Letter to U.S. House of Representatives: November 15, 2007
November 14, 2007
Member
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Re: Fiscal Year 2008 Labor-Health & Human Services-Education Appropriations
Dear Representative:
On behalf of the 95,000 school board members who represent the nation’s 49 million students in our local school districts, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) urges your strong support to reaffirm the conference report for the FY08 Labor-Health & Human Services-Education Appropriations bill (H.R. 3043) and reject the President’s veto.
The President’s veto of the FY08 Labor-Health & Human Services-Education funding bill jeopardizes the welfare of our communities, our nation’s 15,000 school districts, and our 49 million public school students. This bipartisan funding bill represents a strong effort to increase the federal investment in our students and schools. The measure would provide a $1.47 billion increase for Title I grants for disadvantaged students, a $375 million increase for school improvement grants, a $500 million increase for special education, a $150 million increase for teacher quality state grants, a $25 million increase for career and technical education, as well as targeted increases for other key K-12 education programs. Further, these targeted increases to help raise student achievement and fulfill the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) represent less than one percent of the overall federal budget; and, they are greatly needed in our schools.
Such bipartisan efforts to increase the federal investment in our schoolchildren and our future in the global economy should not be compromised by a veto. Your swift action to reaffirm the FY08 Labor-Health & Human Services-Education Appropriations bill and reject the veto would be a true federal investment in our schoolchildren.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Michael A. Resnick
Associate Executive Director