Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 5, 1995                   TAG: 9504060039
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

SCHOOLS LAGGING ON INFO HIGHWAY

In fact, the latest diagnosis of American education says most students attend schools that cannot make use of the technology needed to teach them about cyberspace, the information superhighway or other high-tech concepts.

The 65-page report released Tuesday by the General Accounting Office blamed schools' crumbling infrastructure for American students' lagging pace in the use of computers.

``There are only a handful of schools that are even close to being fully equipped,'' said Dr. Linda Morra, director of education and employment for the GAO. ``Many of our schools are wired for nothing more complicated than film projectors.''

The issue is a serious one, said Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, D-Ill. ``Education and training are the most important investments we can make in our country's future, and we cannot afford to have our students lose out.''

Moseley-Braun announced the formation Tuesday of the National Education Technology Funding Corp., a public-private partnership of businesses, governments and schools that would encourage increased technology in schools by providing money for projects.

The GAO report is the second in a series examining public schools. The first, released in February, estimated that the nation's schools need about $112 billion to repair or upgrade their facilities. Although the GAO gave no cost estimate with this report, Moseley-Braun quoted Education Department estimates that upgrading school technology alone could cost $4 billion a year.

The findings in Tuesday's report were based on a national random sample of about 10,000 schools and on visits to 10 school districts.