Hoekstra, educators talk No Child Left Behind

Rick Charmoli | Cadillac News U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, talks to various educators from the area Wednesday at Cadillac Area Public Schools Central Office. Hoekstra was in Cadillac to talk about No Child Left Behind.

CADILLAC — Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, is looking for help as it pertains to No Child Left Behind.

He did not support NCLB when it became law five years ago and he said he probably won’t support it when it comes up for reauthorization.

That being said, Hoekstra spent most of Wednesday and part of Thursday asking constituents dealing with education about what they liked, disliked and what they wouldn’t mind seen cut from the legislation.

School officials from Buckley, Cadillac, Mesick, Pine River, the Michigan Department of Education and the Wexford-Missaukee Intermediate School District were more than willing to oblige.

“Reauthorization does not mean it will go away if it is not voted in. It means it will stay the same,” Hoekstra said. “What I’m trying to find out is what works, what needs to be tweaked and what needs to be cut.”

During his travel throughout his congressional district, Hoekstra said two things caught his attention. The first was the fact that it seems that certain states are given more leeway than others due to certain political issues. The second is the fact that federal spending for education is going up but there is less money coming to the more rural districts.

“If decisions are being made for political reasons or if there is a pattern or variance because of what or who they know or the color of the state, that is outrageous,” he said. “If you are only getting 3 or 4 percent of your funding from federal there is no reason to comply with NCLB.”

The reauthorization process is in its infancy stages right now but Hoekstra told the area educators that it will most likely result in the push for more testing. The buzz word right now in Washington is accountability and holding people accountable, according to Hoekstra.

Although Hoekstra’s stop in Cadillac lasted a little more than an hour, he said it was not the last time he would be asking for input from educators in the area. He also said he is not optimistic that there will be many changes that will benefit the school districts in the area.

“When it started out in 2001 it had a lot of flexibility and it was something I could support. Eleven months later it became the heavy hand of the government,” he said. “Right now I’m not an optimist but if my colleagues are hearing the same things I am we could see some changes.”

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