VIDEOTAPED REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
FOR THE CHARTER SCHOOLS NATIONAL CONFERENCE
MONDAY, MARCH 15, 1999
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak with you today at our second Charter Schools National Conference. Your efforts are adding energy and opportunity to public education all across America. I salute your work; I thank you for your leadership on behalf of our nation's children.
It's no secret that I believe charter schools will play a vital role in renewing American education. Charter schools offer choice, promote competition, and foster excellence that all our children need to succeed in the new economy of the 21st century. They create hope and opportunities for students to achieve high standards; for teachers to find new ways of working together; for communities to play a direct role in shaping how their schools are run. With your leadership and hard work, charter schools are becoming powerful examples of how communities can use greater freedom and accountability to create public schools to improve education for all children, regardless of their background or ability.
Through two decades of personal experience, as governor of Arkansas and now as President, I became an early champion of charter schools. In 1993, research made clear what many of you know -- lack of access to start-up funding has been the number one obstacle to launching new charter schools. That's why, since 1994, we've invested nearly a quarter of a billion dollars for starting and running charter schools.
When I was first elected President, there was just one charter school in our entire nation. Last fall there were over 1,000 of them, serving more than 200,000 children. We're well on our way now to meeting our goal of 3,000 charter schools by early in the next century. This year, I'm calling for another major increase in federal start-up funding for charter schools, funding new partnerships to help you share your best ideas with other public schools across our nation, and taking steps to make sure that you get your fair share of other federal education funds.
Across the nation, there are waiting lists to get in to charter schools, and there's a simple reason for that - parents know they work. Communities and school systems are taking notice, and I'm confident they will continue to respond in constructive ways.
Thank you again for your innovation, your dedication, and your leadership.
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