Organizing for America

DEBATE REALITY CHECK: EDUCATION

Tonight, Sarah Palin said: “We need to put more of an emphasis on the profession of teaching, we need to make sure that education in either one of our agendas, I think, absolute top of the line.” [Vice Presidential Debate, 10/2/08]

The facts: Education has not been a top priority for McCain. He has repeatedly opposed education funding, including funds to hire 100,000 new teachers.

FACT: MCCAIN HAS REPEATEDLY VOTED AGAINST INCREASED FUNDING FOR NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND, MORE TEACHERS AND FOR FAILING SCHOOLS AND DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS

· McCain Voted Against Reducing the Bush Tax Cuts For The Wealthy In Order to Fully Fund The No Child Left Behind Act. McCain voted against a proposal to reduce President Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy and instead use those funds for deficit reduction and to fully fund the No Child Left Behind Act. [SCR 23, Vote 60, 3/19/03; Vote 64, 3/16/06; Vote 58, 3/16/06; Vote 56, 3/16/05; Vote 35, 3/10/04; Vote 330, 9/9/03; Vote 5, 1/16/03]

· McCain Repeatedly Opposed Funding To Help Reduce Class Sizes By Hiring 100,000 New Teachers. On four different occasions, McCain voted against funding to hire 100,000 new teachers to help reduce class sizes. In addition, he has repeatedly voted against increased funding for teacher training programs. [2001 Senate Vote #103, 5/15/2001; 1999 Senate Vote #41, 3/11/1999; 1998 Senate Vote #93, 4/22/1998; 1998 Senate Vote #50, 3/31/1998]

· McCain Opposed Increased Education Funds For Failing Schools And Disadvantaged Students. McCain has repeatedly voted against increased funds for education programs designed to assist disadvantaged students. For instance, he opposed providing $250 million to help ensure accountability in programs for disadvantaged students and to assist states in their efforts to turn around failing schools. McCain even opposed funding for states to reduce dropout rates at middle and high schools with significant dropout problems. [Vote 330, 9/9/03; Vote 90, 5/3/00; Vote 147, 6/27/00]

· McCain Education Adviser Said “Education Is Obviously Not The Issue Senator McCain Spends The Most Time On.” “In comparison to Senator Barack Obama’s education plan, Senator John McCain’s is downright terse. Among his short list of initiatives, Mr. McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, includes bonus pay for teachers who raise student achievement or who take jobs in hard-to-staff schools, an expansion of after-school tutoring, and new federal support for online schools and for the voucher program in Washington, D.C. The brevity of Mr. McCain’s plan reflects his view that the federal government should play a limited role in public education, and his commitment to holding the line on education spending, said Lisa Graham Keegan, a McCain adviser and former Arizona education commissioner. ‘Education is obviously not the issue Senator McCain spends the most time on,’ Ms. Keegan said, adding that his plan’s limited scope should not be interpreted as a lack of commitment to education and school reform. ‘He’s been a quiet and consistent supporter of parents and educators who he thinks are making a difference.’ … Mr. McCain would reallocate 60 percent of the $3 billion in current federal spending on teacher quality programs to finance direct payments to ‘high-performing teachers’ who take jobs in high-needs schools and to those who improve achievement.” [New York Times, 9/10/08 ]

FACT: MCCAIN WON’T FULLY FUND NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND LIKE HE CLAIMS

· Washington Post Editorial: McCain’s Promise To Slow Discretionary Spending In A Bid To Balance The Budget Leaves Little Money For Initiatives Or To Fully Fund No Child Left Behind. McCain’s “education plan is both late in coming and still a work in progress, and his promise to slow discretionary spending in a bid to balance the budget leaves little money for initiatives or to fully fund No Child Left Behind.” [Editorial, Washington Post, 8/20/08 ]

· McCain Education Adviser Said McCain Believes NCLB Is Adequately Funded. “McCain has talked about freezing education funding until a review can be done of which projects work and which don’t. Money may get re-allocated among different programs but [education adviser Lisa Graham] Keegan said McCain believes NCLB is adequately funded.” [AJC, 6/16/08 ]

· McCain’s Plan To Freeze Discretionary Federal Spending Applies To Education Programs, Including Title I Under NCLB. “I'll go into more detail in a bit, but I wanted to highlight two important things I thought Keegan said. First, McCain's plan to freeze discretionary federal spending applies to education programs, including the largest program under the NCLB law, Title I. Though as president he may seek to re-allocate money between programs, McCain believes the NCLB law is ‘adequately funded,’ Keegan said. So states and schools shouldn't look for any additional federal dollars in a McCain budget.” [Education Week, 6/12/08 ]


FACT: MCCAIN SUPPORTS VOUCHERS

· McCain Supports Taking Money Away From The Public School System To Fund Private School Vouchers. McCain supports private school vouchers that take fund from public schools. In 2001, he also voted for President Bush’s voucher proposal. [S 1, Vote #179 , 6/12/01]

· McCain Supports Vouchers. In an interview, McCain said, “I support vouchers.” [Spartanburg Herald-Journal, 7/26/07; NEA McCain Education Tracking Document]