education
...iling to fully finance law as recession ravages state budgets; supports bills facilitating state school construction bond issues The No Child Left Behind education act was touted as a way to raise standards, improve teacher training and prevent America's schools from sliding further into mediocrity. But the Bush administration undermined the effort by failing to fully finance the new law at a time when the recession-ravaged states are laying off teachers, shortening the school year and cutting education budgets. The states are especially desperate for construction money that would permit them to renovate crumbling school buildings coast to coast. A General Accounting Office report in the mid-1990's estimated that putting the ancient buildings in working order would require a new investment of $112 billion -- a figure that the states were unable to raise on their own even in flush times, let alone during a recession. Graduation Exams To the Editor: Re ''Critics of Graduation Exam Threaten Boycott in Florida'' (news article, May 13): To toss out the proficiency standard set by Florida's graduation exam is to throw away real accountability. The exam also tests our education professionals. This may be why the Florida Education Association opposes t...