Congressman Steve Israel (D-Huntington) and local educators recently held a press conference to push for legislation to tie federal mandates on local schools to adequate funding. The No Child Left Behind Act added many requirements to local schools when it passed Congress in 2001, with promises of federal funding that has yet to materialize. Israel has sponsored the Keeping Our Promises to America's Children Act to ensure that schools have the tools necessary to meet their new requirements.

"I supported the No Child Left Behind Act and I want to make it work," Israel said. "Unfortunately, Congressional leaders do not want to hold up our end of the bargain by matching funding with the mandates in that bill. We, rightly, have very high standards for our schools, but we need to give educators the tools necessary to meet those standards of excellence."

The No Child Left Behind Act made a deal with America's public schools: in exchange for new standards of excellence, the legislation promised new federal funding. According to Dr. Martin Brooks, superintendent of Plainview-Old Bethpage School District, the cornerstone of the bill is testing of students in grades 3-8 each year and trying to enhance the caliber of people who work directly with kids by ensuring they are fully qualified for their jobs.

Unfortunately, the federal government has not held up its end of the bargain. In fact, the president's budget is $9 billion short of the funding levels promised in the legislation, making it increasingly difficult for schools to meet those high standards. Despite the lack of funds, schools still face new federally mandated paperwork, strict schedules of accountability, burdensome professional requirements and a one-size-fits-all measurement process. Even the best Long Island schools, ranked among the best in the nation, are asked to improve test scores every year, or face diminished state and federal funding.

"Without the funding from the federal government, this essentially becomes another federally unfunded mandate," said Brooks. "We would have to raise our taxes to pay for it. Congressman Israel is saying that if the government doesn't come up with the money, everyone in the United States will have to find a way to come up with the money. He is asking that unless and until the funds can be found by the federal government, the provisions of the law be suspended so local entities don't have to raise taxes."

Israel sponsored the Keeping Our Promises to America's Children Act, with Congressman Dennis Moore (D-KS) to defer the new requirements until the promised funding levels are met. Local schools have seen this problem before. In 1975, Congress passed federal requirements on local schools for special education, coupled with promises of funding assistance. Congress has never even come close to those promised funding levels, forcing localities to find alternative means of funding, including property taxes.

"I support Congressman Israel and his view on this completely," said Brooks. "It would be an expensive proposition for us not to get the money to support this initiative."