Supporting Public School Week

Floor Speech

Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Public School Week. This weeklong series of events is designed to inform and transform the civic conversation around public education. In order for America to lead in the 21st century, our foremost social and economic imperative should be to provide a quality education to all of our students.

In my city of Dallas, four magnet schools were identified as Blue Ribbon schools. These four Dallas Independent School District (ISD) schools are the Environmental Science Academy, the Townview School of Science and Engineering Magnet High School, the Rosie M. Collins Sorrells School of Education and the Social Services Magnet High School and Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School. Being identified as a Blue Ribbon school means they are among the finest schools in the country, and I am proud of these four stellar institutions and others like them.

Townview Magnet is one of the most diverse schools in Texas, with minorities representing over half of the student population. Townview is a gem in my Congressional district and home to some of the Nation's best and brightest students. Newsweek Magazine has consistently rated Townview's Science and Engineering Magnet as one of the top high schools in the Nation. Townview serves as a model for other institutions of learning across the country.

Mr. Speaker, many of our best and our brightest students attend public schools and with encouragement and support from their principals and teachers they are capable of achieving remarkable success. We cannot allow our schools to lose the critical funding they need to operate simply because we as a Congress cannot work together to solve sequestration. Texas is poised to lose approximately $67.8 million for primary and secondary education, putting around 930 teacher and aide jobs at risk. In addition about 172,000 fewer students would be served and approximately 280 fewer schools would receive funding.

Mr. Speaker, supporting our Nation's public schools will help us out-educate, out-innovate, and out-build the rest of the world. We must identify ways to help improve schools like these that provide educational excellence to our communities. We must not waver in our commitment to our children and the future of this country.

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