting to 12 percent a year.

It said the money was used for raising teachers' salaries, hiring better teachers, providing more training and cutting class size.

Congress approved the increases because of public sentiment and that support has continued even after Sept. 11, the Democratic report said.

A survey this spring showed 83 percent of Americans favor increased spending to raise teacher salaries and making other improvements even if it means paying more taxes.

Bush was accused of spending only $1 billion for students in low-income school districts when $5.65 billion is promised in "No Child Left Behind," and freezing spending for English language training programs for 300,000 new students. It also said the budget freezes spending for after-school programs.

"Now Congress is faced with the choice of supporting schools or supporting the president and his effort to reverse the trend of expanding federal support for local schools," the report said.

Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., ranking Democrat on the appropriations committee, he gives the President a "huge portion of the blame."

"He has confused everyone by being so stridently on both sides of this issue," Obey said. "As the report points out, our schools have simultaneously become the favorite photo-op of the White House advance staff and the favorite target of the White House budget staff."