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Illinois School Board Journal
July-August 2000

Bush, Gore differ on education

This article was provided by the National School Boards Association News Service.

As they campaign across the nation, presidential contenders George W. Bush and Al Gore are talking a lot about the public schools.

Although both are emphasizing the need for more accountability, their comments reveal a huge ideological divide in their views on the federal role in education.

For his part, Bush, the governor of Texas, supports many traditional Republican strategies for school reform: school choice, block grants to trim the federal education bureaucracy, and strong support for charter schools and other forms of competition with local public schools. He also is offering modest funding increases in a few targeted areas, such as early literacy.

Meanwhile, Vice President Gore is seeking aggressive federal intervention in education, coupled with a hefty influx of new money for school construction, expanded preschool programs, and pay raises for teachers.

With education reform ranking high in public opinion polls, both candidates have devoted a lot of time to the issue — despite the fact that the federal government provides only seven percent of all education spending.

Raises for teachers

In recent weeks, the candidates have crisscrossed the nation, speaking at education conferences and scheduling photo opportunities at local schools, many in key electoral states.

It was after a visit to a Michigan high school in May that Gore unveiled what he calls his Teacher Quality Plan at the Michigan Education Association Leadership Convention. The 10-year, $115 billion plan would create an Education Reform Trust Fund to help teachers and schools meet higher standards.

As part of the plan, Gore proposes $8 billion to recruit one million new teachers. The money would forgive federal education loans to teacher candidates who agree to teach in high-need schools. It would provide up to $10,000 in college aid for students who agree to teach after college and up to $10,000 in signing bonuses for professionals who switch careers to teach.

Another $8 billion would go to finance $5,000 salary increases for teachers in school districts that agree to adopt aggressive plans to improve teacher quality and fire low-performing teachers.

Bonuses could climb to $10,000 for "outstanding master teachers" and those certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

"We all know that good teaching is the very foundation of our children’s future," Gore told union officials. "It is essential that we increase the number of teachers in our schools, recruit highly qualified teachers all across this nation, and reward teachers for the crucial work you do."

A huge chunk of spending — perhaps as much as $50 billion over 10 years — would be used to provide universal preschool. Gore also is proposing a new child-care block grant for the states, increased funding for existing child-care programs, and the reform and expansion of Head Start, including new services for infants and toddlers.

Accountability

Gore has proposed a $500 million initiative to improve Title I schools, as well as a grant program to help the 100 worst-performing school districts. Gore also supports President Clinton’s funding plan for new school construction.

In exchange for new federal funds, Gore says he’ll demand specific action to ensure accountability. New teachers would need to pass rigorous assessment tests on their subject-matter knowledge and teaching proficiency. States also would have to guarantee all teachers are certified by 2004 or risk losing federal dollars.

Some of Gore’s proposals are unlikely to sit well with the teachers’ unions, a key constituency to Gore’s election bid. For example, he wants school districts to raise the bar for granting tenure. And he says states should be required to intervene in failing Title I schools. If improvement continued to lag, he says, states would need to replace teachers and principals at the schools.

Bush favors competition

In contrast, Bush is proposing a more fiscally conservative approach that hopes to fuel reform by demanding more accountability and putting pressure on schools to improve through increased competition.

One major proposal combines both approaches: Bush wants Title I students to be tested every year. States that show improvement would share $500 million in bonus dollars over five years. States that fail to show improvement would see five percent of their share of overall federal education funds turned over to a charter school grant program.

What’s more, students in schools that lag in performance for three years could be given the option to transfer to another public school or be awarded "portable funds" of approximately $1,500 to pay for tuition to another school district or private school or for supplemental education services, such as tutoring. The Bush campaign is careful to steer clear of the term "vouchers," referring to the plan instead as a "scholarship" or "choice program."

To put additional pressure on schools to improve, Bush is calling for more competition with public schools. He is proposing $300 million in new spending to back $3 billion in loan guarantees to provide capital for more than 2,000 new charter schools.

He also would allow parents to contribute up to $5,000 annually per child into an education savings account that can be withdrawn tax-free to pay K-12 and college education expenses, including private school tuition.

In a visit earlier this year at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, Bush described what he sees as the underlying principles behind his proposals: "Raise the bar of standards. Give schools the flexibility to meet them. Measure progress. Insist on results. Blow the whistle on failure. Provide parents with options to increase their influence. And don’t leave any child behind."

Spending

Bush also is proposing some funding increases — but nowhere near the sum proposed by the vice president. Of $13.5 billion in new spending over five years, Bush would spend $400 million to expand teacher training and recruitment programs, $2 billion for after-school programs, and $5 billion for initiatives to boost reading and math skills in the early elementary grades.

Another important initiative for Bush is reducing the federal bureaucracy. In return for greater accountability, he’s offering to convert many federal education programs into a series of block grants to the states. He also would move the Head Start program to the U.S. Education Department and re-focus it on preparing children for school.

As they speak out on education, both candidates are taking potshots at one another. Gore has attacked Bush’s education record as governor of Texas and charged that Bush’s recent proposals ignore local communities’ needs for new schools, smaller class sizes, and more preschool programs.

The accusations are dismissed by the Bush camp, which notes that Texas schools are enjoying rising test scores and a narrowing of the performance gap between whites and minorities.

In turn, Bush supporters point to Gore’s spending proposals as evidence that the Democratic candidate is kowtowing to the teacher unions and seeking to undermine local control by expanding the federal bureaucracy.

Empty promises?

For all the finger pointing, some political observers question whether either candidate will be able to live up to his promises after the election.

The fate of legislative proposals will depend largely on control of the U.S. House of Representatives — and an easing of partisan bickering. Earlier this month, some lawmakers sought to end the impasse over education legislation by proposing to balance Democratic demands for more school funding and Republican calls for more local autonomy. The proposal died quickly.

According to Los Angeles Times columnist Ronald Brownstein, the proposal’s failure indicates that both parties would "rather have a dispute they can take to the voters than a deal. This is hardly the ideal backdrop for exploring new ways that Washington can kick-start the school reform movement."