Honorable Charles Norwood
          House of Representatives
          Washington, DC 20515

Dear Congressman Norwood:

I am writing to you and several other members of Congress to let you            know how much I appreciate your suggestions and support in helping the            Department of Education focus on management improvements. From the day            that then President-elect Bush asked me to be his Secretary of Education,            the past management problems of the Department of Education have been            of paramount concern to me. During my first visit to Washington as part            of the Bush-Cheney Presidential Transition, I became acutely aware of            the long-standing and pervasive management problems that I was set to            inherit. The illustration of the problems is the fact that the Department            has been unable to get a clean audit for several years and most recently            only got a qualified opinion on its latest audit, which covered the            last fiscal year ending September 30, 2000.

Based on your comments at our recent meeting, I thought you would be            interested in a few more details about what I have been doing since            January 20. I will also lay out for you my plans and action steps in            our comprehensive blueprint for management excellence that will address            deficiencies that have existed for far too long.

The blueprint for management excellence is designed to make sure that            we account for every dollar and restore the confidence of Congress and            the taxpayers in the Department of Education. My goals are very clear:

- Obtain a clean audit opinion within 18 months;
- Remove Student Financial Assistance programs from the General Accounting            Office high risk list prior to the reauthorization of the Higher Education            Act;
- Put in place effective internal controls to protect the Department's            assets from waste, fraud, and abuse, including much tighter limits on            the use of credit cards and other payment methods;
- Intensify efforts to modernize student aid delivery and management            and strengthen efforts to reduce student loan default costs;
- Make accountability for results the primary operating principle for            all Department of Education managers, employees, grantees, and contractors.

Please know that I take my stewardship over the Department and the            taxpayers' dollars very seriously. Last month, I held my first two press            conferences as Secretary. The first press conference focused on our            budget submission to Congress that included our legislative agenda and            our management priorities. The following week, I announced my three-step            action plan for achieving my five management improvement goals.

The first action step was the formation of a "Management Improvement            Team" -- a strike team of 10 members of the senior staff of the Department            of Education who will work exclusively for three months attacking management            problems and developing solutions to correct them. They have begun by            addressing hundreds of existing recommendations set forth in audits            addressing our problems. I have directed them to produce a progress            report for the public by July 1. This dedicated team is working hard            under my direction to accomplish these goals.

In addition, I have engaged an outside group of experts to act as a            broker to keep us on track. The Council for Excellence in Government            will deploy a select panel of experts to advise the Department and evaluate            our efforts.

Finally, I have asked President Bush to make it a priority to nominate            an assistant secretary of education for management and a chief financial            officer for the Department. Both nominees will fill vital roles allowed            to remain vacant for five and two years respectively during the previous            Administration. We are dedicated to recruiting the best professional            talent to help us successfully reach our goals. The President has already            nominated other members of my senior management team and I assure you            that we are changing the culture within the Department. We are working            diligently to get a clean audit opinion for the current fiscal year            that ends September 30, 2001. However, since my full management team            will only have four months to achieve that goal, I am certain that our            reform efforts will be fully realized during fiscal year 2002.

This management initiative is just the first step in a process of building            public confidence in the Department's management and integrity. I look            forward to sharing the results of our management improvement efforts            regularly with Congress and with the public, and to working with you            and other members of Congress to reform American education and improve            student achievement so that no child is left behind.

Sincerely,

/s/

Rod Paige

|Last Modified: 09/15/2004
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