The Associated Press: on Education
George P. Bush:
Taxpayer-funded vouchers for private & religious schools
George P. Bush's new job as Texas land commissioner has nothing to do with abortion, and it lacks any authority to funnel public dollars to private schools. But after barely 30 days in office, he's already headlined high-profile rallies on both issues.
"These conservative ideals--being pro-life and promoting school choice--are a matter of principle for me," Bush said in a statement. "And just as I did during my campaign, I will continue to advocate on behalf of these deeply held values."
Bush urged state lawmakers to approve voucher programs that would allow parents to remove their children from public school and get taxpayer funding for private and religious alternatives. Bush's office oversees the state's Permanent
School Fund, which gets proceeds from leasing mineral rights for oil and natural gas exploration. The fund helps purchase classroom materials and indirectly covers some other costs for public school districts.
Source: Will Weissert on Associated Press, "Conservative Spotlight"
Feb 5, 2015
John Morrison:
Education should be a priority for federal money
All [three Democratic candidates] said higher education was important in allowing Montana to provide a skilled workforce that could attract more business to the state. Morrison said higher education should be a priority as
Congress doles out federal money. Tester called for more federally subsidized student loans while Richards said all higher education should be free.
Source: Associated Press in Helena Independent Record
Apr 19, 2006
Dwight Grotberg:
Home-schools his seven children
Grotberg and his wife, Alison, have seven children, ages 13 years to 8 months. The couple home-school their children.
Grotberg received his own high school education from home schooling.
Source: By Dale Wetzel, Associated Press, in Times Online
Mar 27, 2006
Brad Carson:
Support the lottery proposal to fund education
CARSON says he would vote yes on the lottery proposal November second because it’s important to fund children’s education. Carson says he had qualms about having a lottery, but it was part of the solution to school funding.
COBURN says the lottery undermines virtue.
Source: OK Senate Debate, in Associated Press
Oct 21, 2004
Tom Coburn:
The lottery proposal to fund education undermines virtue
CARSON says he would vote yes on the lottery proposal November second because it’s important to fund children’s education. Carson says he had qualms about having a lottery, but it was part of the solution to school funding.
COBURN says the lottery undermines virtue.
Source: [Xref Carson] OK Senate Debate, in Associated Press
Oct 21, 2004
Denise Majette:
Fully fund No Child Left Behind and Headstart
MAJETTE: Majette accused Isakson of not voting to fully fund No Child Left Behind and Headstart programs, which she said she fully supports.
ISAKSON: Isakson defended his voting record on education, saying he voted for funding increases in both programs.
Source: GA Senate Debate, in Associated Press
Oct 12, 2004
Johnny Isakson:
Voted for funding increases in No Child Left Behind
MAJETTE: Majette accused Isakson of not voting to fully fund No Child Left Behind and Headstart programs, which she said she fully supports.
ISAKSON: Isakson defended his voting record on education, saying he voted for funding increases in both programs.
Source: [Xref Majette] GA Senate Debate, in Associated Press
Oct 12, 2004
George W. Bush:
$5,000 Grants for poor students in math & sciences
Bush called for the creation of $5,000 grants for poor students who emphasize math and science, a $100 million annual program to be paid for by imposing new restrictions on Pell Grants and by tapping private foundations.
Bush also proposed requiring high-school seniors in every state to take national math and English tests that currently are mandated only for fourth- and eighth-graders.
Source: Deb Riechman, Associated Press
May 10, 2004
John Kerry:
Roll back tax cuts for rich to fund education
Kerry vowed that 1 million more students would graduate high school. Kerry wants to roll back Bush’s tax cuts for people making more than $200,000 a year and use some of the money to create a $200 billion education trust fund over 10 years.
Kerry says about half the money would be used to fully fund No Child Left Behind. He also pledged to channel $30 billion over 10 years to improve teacher pay as well as raise standards.
Source: Deb Riechman, Associated Press
May 10, 2004
Al Sharpton:
Vouchers are a gradual step toward privatization
Q: Do you support allowing parents in areas that are poor or with bad schools to use tax money to help send their children to private schools?
A: No, I think that the moneys ought to be applied to public schools and not any form of privatization and I consider vouchers part of a gradual step toward privatization.
Source: Associated Press policy Q&A, “School Vouchers”
Jan 25, 2004
Dennis Kucinich:
Vouchers divert public money away from public schools
Q: Do you support allowing parents in areas that are poor or with bad schools to use tax money to help send their children to private schools?
A: No. Sending a few kids somewhere else at the public’s expense and leaving the other children in a crumbling school even shorter on funds than before is no solution at all.
Vouchers divert public money away from the vast majority of public school students. In most cases, these are the students who need it the most. As president, I will lead in the fight to improve public schools,
and oppose alternatives that divert attention, energy, and resources from efforts to reduce class size, enhance teacher quality, and provide every student with books, computers, and safe and orderly schools.
Source: Associated Press policy Q&A, “School Vouchers”
Jan 25, 2004
Howard Dean:
Vouchers undermine public education
Q: Do you support allowing parents in areas that are poor or with bad schools to use tax money to help send their children to private schools?A: Vouchers undermine public education, a cornerstone of our democracy. I oppose all public funding
of private school tuition, including demonstration programs like the one President Bush is foisting on Washington, DC, and the one Governor Jeb Bush has instituted in Florida, since they siphon badly needed resources from our public schools.
Source: Associated Press policy Q&A, “School Vouchers”
Jan 25, 2004
John Edwards:
Private school vouchers drain resources from public schools
Q: Would you allow parents in areas that are poor or with bad schools to use tax money to help send their children to private schools?A: Today, America has two school systems-one for the affluent & one for everyone else. I am committed to giving every
child a great education-by investing in excellent teachers for public schools, and by taking a range of other steps. Private school vouchers won’t help our public schools, but will instead drain limited resources from those schools. I oppose vouchers.
Source: Associated Press policy Q&A, “School Vouchers”
Jan 25, 2004
John Kerry:
Vouchers drain resources from public schools
Q: Would you allow parents in areas that are poor or with bad schools to use tax money to help send their children to private schools?A: I have never supported vouchers. I understand why parents want more choices and I believe they should have more
choices in public schools. But public schools need resources and support, and vouchers drain them of both. Our inner-city schools and our rural schools need better buildings, more textbooks, higher paid teachers, the best principals, and smaller classes.
Source: Associated Press policy Q&A, “School Vouchers”
Jan 25, 2004
Joseph Lieberman:
Supports vouchers that don’t take money from public schools
Q: Do you support allowing parents in areas that are poor or with bad schools to use tax money to help send their children to private schools?A: I support private school voucher experiments that do not take away money from public schools,
include full evaluations, and are targeted to help low-income students trapped in bad schools. It’s one way to help improve opportunities for low-income students immediately while we do the long, hard work of lifting up our public schools.
Source: Associated Press policy Q&A, “School Vouchers”
Jan 25, 2004
Wesley Clark:
Oppose vouchers and all measures that weaken public schools
I believe that the best way to educate our children is by strengthening the public school system, not taking resources away from them.
Q: Do you support allowing parents in areas that are poor or with bad schools to use tax money to help send their children to private schools?A: I oppose all measures that would weaken our public school system, including school vouchers.
Source: Associated Press policy Q&A, “School Vouchers”
Jan 25, 2004
Al Gore:
Claimed $10,000 tuition tax cut worth $800 over current plan
Gore, by omission, made his plan to help parents with the costs of college sound more generous than it is. “I want to give every middle class family a $10,000-a-year tax deduction for college tuition,” the Democrat
said. That’s true, but a tax credit is already available for that purpose. Gore actually offers people a choice of an increased tax credit or the tax deduction. The additional benefit, for many families, would be $800.
Source: Associated Press analysis of St. Louis debate
Oct 17, 2000
Al Gore:
Overempasized restrictions of Bush’s education plan
Gore suggested Bush’s education plan would force states to give parents whose children are in failing schools vouchers to send their children to private schools. Bush’s plan offers more choices than that, including public schools or tutoring. Gore
also said that when a school is found to be failing under Bush’s plan, “kids would be trapped there for another three years” before anything is done. He suggested that his own plan would [act] right away; Gore’s plan in fact would take two years.
Source: Associated Press analysis of St. Louis debate
Oct 17, 2000
Al Gore:
Supports Goals 2000 & standards-based movement
Q: Should federal money be linked to how well students perform on national or statewide tests? A: I believe that federal money should be used to reward success and to support what works. I am pleased to note the success of the
standards-based movement; with the help of our Goals 2000 program, today 48 states have developed standards for student performance. I believe we should invest more in all our public schools, which is why I have proposed an
additional $115 billion over 10 years to support education initiatives from preschool to college. But we cannot tolerate failing schools either. Every state and every school district should be required to identify failing schools and work to turn them
around-with strict accountability for results and strong incentives for success. And if these failing schools don’t improve quickly, they should be shut down and re-opened with new leadership and a full peer evaluation of every teacher.
Source: Associated Press
Feb 23, 2000
Bill Bradley:
Measure performance; close lowest-performing schools
Q: Should federal money be linked to how well students perform on national or statewide tests? A: We shouldn’t send billions to the states without making sure that there are qualified teachers in every classroom and that
federal dollars are actually helping children to learn. I would require that schools receiving Title I funds (aid to disadvantaged students) make measurable yearly progress towards raising student achievement in reading and
math on statewide tests so that all children are performing at grade level within 10 years. Extra funds would go to schools that fail to make such progress, and persistently low-performing schools would be given new
leadership or closed down and re-opened as charter schools. Parents of children in non-performing schools could send their ids to higher performing public schools.
Source: Associated Press
Feb 23, 2000
George W. Bush:
Freedom & flexibility in return for high standards & results
Q: Should federal money be linked to how well students perform on national or statewide tests? A: As president, I will fundamentally change the relationship between the
states and federal government in education. I strongly believe in local control of schools and curriculum. We will grant unprecedented freedom and flexibility in return for high standards and results. In my administration,
federal dollars will no longer follow failure. We will ask states and local school districts to set their own standards to achieve excellence in the core
areas of math, English, science, and history, and hold them accountable for results. I oppose a national test because it would undermine curriculum developed at the state and local level.
Source: Associated Press
Feb 23, 2000
John McCain:
Against nationally imposed standards & funding strings
Q: Should federal money be linked to how well students perform on national or statewide tests? A: I do not favor nationally imposed standards or federal funding strings. State and local education agencies should be responsible for developing & enforcing
high academic standards. I don’t believe we should penalize students by taking away limited education dollars according to federal dictates. Such strings would invariably require states to spend even more money on federally imposed bureaucratic
requirements-money that would be better spent in the classroom. I propose sending education funding directly to classrooms rather than having it siphoned off by federal and state bureaucracies. If this funding flows to classrooms that continue to fail,
the state should have the authority to allow students to use that funding directly for programs that best meet their academic needs. Empowering parents and students through educational choice and competition is the surest path to academic excellence.
Source: Associated Press
Feb 23, 2000
John McCain:
Enlist retirees for tutoring
McCain wants to create a pool of military veterans, retirees and others who would tutor students in math, science and English. “You really need to have a lot more people helping kids get their education,” McCain said. Tutors can help reinforce
the message that education is important and give students the support they need to succeed, McCain said. If tutors aren’t available in some neighborhoods, the Internet may be able to link them with students, he said.
Source: Associated Press
Nov 22, 1999
George W. Bush:
$3 billion for Charter School Fund
Bush said he would require states to “test every child, every year, in grades 3 through 8.” Bush also would expand the federal Education Savings Account program to $5,000 a year per child for use in elementary and high schools. Currently, families can
invest just $500 per child per year in the tax-free, interest-bearing accounts, and the money can only be used for college.
Source: Beth J. Harpaz, Associated Press
Oct 5, 1999
Elizabeth Dole:
More power to teachers, parents, and local schools
Dole said the key [to improving education] is to increase local control of schools, give teachers the power to remove troublemakers from their classes and involve parents in their children’s education.
Source: J.M. Hirsch, Associated Press
Aug 16, 1999
John McCain:
$5B program for 3-year test of school vouchers
McCain proposed a school voucher program to offer education opportunities for disadvantaged children, paid for by eliminating $5.4 billion worth of subsidies for ethanol, sugar, gas and oil. Under McCain’s three-year test program, disadvantaged children
would receive vouchers worth $2,000 a year. The money would be used to offset the costs of attending any school chosen by the student or parents. “We shouldn’t have special interest giveaways at the expense of our neediest children,” McCain said.
Source: Mike Glover, Associated Press
Jul 29, 1999
Gary Bauer:
Vouchers for home-schooling as well as private schools
Bauer favors voucher programs for private schools, but expanded that to include home schooling. He said parents could use the money for curriculum material, or to hire help in areas where they don’t feel competent to teach.
Source: Mike Glover, Associated Press
Jul 27, 1999
George W. Bush:
More state and local control over education
Bush espoused giving state and local governments more control over education, including curriculum, disciplining students and punishing juvenile offenders. “Trust local people to make decisions for their schools.”
Source: Associated Press
Jun 25, 1999
John McCain:
Internet access, with filters, at every school & library
McCain seeks high-speed Internet access for every school, but suggested requiring filtering software for all public school and library computers as a way to keep children from potentially harmful Internet sites.
Source: Associated Press
Jun 14, 1999
John McCain:
Merit pay & competency testing for teachers
Also promoted merit-based pay for teachers, calling higher teacher salaries an “urgent necessity.” But he added that teachers should be tested for competence periodically and fired if they don’t meet certain standards.
Source: Associated Press
Jun 14, 1999
John McCain:
Tax-funded vouchers for private schools or charter schools
McCain’s platform calls for a school voucher program that would give tax money to middle- and lower-income families to send their children to private schools. And he praised charter schools - publicly funded schools that often serve a specialized
curriculum and operate free from many government mandates.
Source: Associated Press
Jun 14, 1999
Page last updated: Feb 15, 2019