Thursday, January 13, 2000
Lucas' town hall education meeting to reach the people
Creative thinking pushed as answer to many problems
BY KRISTINA GOETZ
The Cincinnati Enquirer
ERLANGER — Parents, teachers and administrators used Wednesday night's town hall meeting as a sounding board to tell one congressman which education ideas he should take back to Washington.
About 55 people attended the town hall education meeting U.S. Rep. Ken Lucas hosted in Dietz Auditorium at Lloyd High School.
It was the third and final meeting this week in which Mr. Lucas planned to learn what's on the minds of people at the grass-roots level.
“Anything that pertains to education is a top priority for me,” Mr. Lucas told the group.
Some asked for influence and others used the meeting as a brainstorming session to come up with better ideas on how to improve education.
Whether it involved funding or other resources, many suggested creative thinking.
“We really have changed as a nation,” said Sister Rita Geoppinger, principal at Notre Dame Academy.
“We're not the agrarian society we were when children tended the farms in the summer.
“With a new paradigm, we'd better utilize the resources that are available year-round.”
Sister Geoppinger added that the federal government needs to look at ways to better compensate teachers.
“We fund everything else,” she said.
“The quality of our teachers has not changed, but the fact is they have to earn a living wage.”
Parents of special-needs children reminded Mr. Lucas that there must be proper training for teachers while they are earning their degrees.
When Mr. Lucas campaigned to represent Kentucky's 4th Congressional District, he pledged to make education a priority.
Town hall education meetings provide one way to achieve his goal, he said.
Mr. Lucas told the group he is now focused on the Public School Modernization Act, which would dramatically expand bond programs to pay for new school construction as well as renovation projects.
He also stressed his commitment to reducing class size, increasing teacher training opportunities and giving schools greater flexibility.
Mr. Lucas says he hopes to carry the new paradigm sentiment to his colleagues back in Washington.
“I'd like to think outside the box,” Mr. Lucas said.
“I'm a dreamer. I think education is guilty of tradition. "We've always done it this way.'
“It's time to go back now and assess the information we gained here.”
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