Education Groups Going After Bush on NCLB

[cynatnite]

Education Group's Ads Assail Bush

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=694&ncid=696&e=9&u=/ap/20040812/ap_on_el_pr/campaign_ads_education

By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - An interest group funded in part by the nation's largest teachers' union will launch $2.5 million worth of new commercials on Friday assailing President Bush (news - web sites)'s education reform law after spending several million dollars on television ads this summer.


Communities for Quality Education's new 30-second ads claiming that the 2001 law is shortchanging the nation's schools will run in Nevada and Ohio over three weeks.


"It wastes money on bureaucracy and paperwork," the ads say, and leaves "classrooms overcrowded" with "fewer teachers" as well as "out-of-date books and materials."


The commercials also promote Democrat John Kerry (news - web sites), saying he would add 500,000 new teachers and reduce class sizes to provide students with individual attention.


Tailored to the two states, the ads present Kerry's education plan as an alternative to the No Child Left Behind law — even though Kerry voted for the law.


"The attack ads that were being run by John Kerry's allies will not help a single child learn to read or write or do arithmetic," said Steve Schmidt, a Bush campaign spokesman. "But the president's education reforms will."


Since June, the newly formed Washington-based group has spent nearly $3 million to run ads in politically important states of Florida, Arizona, Nevada, Ohio and Pennsylvania.


The National Education Association's political action committee gave the group $1.8 million, according to the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit government watchdog group. The union has endorsed Kerry and has stepped up opposition to the law this year.


Michael Pons, an NEA spokesman, said the union wanted a forum "to take a different, more broad based view of what education needs are and elevate those issues in the minds of the public."


The No Child Left Behind law aims to improve achievement, particularly among minority students. It required highly qualified teachers in all core classes, expanded testing, more choices to parents and public reporting of student performance.


The law has been criticized as underfunded and too restrictive.


Kerry says Bush and Republicans in Congress have shortchanged the states by a combined $27 billion for the law, and he claims he would "fully fund" it by rolling back tax cuts for wealthier citizens. Bush's campaign argues that federal education spending is at record levels under Bush, and Republicans say schools have enough money to satisfy the law's requirements.


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This pisses me off. There was a major news article in today's paper about the underfunding of our schools and how teachers have to sometimes pay out of their own pockets in order to get the kids what they need for schools. What a freakin' LIE!

Cyn:)

[Florida_Geek]

1. Well you should go to Louisana

I am from Florida... And one of the first strange things I saw in Monroe Louisana was the "Teachers Supply" stores here. There is around 3 I know about.

Strange a store that only sells things for teachers to use in the classroom..... Ah the good old day....

[cynatnite]

2. NCLB Doesn't Work

I supported NCLB when it was first signed. It was one of those things that look great on paper.

I live in a very conserv area which is heavy on supporting Bush, but most teachers here agree that NCLB is horrible because it meets so little of the needs of children for the most part.

Cyn:)