Montgomery Herald
Wednesday, December 7, 2023
www.montgomeryherald.com

Answers Still Nowhere to be Found
Editorial

During the fall trip to Washington by Chamber of Commerce representatives, the group had an opportunity to visit with congressmen from across the region. Issues from education, to textiles to the economy were discussed. When it was all said and done, the one thing that was very clear is just how out of touch Washington is with rural America.

During one of the first sessions, the floor was opened for a question and answer period. Montgomery County School Superintendent Dr. Lindsey Suggs questioned the difficulty schools were encountering with the federal mandate, No Child Left Behind.

After receiving what Suggs and many others felt was an unsatisfactory answer, Suggs pursued the question with an assistant from Congressman Robin Hayes office.

The following day another question and answer session followed where no additional questions regarding No Child Left Behind were pursued. Instead Hayes followed Suggs into the hall and confronted him regarding the discussion between Suggs and the assistant, with Hayes defending his assistant and Suggs questioning their lack of knowledge regarding the No Child Left Behind act. In particular the number of sub groups that exist that make the mandate particularly difficult was one of the issues.

Last week Congressman Hayes hosted a session in Cumberland County and in Kannapolis for school board members and superintendents from his district to discuss the No Child Left Behind act.

The acknowledgement that a discussion was important is a mighty big turnaround from a few weeks ago in Washington where Hayes, in a heated exchange with Suggs, defended the legislation and reminded Suggs, "You need me more than I need you."

Too bad these recent sessions have been closed to the press so that we all might better understand the legislation.

Copyrighted material reposted with express permission from the Montgomery Herald.