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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 371 725 IR 016 659 TITLE Field Hearing on the Office of Educational Research and Improvement. Hearing before the Subcommittee on Select Education and Civil Rights of the Committee on Education and Labor. House of Representatives, One Hundred Third Congress, First Session New York, NY (June 14, 1993). INSTITUTION Congress of the U.S., Washington, D.C. House Committee on Education and Labor. REPORT NO House-Hrg-103-45; ISBN-0-16-044171-4 PUB DATE 94 NOTE 114p.; Serial No. 103-45. For a related hearing, see ED 365 292. AVAILABLE FROMU.S. Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington DC 20402. PUB TYPE Legal/Legislative/Regulatory Materials (090) Viewpoints (Opinion/Position Papers, Essays, etc.) (120) Reports Descriptive (141) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC05 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Educational Administration; *Educational Change; *Educational Improvement; Educational Innovation; Elementary Secondary Education; Federal Programs; Government Role; Hearings; School Districts; State Progl-ams; *Student Transportation IDENTIFIERS Congress 103rd; *Janitorial Services; New York ABSTRACT This hearing focused on education in New York, including recommendations for corrective actions to improve school governance and management in the areas of custodial services and school bus transportation. The report includes testimony from: Andrew J. Stein, President, New York City Council; Kevin Gill, Executive Director, Division of Support Services, New York City Board of Education; Richard Ahola, Executive Liaison for Central Services, New York State Education Department; Bruce Cooper, Professor of Administration and Public Policy, Fordham University; Jean S. Adilifu, Assistant Executive Superintendent, Newark Board of Education; John Fager, Cochair, Parents Coalition; and Michael Strasser, Assistant Commissioner, Division of Surface Transit Operations, Department of Education. (JLB) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the criginal document. ********************************************************************** R FIELD H NG ON THE OFFICE OF EDUCATIONAL RFS CH AND IMPRO ENT U S DEPARTMENT Of EDUCATION Office ol Educatioeal Research end Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES :NFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 0 This documInt hits been reOrOduced OS received from the person or oeganotidion onginating 0 Minor chariots have been made to improve reproduction Quality Points of view or opinions stated in thisdoCtr HEARING merit do not nCeSSIInty rprsont BEFORE THE OERI position or pohcy SUBCOMMITTEE ON SELECT EDUCATION LND CIVIL RIGHTS OF THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED THIRD CONGRESS FIRST SESSION HEARING HELD IN NEW YORK, NY, JUNE 14, 1993 Serial No. 103-45 Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and Labor U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 170 CC WASHINGTON : 1994 For sale hy the U.S. Gos eminent Printing 011ice Superintendent of Docifihents, Congressional Sales Olfice. WaslUngton. 2040:! ISBN 0-16-044171-4 -3 2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR WILLIAM D. FORD, Michigan, Chairman WILLIAM (BILL) CLAY, Missouri WILLIAM F. GOODLING, Pennsylvania GEORGE MILLER, California THOMAS E. PETRI, Wisconsin AUSTIN J. MURPHY, PennsYlvania MARGE ROUKEMA, New Jersey DALE E. KILDEE, Michigan STEVE GUNDERSON, Wisconsin PAT WILLIAMS, Montana RICHARD K ARMY, Texas MATTHEW G. MARTINEZ, California HARRIS W. FAWELL, Illinois MAJOR R. OWENS, New York PAUL B. HENRY, Michigan THOMAS C. SAWYER, Ohio CASS BALLENGER, North Carolina DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey SUSAN MOLINARI, New York JOLENE IJNSOELD, Washington BILL BARRETT, Nebraska PATSY T. MINK, Hawaii JOHN A. BOEHNER, Ohio ROBERT E. ANDREWS, New Jersey RANDY "DUKE" CUNNINGHAM, California JACK REED, Rhode Island PETER HOECKSTRA, Michigan TIM ROEMER, Indiana HOWARD P. "BUCK" McKEON, California ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York DAN MILLER, Florida XAVIER BECERRA, California ROBERT C. SCOTT, Virginia GENE GREEN, Texas LYNN C. WOOLSEY, California, CARLOS A. ROMERO-BARCELO, Puerto Rico RON KLINK, Pennsylvania KARAN ENGLISH, Arizona TED STRICKLAND, Ohio RON DE LUGO, Virgin Islands ENI F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American Samoa SCOTTY BAESLER, Kentucky ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD. Guam PATRICIA F. RISSLER, Staff Director JAY EAGEN, Minority Staff Director SUBCOMMIrmE ON SELECT EDUCATION AND CIVIL RIGHTS MAJOR R OWENS, New York, Chairman DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey CASS BALLENGER, North Carolina ROBERT C. SCOTT, Virginia BILL BARRETT, Nebraska THOMAS C. SAWYER, Ohio HARRIS W. FAWELL, Illinois 3 CONTENTS Page Hearing held in New York, NY, June 14, 1993 1 Statement of: Fager, John, Cochair, Parents Coalition, New York, NY; andMichael Strasser, Assistant Commissioner, Division of Surface TransitOper- ations, Department of Education 98 Gill, Kevin, Executive Director, Division of Support Services,New York City Board of Education, Long Island, NY; Richard Ahola, Executive Liaison for Central Services, New York State Education Department, Albany, NY; Bruce Cooper, Professor of Administration andPublic Policy, Fordham University, New York, NY; and Jean S. Adilifu, Assist- ant Executive Superintendent Newark Board of Education 17 Stein, Hon. Andrew J., President, New York City Council, New York, NY 5 Prepared statements, letters, supplemental materials, et cetera: Ahola, Richard, Executive Liaison for Central Services, New York State Education Department, Albany, NY, prepared statement of 26 Additional material submitted for the record by 28 Cooper, Bruce, Professor of Administration and Public Policy, Fordham University, New York, NY, prepared statement of 43 Gill, Kevin, Executive Director, Division of Support Services, New York City Board of Education, Long Island, NY, prepared statement of 23 Owens, Hon. Major R., a Representative in Congress from the State of New York, prepared statement of 2 Stein, Hon. Andrew J., President, New York City Council, New York, NY, preparld statement of 8 Strasser, Michael, Assistant Commissioner, Division of Surface Transit Operations, Department of Education, prepared statement of 103 4 FIELD HEARING ON THE OFFICE OF EDU- CATIONAL RESEARCH AND IMPROVEMENT MONDAY, JUNE 14, 1993 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON SELECT EDUCATION AND CIVIL RIGHTS, COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR, New Ye-k, NY. The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10 a.m., Room 305 BC, Federal Building, 26 Federal Plaza, New York, New York, Hon. Major R. Owens, Chairman, presiding. Members present: Representatives Owens, Payne, and Scott. Staff present: Scott Henry; Maria Cuprill; and Aaron Martin. Chairman OWENS. The hearing of the Subcommittee on Select Edu,:ation and Civil Rights is now in session. I will not read all of my opening statement, but will enter it, in its entirety, into the record. In proposing the establishment of a Federal institute for the study of school governance and management, we have acted in the Congress on the assumption that the multitude of ordinary citizens who serve on the 17,000 local school policymaking bodies in this Nation would welcome systematic, practical assistance. As they struggle to make a shrinking base of dollars cover ex- panding obligations, we assumed that school board members would eagerly embrace knowledge of new cost-cutting procedures, prac- tices, devices, et cetera. We have also assumed that all State- and local-elected officials would applaud the development of systems that would facilitate the purchase of more instruction-related services for each dollar spent, while lessening the amount of funds consumed by noninstructional a activities. In New York City and New York State, we regretfully must re- port that both school officials and elected officials exhibit only luke- warm interest in proposals that could reclaim millionsof dollars for instruction by ending wasteful and possibly corrupt practices relat- ed to the purchase of supplies and equipment, the purchase of cus- todial services, and the purchase of transportation services. While investigation, conviction, and punishment are not our present concerns, it appears that there is a great deal that needs investigation with respect to the past and current utilization of funds for custodial service and school buses. Our routine investigation has uncovered a pattern of complicity, sometimes benign and sometime malignant, on the part of school board officials and elected officials. (1) 2 Complicity in waste and corruption is institutionalizedat the State legislative level. Acts of the State legislatureare involved in the sealing of contracts with both the custodiansand the school bus companies. The signature of thegovernor is also required. We are pleased to note that thegovernor has appointed a panel to examine educational expenditures. We regret thefact that his of- fice hasn't utilized the abundant amount ofevidence already avail- able to facilitate action to lessen wastefulpractices in the New York City school system beyond theexposure and eradication of government complicity in waste and construction. This hearing will entertain, recommendationsfor immediate cor- rective actions in New York City andsystems to improve school governance and management throughout the Nation. For New York City, we have receivedrecommendations that in- clude following: Recommendation One: the complete revampingof the system for the provision of custodial servicesas proposed by the original legis- 4 lation offered by Assemblyman Del Toro,chairman of