Centre Daily Times - "Candidates Evaluate No Child Left Behind"

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The Centre Daily Times asked each of the nine Republican and three Democratic candidates for the 5th Congressional District nominations to respond to an identical set of eight questions. Below are their responses to the sixth question.

Q:No Child Left Behind is about educational standards, but it has not been sufficiently funded to achieve what is mandated. What would you do to fix that?

REPUBLICANS

Chris Exarchos,63, of Lemont, Centre County; former county commissioner.

"No Child Left Behind is a well intended but nevertheless an unfunded mandate that is straining public school budgets. I don't think Washington should be telling locally elected school boards how to run their schools, especially without providing the necessary funding."
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John Krupa,56, of Avis, Clinton County; insurance agent and former Pine Creek Township supervisor.

"The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, renamed the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, established laudable goals, high standards and accountability for the learning of all children. The law must be fundamentally improved and adequate funding be provided by the federal government if the No Child Left Behind act is to achieve its goal. Class sizes must be reduced to help students learn. Incentives need to be established to increase the number of highly qualified teachers, such as allowing flexibility for teachers of multiple subjects, special education and rural teachers. We need to allow the use of more than the narrow view of a standardized test for measurement of improvement in student achievement."

Lou Radkowski,64, of St. Marys; Elk County coroner.

"Every child deserves a quality education. Success in school translates to success in life. Education is the most important gift we can give to future generations. Unfortunately, many schools continue to fail in this responsibility. Schools must be held accountable for the education they provide our children and the federal government has a corresponding obligation to provide local schools with the tools and resources they need to meet any new demands that Congress imposes on them.

"Life is not a standardized test! I will work with teachers, parents, and congressional leaders to continually review and reform NCLB to ensure that all our children receive an excellent education that will enable them to succeed. I will work to restore misguided and shortsighted cuts in education funding. And, I will endeavor to modify the scope of NCLB to better evaluate and support out rural school districts."

Keith Richardson,46, of Clarion; pastor of the First Baptist Church of Clarion.

"Our fifty-year experiment with increasing federal powers over education while reducing parental, community, and state control must end. So-called federal ‘solutions,' from Goals 2000 to No Child Left Behind, have all proven unworkable, have shackled teachers, and have accelerated the decline of our educational system compared to other industrialized nations. These nightmares of bureaucracy are failing the very children they are allegedly intended to help, while driving educational costs through the roof. It's time we revisit Ronald Reagan's promise to eliminate the federal Department of Education, and put control of our educational process back into the hands of parents, communities, and states."

Matt Shaner,28, of Patton Township, Centre County; real estate developer.

"The ‘No Child Left Behind Act' has taken control away from local governments and placed too many federal mandates on our schools. As a strong proponent of limited federal government, I am always concerned when Congress or the President expands their power by imposing mandates at the local level.

"I believe that the best way to improve our education system is to allow Americans to have as many choices as possible when it comes to the education of our children. Since every federal tax payer and homeowner in Pennsylvania funds our education system, parents should be able to send their kids to the best public schools, private schools, or if they choose, have the support necessary to home school their children. Americans should be able to spend their hard earned tax dollars on the education system they believe is best for their children."

Jeff Stroehmann,42, of Linden, Lycoming County; former Woodward Township supervisor.

"The President's vision for the No Child Left Behind was forward thinking and well intended; however the bureaucrats in Washington failed when they implemented the program.

The program needs to be totally reworked with the President's original intentions in mind. The Congress needs to ensure that school districts that are deemed to be failing are given the funds necessary to meet their standards. The federal government should not expect local tax payers to pick up those costs. All in all though, decisions about local education should be made at the local level."

John Stroup,50, mayor of Clarion and executive director of the Clarion Hospital Foundation.

"As the husband of a school board president, I understand the challenges facing our region's education system. Most of these challenges can't be addressed by Washington money to meet Washington mandates — instead we need to return the education of our children to the teachers and administrators who teach our children and live in our communities.

"Despite good intentions, No Child Left Behind has turned our teachers and principals towards teaching only to the test and saddling them with loads of paperwork. We need to move away from this system of Washington mandates and give states and localities the flexibility to meet the educational needs of their students and communities. Giving our students a solid education means ensuring that students experience all subjects from a teacher who is excited to teach motivated students."

Glenn Thompson,48, of Howard Township, Centre County, health care professional and county Republican Party chairman.

"While I strongly support education accountability, it is the constitutional responsibility of state and local school boards, not the federal government, to regulate primary and secondary education. The 2009 federal Department of Education budget is proposed at $59.2 billion. This is an increase of $17.0 billion in discretionary appropriations since fiscal year 2001. A 2003 study ranked the United States Number 18 out of 24 nations for relative effectiveness of its educational system. The problem is not the money! The problem is No Child Left Behind. The mandated standards that drive comparison of performance are inconsistent between states. The program promotes teaching to standardized tests. This creates children who can answer specific questions but are unable to think beyond mandated content. True reform allows each child to meet and surpass their academic potential in preparing to take a productive role in the community. I support rescinding No Child Left Behind."

Derek Walker,32, of Bigler, Clearfield County, financial consultant.

"I believe that No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has several flawed components that need to be addressed.

"The policy had good intentions aimed at increasing education accountability, improving the quality of education and giving families more flexibility in choosing their child's education. However, the results of the policies showed several unintended consequences.

"As a Congressman, I would work hard to make sure that the federal government properly funds Title I Reading and Math Programs to assist students who need extra help. I would also fight for additional funds geared at Head Start and Early Education Programs, stressing the importance of developmental education programs. I would also stress that not all students should be urged to attend a four-year school. I will advocate for strong workforce development and technical vocation programs so that our region maintains a well rounded workforce."

DEMOCRATS

Bill Cahir,39, of Bellefonte, Centre County, former Washington correspondent for Pennsylvania newspapers.

"Congress should not impose mandates upon school districts without helping teachers and school administrators meet the added expenses. If the law cannot be properly funded, it should be modified to provide greater flexibility to states and school districts. Measuring each district or school based on standardized test scores may not accurately reflect curricular needs. Levying batteries of tests upon students is not the singular, best way to help them fulfill their potential."

Mark McCracken,44, of Clearfield; Clearfield County commissioner.

"My belief is that we need to abandon No Child Left Behind and create a new national education policy. The new policy should allow state and local officials to design the standards and policies for local public school systems without mandates from Washington. No Child Left Behind fails, not only because Washington failed to adequately fund it, but, because you can't design standards as a ‘one size fits all' plan for the entire nation.

"When I'm in Congress, I will work towards a national public education policy that trusts parents, teachers and community leaders know what is best for their children. I also feel that every child, in every school district, should get equal opportunities to learn and grow. I will work to invest in our children and our future by adequately funding public education from the federal level so every child gets the chance to excel."

Rick Vilello,42, of Lock Haven, Clinton County; Lock Haven mayor.

"I disagree with this premise. It assumes that No Child Left Behind is good policy and that it can and should be fixed. In fact No Child Left Behind should be left behind. Our children's education should be determined by parents, working with teachers, working with administrators, working with school boards, with each individual student's best interest in mind, not set by some bureaucrat in Washington D.C. Accountability is a popular buzz word, and people should be held accountable when dealing with our children. Our children must be prepared for life, not taught to a test. We can do better."

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