ESEA update

[Marybeth Green <mbg@TENET.EDU>]

        According to Blanche Woolls, president of AASL, the Bonner-Miller
amendment to the ESEA act was DEFEATED by a voice vote today in the House.

        She asked me to convey to you her sincere thanks for the phone
calls, faxes, and letters sent to the U.S. Congress in response to this
amendment.

        She also asked that you pick up the phone and call your
Congressman one more time to express your appreciation for their support
of school library media programs.  Secondly, since there seems to be some
sentiment on the Republican side to vote down the whole ESEA, please
encourage them to continue to support passage of ESEA in the House.

        Don't get out the catalogs and start spending the money yet!!

        As you may recall from high school government classes...
a bill has to pass through both the House and the SENATE.  We need to
start working with our Senators on the necessity for quality library
materials supporting our library media programs. They need to hear from
all of us how the lack of funding is damaging the learning of our students.

        Anyway, Blanch says, "Give yourselves a well-deserved pat on the back".

                                                Marybeth Green
                                                Librarian
                                                Walzem Elementary
                                                San Antonio, Texas