Byrd Works to Help Disadvantaged Students

Byrd Works to Help Disadvantaged Students

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., is fighting to add $6.1 billion to an education spending bill to help all of America's students reach their academic potential.

"If there is one federal investment that offers real dividends for America's future, it is education. Classroom success for our young people requires cooperation between students and teachers, parents, school officials, community leaders, and lawmakers. But the White House wants the Congress to walk away from that commitment. I, for one, will continue to fight for a better future for our children and will not go along with these wrongheaded White House cuts," Senator Byrd stated.

The Bush Administration is pressing Congress to accept a budget that would leave the nation's schools scrambling to fill a $12.3 billion shortfall in funding for the Title I program. The major federal dollars for West Virginia's elementary and secondary schools come through the Title I program, which provides funds to underprivileged school districts. The funding hole for West Virginia for the coming year totals nearly $89 million -- a reduction of almost 48 percent.

Byrd's amendment to the bill that funds the Department of Education would have increased Title I funding by $6.1 billion. This amount would fully serve almost 2 million more disadvantaged students across the nation, and more than 13,000 additional students in West Virginia.. The provision was defeated by the Senate Appropriations Committee on a party-line vote.

"When the President signed the No Child Left Behind Act four-and-a-half years ago, it promised to give schools the funding they need to help every young person in this country succeed in the classroom. That promise has not been kept -- not even close. And, there is no better example of that broken promise than the Title I program," Byrd said.

"We ought to hold schools accountable for their performance. But if we are going to demand that schools raise student achievement, we have a responsibility to provide them with the additional resources they need to improve. Unfortunately, that is not happening," Byrd said.

For most school districts, federal funding is moving in the opposite direction. In Fiscal Year 2006, more than half of the Nation's school districts -- including 48 of the 55 school districts in West Virginia -- received less Title I funding than they did the year before.

"Parents and teachers want their children to succeed. They are trying hard to hold up their end of the bargain. Now, it is up to the federal government to do the same. We must live up to the promise we've made to our schools and open the classroom door for all of our young people," Byrd said.

http://www.byrd2006.com/news/press_release_display.cfm?ID=35