Presidential Initiative to Give $200M to Schools

President Clinton was at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel yesterday for a $10,000-per-plate lunch for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

But the fundraiser, held to honor outgoing DNC Chair Steve Grossman, was not the President's major event of the day. Clinton traveled to Jackson Mann Elementary School in Brighton, where he announced a plan to provide $200 million to fix or close failing schools nationwide.

"From now on, we must say to states and school districts: identify your worst-performing, least-improving schools, and turn them around or shut them down," Clinton said. "If we fail to do this and do it quickly, we are going to lose another generation of children to low expectations, low educational achievement and low prospects of moving ahead in life."

The initiative, to be included in the 2000 budget, is part of the president's plan to encourage greater accountability on the part of students, teachers and administrators.

The money would require states and school districts to identify schools with the lowest achievement levels and take immediate steps to improve performance. Intensive teacher training and increased disciplinary measures are two recommended steps.

Clinton's initiative though lacks the full support of Republicans, who have questioned whether Clinton's new budget does enough to directly support teaching while giving local school officials enough flexibility.

"His challenge is to implement these new initiatives without micromanaging our neighborhood schools from Washington," said Rep. Bill Goodling (R-Pa.), chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee. "Regrettably....under the president's proposals, Washington bureaucrats will call the shots on most of the major issues confronting states and local school districts."

Clinton addressed these issues yesterday in Brighton. "Some...people argue that even though we spend $15 billion a year on public education, the national government has no business holding the system accountable for results," he said. "Can you imagine any company spending money without looking at results?"

After the events in Boston, Clinton traveled to New York for another dinner fund-raiser at Le Cirque.

--Wire dispatches were used to compile this report.