COLUMN: The Bigger Picture

From Charles Ornstein's "Paving the Way," Fall '95 From Charles Ornstein's "Paving the Way," Fall '95As the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Relations considers a budget reconciliation package that makes significant changes to student financial aid, college campus debate centers around where exactly the government'sFrom Charles Ornstein's "Paving the Way," Fall '95As the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Relations considers a budget reconciliation package that makes significant changes to student financial aid, college campus debate centers around where exactly the government's ax should fall. Critics disagree, noting that the future of the nation's intellectual and scientific enterprise depends on education, and thus a cut in this area would have wide-ranging effects. But throughout the debate on campuses and in the press, few have discussed the overall impact of Congress' cuts on education in general -- not just higher education. A look at the impact on schools that give students their introduction to education gives reason to worry that the discussion currently taking place is too narrowly focused on the last step in the education ladder and not at the foundation. When it comes down to it, Congress is proposing an 18 percent cut in spending for the Department of Education. More than half of that would come from "savings" in elementary and secondary school programs. A look at the programs currently slated to be cut by the Republicans confirms the belief that Congress' fix to the budget problems plaguing our nation cannot rest on the shoulders of the American education system. If the GOP has its way, $1.1 billion would be cut from Title I programs -- which offer about a million disadvantaged students with special help in reading, writing and math. In Philadelphia alone, that would mean that the school district would be forced to fire 80 teachers and more than 200 teaching assistants. More than 60 schools would have to eliminate services and even more importantly, 48,000 students could feel the impact of the cuts. Another "cost-saving" measure, a $266 million cut from the Safe and Drug-Free Schools program, would adversely affect the ability of school districts to combat behavior that is already becoming more common. Cutting money for such an initiative goes the wrong way if lawmakers are trying to solve problems in school. But most significantly, Congress proposes to eliminate the Goals 2000 education reform program, which passed the body in 1994. Goals 2000 is one of the most significant projects in education in recent decades. It funds projects, designed by local superintendents and school board leaders, which offer custom-made and often successful strategies to reform education -- taking into account parental involvement, community support and high academic standards. In 1995, the first year the project was funded, Goals 2000 reached 10,000 schools. If it is funded next year, it could benefit 17,000 schools. But by cutting the $361-million program, Congress is saying that creative solutions to the ills plaguing the education system in this country are not worthwhile. I disagree. Considering that the number of students who will attend K-12 schools will reach an all-time high of 57 million in 1997, Congress must send a message that efficient and effective education systems are atop the nation's list of priorities. Examine the potential consequences if Congress' "reform package" is enacted: · The nation, which is already ranked below Germany and Japan in terms of education quality, will fall farther behind other world leaders. The quality of future research and technology will be effected, and ultimately, so will our economic stability. · The problems affecting school districts, such as high drop-out rates, drug use and truancy, will intensify, forcing society to feel the heightened effects of homelessness, unemployment and drug abuse. · Our nation, which already spends more on prisons than on higher education, will be forced to continue the trend, choosing to punish violators of the law, rather than teach children not to break the law in the first place. As members of Congress push ahead to balance the budget and cut taxes, they must consider the future of our country in more than broad economic terms. And as we, students at one of the nation's preeminent universities, watch the debate play itself out in the halls of the nation's capital, we cannot simply look at the impact of federal cuts on ourselves or our student loans. But we must keep in mind the importance of our introduction to education and offer that same chance to others.