ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, October 6, 1996 TAG: 9610070076
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WARREN FISKE AND PHILIP WALZER STAFF WRITERS
NOTE: Below
WHAT DOES CONGRESS have to do with education? Enough to make it a major talking point in this year's Senate race.
Why all the fuss about education in this fall's U.S. Senate election? After all, the federal government pays only 6 percent of the operational costs of Virginia's public schools.
The rest is almost equally footed by state and local governments. And both candidates agree that, if anything, there should be more local control and less interference from Washington in running our schools.
The federal government has even less sway in the running of our state colleges and universities. Higher education costs are almost entirely paid through tuitions and state subsidies to schools. Congress doesn't set admission policies or regulate course offerings.
So why is Democratic challenger Mark Warner running a big-dollar television advertising campaign accusing his opponent of being insensitive to education issues? And why is three-term Republican incumbent John Warner vigorously insisting his foe has it all wrong?
The reason is that federal government still plays gigantic supporting and symbolic roles in promoting education. Although Congress contributes little directly to classrooms, it doles out about $550 million to Virginia each year for preschool programs for poor children, school lunch subsidies, research grants for universities and medical schools, and tuition grants for needy students.
In addition, last year Washington helped make college affordable for almost 100,000 Virginians by guaranteeing $226.8 million in tuition loans.
With Congress embarking on a seven-year program to balance the federal budget, many of these education programs will face scrutiny and possible revamping. "If the pie is going to be shrinking, there's going to be a lot of fighting over the number and size of the slices," said David Merkowitz, spokesman for the American Council on Education, the nation's largest lobbying group for colleges.
Virginians clearly want Congress to balance the budget, but not at the expense of education, according to a poll of 672 state residents conducted this summer for The Roanoke Times and its sister paper in Norfolk, The Virginian-Pilot.
The survey showed that concerns run far deeper than the proper funding and curricula for schools and colleges. Educational opportunities were viewed as long-range solutions to worries about joblessness, the changing economy and crime.
"I think I saw a bumper sticker or a T-shirt that said, `If you think education is expensive, try ignorance,'" said Sean Johnson, a junior at Virginia Commonwealth University who participated this summer in one of a series of round-table discussions the two newspapers held with randomly selected voters across the state. "The real quality of life is having a good education."
The federal government ensures fairness in education by enacting and enforcing laws guaranteeing equal access and nondiscrimination in public learning centers.
And, perhaps most important, Congress and the White House hold the nation's loftiest bully pulpits in promoting and directing learning.
"They set the national education agenda ... the intellectual climate," said Maurice Berube, professor of education at Old Dominion University in Norfolk. "It doesn't come out of Richmond or Albany. Since World War II, states have tended to follow suit, more or less."
As evidence, Berube cited a list of conservative education proposals that have dominated debate since Republicans took control of Congress last year. They include the abolition of the federal Department of Education, taxpayer support of private schools and organized school prayer.
So not surprisingly, education is a key topic in this fall's Senate race. Democrat Mark Warner, a 41-year-old cellular telephone mogul, has made it the main theme of his campaign. He says schools and universities must harness and teach computer technology if our children are to successfully compete in the 21st-century job market.
"If not, I'm afraid we'll have two Virginias and two Americas in the future," he said. "Those people who understand the technological challenge will get good jobs. Those who don't will be left behind."
Although Republican John Warner, 69, barely mentions education in his speeches, his advisers say the topic is implicit in his agenda. "Our focus is on jobs, balancing the budget and fighting crime," said Eric Peterson, Warner's campaign spokesman. "Central to all of that is education."
Mark Warner says he would make education and technology his top priority as a senator - something he argues John Warner has never done.
"I think even he would agree that education has never been a priority with him," Mark Warner said. "National security and defense has been his focus. There's nothing wrong with that. I'm just saying education would be my priority."
On commercials and in debates, Mark Warner has criticized John Warner for supporting unsuccessful GOP efforts to cut taxes by $245 billion in 1995 at the expense, in part, of major education programs. The Democrat cites John Warner's vote in favor of an Omnibus Budget Bill that would have helped finance the tax relief with $40 billion in cuts to education, job training and student loan programs.
"In choosing his priorities, he has chosen tax cuts over education," Mark Warner said. "I wouldn't have made that choice."
John Warner said his rival "is absolutely intentionally distorting my record."
The budget bill, he said, sought to commit Congress to tax reduction and suggest a number of nonbinding areas where money committees could find savings.
Peterson said Warner did not like the recommended cuts to education but voted for the nonamendable bill to express his overall support for cutting taxes. Peterson said Warner has since supported appropriations retaining full funding of the education programs.
Mark Warner also has cited votes Warner cast against President Clinton's efforts to increase the federal government's role in making loans to college students.
Typically, students go to banks for loans, which the government guarantees against default. Washington directly finances only 10 percent of the loans. Clinton and many Democrats argue that the loan program would be more efficient if the government increased its direct lending.
Warner has voted against the proposal, citing a finding by the Congressional Budget Office that increased direct lending would be "substantially more expensive" for students. He adds that the debate over the best method of aiding students does not affect the amount of loan money available to them.
Other areas of disagreement include:
nTechnology in the classroom: Mark Warner faults his foe for voting against requiring technology companies to provide school and libraries with low-rate access to telecommunications services such as the Internet.
Peterson, John Warner's spokesman, said the senator viewed the bill as an unnecessary business regulation. He said the senator voted for an alternative measure to make $18.9 million in matching grants available to communities seeking to connect to telecommunications services.
nNational service: Mark Warner supports Clinton's Americorps program, which allows students to defray college expenses by being paid for community service. John Warner has voted against the plan. "The notion of paid voluntary work is an oxymoron and an anathema to the senator," Peterson said.
nGoals 2000: John Warner supports Gov. George Allen's refusal to accept about $7 million in federal grant money to develop public school educational standards, saying the program subjects Virginia schools to greater federal control. Mark Warner says Virginia should accept the money as the other 49 states have.
nPublic support for private schools: Mark Warner opposes vouchers - public assistance for students to attend private schools - saying it would mean "the death of many public schools."
John Warner supports the concept, saying competition would force public and private schools to improve.
The two candidates don't disagree on everything, however. Both Warners oppose efforts to abolish the federal Department of Education. They say the department is an important clearinghouse for new ideas and measuring results.
The Warners also support more funding for Head Start, an early education program for disadvantaged 3- and 4-year old children. In Virginia, 11,010 children are involved in the program, which is financed with a $50.5 million annual federal grant.
That's enough money to enroll only 40 percent of the eligible children in the program.
LENGTH: Long : 172 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ``I have a grandson in elementary school in Bedfordby CNBCounty, and they have to clip coupons and sell candy to help buy
books. I don't think the federal government ought to tell us how to
run our schools, but these poorer school districts just really don't
get the resources.'' - Pat Moriarty, Huddleston. 2. ``I think we
have to ask the candidates `Will you do something for education?
What will you do, and are you willing to spend more money for it?
Are you willing to take money from something else to do it?''' -
Bonnie Platt, Troutville. 3. ``I ride a Metro bus, and these kids on
this bus - we pay tax dollars and to hear these kids talk, they
can't even speak proper English. Half of these kids cannot read;
half of these kids can't do math; and a lot of
these kids just sit in class and take up space.''- Brenda Randolph,
Roanoke. 4. ``Today, a young person has to be multicareer, because
there is no such thing as job security. That's a new horizon for
most of us to look at. It's hard for teachers to say 'Have I
prepared this child for this, that or the other?'. I think they have
to consider just beyond today's job.'' - Edna
Loftus, Pulaski. color. Graphics: Charts by staff. 1. What concerns
Virginians. 2. Some ways federal money touches education in
Virginia. KEYWORDS: POLITICS CONGRESS MGR (2)