Tom Allen claims the House has passed a bill that has left schools underfunded.
By Lindsay Tice
Staff Writer

U.S. Rep. Tom Allen claims the government isn’t living up to its obligations to pay for education reforms, and he’s asking for an annual report on the adequacy of funding for the No Child Left Behind Act.

“Unless Congress meets its promise of federal funding, it is setting up schools and No Child Left Behind to fail,” Allen said in a press release. “While schools must spend significant amounts of time and money to comply with No Child Left Behind mandates, the federal government has not kept its part of the bargain.”

Signed by President Bush in January 2002, the act requires schools to adhere to dozens of new requirements, including the hiring of a homeless student liaison and transporting students to another public school if theirs is deemed failing.

According to Allen, the House passed a bill providing $8 billion less than what is needed to support No Child Left Behind next year.

To shed light on the discrepancies, Allen, a southern Maine Democrat, introduced a bill this week that would require the General Accounting Office to report every year on the federal funding of No Child Left Behind.

“The federal government would hold schools accountable for the education of America’s children by requiring schools to meet certain education standards. In return, the federal government would provide the financial resources to enable states and schools to meet these new standards,” Allen said. “H.R. 3341 provides the means to assess the federal government’s progress in upholding its end of the NCLB bargain.”

The bill is co-sponsored by nine other representatives, including Maine Democrat Michael Michaud.

ltice@sunjournal.com

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