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Cynthia McKinney
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"We need to focus on education, but not with 'reforms' like No Child Left Behind that are basically aimed at dismantling public education. We need to instill pride and a desire to learn. We need free higher education for all. India's socialized economy provided free higher education. Now our jobs are being shipped to India."
Interview with "Reconstruction Renaissance" Jan 8, 2008
"In the years since President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, none of his budgets has come close to meeting the level of funding authorized in the Act. The cumulative Administration budgets have fallen billions of dollars short of the amount authorized for funding. Important federal programs, such as Title I, which supports additional math and reading instruction in high-poverty schools and special education, are currently underfunded. The result is a lack of resources in schools and classrooms across the country. The bipartisan National Governors Association even voted unanimously to label Bush's No Child Left Behind Act an unfunded mandate. States and localities struggle to keep up with the new requirements. Bush's own No Child Left Behind Act called for every teacher to have obtained a state certificate or license to teach by 2005. President Bush's budget plan fails to include any dedicated resources to address the $127 billion backlog in school repairs."
Campaign website, www.cynthiaforcongress.com, "Issues" Dec 20, 2007
Cynthia McKinney calls for full funding of the No Child Left Behind Act
Voted YES on No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
"I have supported Federal funding and contracting preferences (in Georgia and in Congress) for women and minority owned businesses. I supported passage of the Violence Against Women Act. I have long advocated for reparations for the descendants of enslaved Africans. I opposed efforts to end Affirmative Action in college admissions."
Green Party 2008 Presidential Candidate Questionnaire Feb 3, 2008
Voted NO on ending preferential treatment by race in college admissions.
"Pentagon spending is at around $700 billion, can you imagine? And K-12 education is at about $38 billion. There's something wrong with that. Obviously, we have to put money into education."
"America's schools are, on average, 42 years old; while nearly 25,000 public schools, almost 1/3 of all public school buildings, are in a serious state of disrepair. As a result, more than 15 million students learn in facilities that have substandard heating, ventilation, plumbing, and roofing systems. It is clear that Republican priorities do not include education for our children. Federal tax cuts for the wealthy and funding for the war come at the expense of education and our children."
Campaign website, www.cynthiaforcongress.com, "Issues" Dec 20, 2007
Voted YES on $84 million in grants for Black and Hispanic colleges
“Had the Green Party’s values been reflected in public policy since the beginnings of the Green Party in this country…education would be interesting and relevant to students’ lives and no student would graduate from college $100,000 in debt in a Green Party USA because education, not incarceration and militarization, would be subsidized by the state.”
"By eliminating tax cuts for the wealthy and obscene spending on militarism, war and prisons, we can afford to invest in quality education for all."
Chicago Tribune Issues Comparison
Cynthia McKinney supports public charter schools that have the same standards of accountability and access as other public schools. Cynthia believes that any publicly funded school must be accountable to the general public - as well as to parents - for budgets, health and safety standards, academic standards, and access for students.
Voted NO on allowing vouchers in DC schools.
Voted NO to pass a bill to allow states to use certain federal funds designated for elementary and secondary education to provide scholarships, or vouchers, to low-income families to send their children to private schools, including religious schools.
In Congress, she consistently supported improved education funding [and] opposed voucher schemes aimed at undermining our public schools.
Chicago Tribune Issues Comparison
Voted YES on No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The bill requires states to use standardized tests to evaluate students and track progress.
"Because our students need high quality teachers and administrators and smaller classroom sizes to improve the student-to-teacher ratio, I have co-sponsored H.R. 2178, The Student Bill of Rights. This bill also calls for quality guidance counseling, quality facilities, textbooks, instructional materials and supplies, up-to-date library resources, and better use of computer technology. I have also co-sponsored H.R. 1380, the Higher Education Affordability and Equity Act of 2005, to expand the incentives for education.... I will continue to support legislation provides funding for teacher training and other initiatives."
Voted NO on giving federal aid only to schools allowing voluntary prayer
In higher education, federal college scholarship aid should be increased and offered to any qualified student...We support tuition-free post secondary (collegiate and vocational) public education...Until tuition-free schooling is available to all, student loans should be available to all students attending college, and should be repayable as a proportion of future earnings rather than at a fixed rate.
"Had the Green Party's values been reflected in public policy since the beginnings of the Green Party in this country, the United States would have long ago implemented a livable wage; there would be no civil liberties erosion; diversity would be respected, appreciated and welcomed; education would be interesting and relevant to students' lives and no student would graduate from college $100,000 in debt in a Green Party USA because education, not incarceration and militarization, would be subsidized by the state."
"I want to subsidize education so students aren't a hundred thousand dollars in debt when they graduate."
Voted YES on $84 million in grants for Black and Hispanic colleges to lower student loan costs.
The Green Party supports federal legislation and financing for public schools to make available Head Start-type programs for pre-Kindergarten children starting at age 3.