III

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. RES. 168

Expressing the sense of the Senate that the Department of Education, States,

and local educational agencies should spend a greater percentage of

Federal education tax dollars in our children’s classrooms.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 27, 1998

Mr. HUTCHINSON (for himself, Mr. LOTT, Mr. NICKLES, Mr. COVERDELL,

Mr. COATS, Mr. GREGG, Mr. DEWINE, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. ENZI, Mr.

MURKOWSKI, Mr. SHELBY, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. ASHCROFT, Mr. KEMPTHORNE, Mr. FAIRCLOTH, Mr. HELMS, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. ALLARD,

Mr. SMITH of Oregon, Mr. ROBERTS, and Mr. MACK) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Labor and

Human Resources

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Senate that the Department

of Education, States, and local educational agencies

should spend a greater percentage of Federal education

tax dollars in our children’s classrooms.

Whereas the people of the United States know that effective

teaching takes place when the people of the United

States begin (1) helping children master basic academics,

(2) engaging and involving parents, (3) creating safe and

orderly classrooms, and (4) getting dollars to the classroom;
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Whereas our Nation’s children deserve an educational system

which will provide opportunities to excel;

Whereas States and localities must spend a significant

amount of Federal education tax dollars applying for and

administering Federal education dollars;

Whereas several States have reported that although the

States receive less than 10 percent of their education

funding from the Federal Government, more than 50 percent of their paperwork is associated with those Federal

dollars;

Whereas while it is unknown exactly what percentage of Federal education dollars reaches the classroom, a recent

audit of New York City public schools found that only 43

percent of their local education budget reaches the classroom; further, it is thought that only 85 percent of funds

administered by the Department of Education for elementary and secondary education reach the school district level; and even if 65 percent of Federal education

funds reach the classroom, it still means that billions of

dollars are not directly spent on children in the classroom;

Whereas American students are not performing up to their

full academic potential, despite the more than 760 Federal education programs, which span 39 Federal agencies

at the price of nearly $100,000,000,000 annually;

Whereas, according to the Digest of Education Statistics, in

1993 only $141,598,786,000 out of $265,285,370,000

spent on elementary and secondary education was spent

on instruction;

Whereas, according to the National Center for Education

Statistics, in 1994 only 52 percent of staff employed in
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•SRES 168 IS

public elementary and secondary school systems were

teachers;

Whereas too much of our Federal education funding is spent

on bureaucracy, and too little is spent on our Nation’s

youth;

Whereas getting 90 percent of Department of Education elementary and secondary education funds to the classroom

could provide approximately $1,800 in additional funding

per classroom across the United States;

Whereas more education funding should be put in the hands

of someone in a child’s classroom who knows the child’s

name;

Whereas President Clinton has stated: ‘‘We cannot ask the

American people to spend more on education until we do

a better job with the money we’ve got now.’’;

Whereas President Clinton and Vice President Gore agree

that the reinventing of public education will not begin in

Washington but in communities across the United States

and that the people of the United States must ask fundamental questions about how our Nation’s public school

systems’ dollars are spent; and

Whereas President Clinton and Vice President Gore agree

that in an age of tight budgets, our Nation should be

spending public funds on teachers and children, not on

unnecessary overhead and bloated bureaucracy: Now,

therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That the Senate urges the Department of

2 Education, States, and local educational agencies to work

3 together to ensure that not less than 95 percent of all

4 funds appropriated for the purpose of carrying out ele-
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1 mentary and secondary education programs administered

2 by the Department of Education is spent for our Nation’s

3 children in their classrooms.

Æ