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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 4, 1998

'A Great Victory for Children and Public Education'

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Bob Chase, president of the 2.4 million-member National Education Association (NEA), declared yesterday's national election results "a great victory for children and public education."

Chase pointed to the wins by NEA-recommended candidates for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and various governorships -- and the decisive defeat of a tuition tax credit ballot question in Colorado -- as proof of public education's appeal to American voters.

"In contest after contest, public education was the common denominator," Chase said. "Voters supported both Democrats and Republicans who spoke out for children and public education and opposed issues that threatened the quality of public education for America's children. We recommended candidates who supported quality public schools, small class sizes, modern school buildings, affordable college educations, and children's health care, and those candidates triumphed all across America."

Chase cited the overwhelming defeat of Amendment 17 in Colorado -- which would have allowed tuition tax credits for private and religious schools -- as additional proof that Americans are committed to providing quality public education for all children. The defeat of Amendment 17 by a 59-41 margin marks the fifth consecutive rejection since 1992 of a statewide initiative to provide public tax dollars to private schools.

"Colorado voters echoed the belief of all Americans, in poll after poll, that they prefer investing in the continuous improvement of our public schools over granting vouchers or tax credits for children attending private and religious schools," said Chase.

As a result of this election, both branches of Congress promise to be more pro-public education," Chase said. A few examples of pro-education newcomers to the 106th Congress, Chase said, are Senators-elect Charles Schumer (D-NY), John Edwards (D-NC), and Mike Crapo (R-ID), and Reps.-elect Ken Lucas (D-KY), Dennis Moore (D-KS), and Judy Biggert (R-IL).