A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

     FOR RELEASE                             Contact:  Melinda Kitchell Malico      July 11, 1996                                     (202) 401-1576

Georgia Recieves 2nd Year Goals 2000 Funds; Riley Says Education Improvement "Critical to Nation's Future"

Goals 2000, passed by Congress in 1994 with bipartisan support, helps states and communities advance their own school improvement efforts, based on the results of local decision making. Riley said Goals 2000 offers unprecedented flexibility and no regulations have been or will be issued under the school improvement initiative.

"During Georgia's first year of participation under Goals 2000, 53 grants were awarded to local school districts to develop and implement improvement plans, and 26 grants were awarded to local districts or consortia of local districts and colleges and universities to conduct professional development and teacher training," Riley said. "The Cartersville School System, for instance, used its Goals 2000 funding to transform four schools into charter schools, designed to provide more flexibility in staff and administrative decisions at both the school and system level.

"Georgia is also using these funds to bring together teachers from across the state this week to review and revise their core curriculum in order to develop clear standards of what their students are expected to know in core academic subjects."

Riley said that although Goals 2000 is supporting school improvement in almost every state, funds for continued school improvement are in jeopardy. The House Appropriations Committee has voted to cut President Clinton's FY97 education budget request by $2.8 billion and eliminate all funding for Goals 2000. The president has requested $476 million for Goals 2000 in FY97 -- $12,097,369 for Georgia.

The second year of support for states and communities -- a total of $362 million for grants in fiscal year 1995 -- is helping advance local school improvement plans to raise student academic achievement, involve parents in schools, bring technology into the classroom, upgrade teacher professional development, and create partnerships with business and community groups. States that submit a school improvement plan developed with input from parents, educators, community members and the private sector, as well as states that show substantial progress toward that end, are eligible for second-year funding.

"Goals 2000 makes a vital contribution to school improvement," Riley said. "We must not abandon the children, teachers, schools and communities that have worked so hard to make schools better.

"Improving teaching and learning is critical to the nation's future. It is essential that we continue to assist states and communities as they develop and adopt challenging academic standards that will guide the education of students into the next century."

Georgia's first year Goals 2000 grant totaled $2,358,215.

Georgia is the 43rd state to receive second year funding under Goals 2000, and other states will receive funds in coming weeks. Ninety percent of the new funds will go directly from states to local school districts. Local school districts in Oklahoma, Montana and New Hampshire will be receiving their state's share of the second year funds directly from the U.S. Department of Education.

Under Goals 2000, Georgia is eligible to receive $8,515,014 for FY96.