THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 4, 1995 TAG: 9508030016
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
The recent article in the paper condemning Governor Allen's foresight in rejecting Goals 2000 is ridiculous. The monetary amount equals about a penny a pupil, but the requirements and restrictions placed on our educational system equal a lot more. In addition there seems to be an incorrect premise that the more money you put in something, the better it becomes. Recent statistics in Virginia shows that between 1981 and 1991, improvement in pupil scores are relatively unchanged even though the budget increased substantially.
It is quite obvious that the ``Washington-knows-best crowd'' is trying to run our local school systems and dictate curriculum at every level.
I find it ironic that while Governor Allen is opposing these unconstitutional intrusions of local authority, some members of the General Assembly, led by the lieutenant governor, are criticizing Governor Allen and not supporting him in his fight to save our public-education system. Are these not the same people who claimed to always have the views of localities foremost in their minds? What happened?
We do not know what Congress is going to do with the Goals 2000 act. Congress could repeal it, but Clinton would probably veto repeal. Congress is likely to cut the funding considerably - and maybe zero it out. We could then be stuck with the present legislation and its requirements in exchange for even less money. Prudence dictates Virginia should wait and see what happens in Washington before signing on, especially since first-year planning money is only a penny per day per student.
MARK P. CERNAK SR.
Chesapeake, July 22, 1995 by CNB