By Michael Coles Paul Coverdell, in his latest campaign television ad, makes a number of wildly exaggerated claims about his record on public education. I would like to set the record straight. During his six years in the Senate, Coverdell has not written or sponsored any legislation that has had any effect on any school in the United States, public or private. In fact, during his entire time in the Senate, Coverdell has sponsored only four bills which were enacted into law. None of the four had anything to do with education. The centerpiece of Coverdell’s election-year education proposal, the Education Savings Account bill, never became law and is far from the “comprehensive” cure-all that Coverdell claims. ESAs are worth supporting because they allow families to save more of their own money. However, they would do virtually nothing to help public schools -- which is where 90% of children in America get their education. In order to improve the quality of education offered by our public schools, we must decrease class size, especially in the early grades, so that all our children get the individual attention they need to develop basic skills. The only way to decrease class size is to increase the number of teachers and build more classrooms. Coverdell’s bill did not provide for new teachers or school construction. In addition, Paul Coverdell voted against $590 million for Georgia school construction and cast the deciding vote against putting 100,000 new teachers in our nation’s elementary schools. The best way to evaluate the performance of our teachers and public schools is to use a set of uniform standards to compare Georgia schools with the rest of the country. The Coverdell bill had no provisions for national standards in subjects like mathematics and science. Coverdell even voted against a Republican proposal to allow state and local boards of education to establish uniform discipline policies. In fact, Paul Coverdell has not only failed to address the key education issues; he has worked aggressively to undermine America’s public education system. In 1994, Coverdell was one of only 20 Senators to vote against the Safe and Drug Free Schools and Community Act. The Act provided $655 million a year in federal spending to establish and improve local programs of school drug and violence prevention. And in 1995, Coverdell voted to cut federal funding for Georgia schools by 33% including an $800 million cut in financial aid to Georgia college students, in order to pay for tax cuts. Our children's' public schools must be free of drugs and violence. Public school buildings must be safe and permanent. We must work to decrease class size in our elementary schools so that young students get the individual attention they need in order to learn basic skills. In America, our children should have the opportunity to go as far as their intellect and determination can take them regardless of their economic background. Paul Coverdell claims to have “done more for education in America than many Senators do in a lifetime.” But, in fact, Paul Coverdell in just six years has done more to undermine public education than most Senators do in a lifetime,. When one compares his television commercials with his voting history, it seems Coverdell has forgotten that in life, we are measured not by our words, but by our deeds. In light of all claims made by Coverdell about education, the record must be set straight -- and the record is clear. The vast majority of Georgia’s families that rely upon public schools for the education of their children cannot rely upon Paul Coverdell to look out for them in the United States Senate. Michael Coles, resident of Kennesaw, is a candidate for the Unite States Senate |
