ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 656/C&RL News Conference Circuit Joining forces to promote education and lib ra rie s By B arbara J. F ord The Committee f o r Education Funding’s Legislative Seminar T he Committee for Education Funding (CEF)is a coalition that was founded in 1969 with the goal o f achieving adequate federal finan­ cial support for our nation’s educational sys­ tem. The coalition is voluntary, nonprofit, and nonpartisan. The American Library Association is a founding and active member of CEF, whose members include educational associations, in­ stitutions, agencies, and organizations whose interests range from preschool to postgraduate education in both public and private systems. Mary Costabile, assistant director o f the ALA Washington Office, works closely with CEF. Several universities including California State, Georgetown, New York, Princeton, and Michi­ gan are also members. P ro vidin g n eed ed inform ation The purpose of CEF is to provide members o the general public, the federal administration, and especially the United States Congress with information that will enable them to better as­ sess the need for funding of federal education programs. The committee takes positions on federal education appropriations issues that rep resent a consensus o f its membership and then communicates those positions to the adminis tration and members o f Congress. CEF is governed by three elected officers and a 13-member executive committee selected from among the membership. It publishes a timely newsletter, holds meetings o f its mem bership which provide a forum for information exchange and policy discussions, and sponsors seminars on current policy issues led by recog nized experts. CEF provides information and assistance to members o f Congress and the administration on education funding issues and holds numerous briefing and policy meetings with congressional staff and administration of­ ficials during the year. At its annual Congres­ sional Awards Dinner, the committee honors members of Congress for their active support of education programs. The influence of public opinion In September I had the opportunity to attend the CEF Legislative Seminar and Congressional Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C., with mem­ bers o f the ALA Washington Office staff. The keynote speaker at the seminar was Jack Jennings (Center on National Education Policy) who spoke on “Public Opinion Regarding Fed­ eral Education Spending.” His main points about the causes of the public’s skeptical attitude to­ ward public education were that: • the major news media are extremely negative about public schools; • teachers and other educators are losing f heart and are starting to turn inward; • the political far right is criticizing the pub­ lic schools and this is shaking popular support; • the public says it wants higher academic achievement from children, but is not willing to change its conduct to realize that end. ­ Jennings articulately outlined actions that must be taken to deal with these public atti­ ­ tudes: • the news media must paint a more bal­ anced picture of public education; • teachers and other educators must ex­ plain what they’re doing and engage the pub­ ­ lic in conversations about it; • civility must be returned to our discourse and the unsubstantiated claims o f some far right ­ groups must be rebutted even as their legiti­ mate concerns are addressed; Barbara J. Ford is director of libraries at Virginia Commonwealth University and current president of ALA; e-mail: bjford@gems.vcu.edu mailto:bjford@gems.vcu.edu November 1996/657 • there must be agreement as a nation what is wanted from the schools and then people must dedicate themselves to attaining those objectives. According to Jennings, public support for post-secondary education is decreasing and we have lost public appropriations and public sup­ port as tuition and fees have gone up. There are cost problems and concerns for those de­ siring post-secondary education. The public wants attention and action on these topics o f concern. The fight over direct lending for student loans and the growth o f the influence of the far right have led some to be­ lieve that loans and grants are being used to raise tuition. As recent polls show, education currently has the public’s attention and Jennings suggested that higher education must show that it can rein in expenses to continue to get sup­ port. Prom oting education A panel on “Promoting Education to and through the Media” featured speakers from the American Council on Education (ACE), Educa­ tion Week, and National Public Radio (NPR). on Politics a n d a w a r d s Other panels focused on an update on the FY 1997 budget and appropriations and education in the 1996 presidential campaign. Speakers representing both parties said that both parties support education but there are differing ideas on how that support should be provided and what results are desired. At the CEF Congressional Awards Dinner, the Award for Outstanding Education Advocacy was presented to secretary o f education Rich­ ard Riley. The Career Service Award went to senators Mark Hatfield, Nancy Kassebaum, Claiborne Pell, and Paul Simon, and represen­ tative Pat Williams. Many o f these award win­ ners also support libraries. A strong a n d unified coalition As the largest coalition of education associa­ tions in existence, CEF provides a strong and unified voice in support of federal education funding. Its members include the American As­ sociation o f Community Colleges, the Ameri­ can Association o f State Colleges and Universi­ ties, the American Association of University Professors, the Association of American Uni­ David Merkowitz from ACE re­ minded us that most newspapers do not have education reporters, including many large ones, so spe­ cial efforts are needed to get posi­ tive press coverage. Coalitions like the Alliance to Save Student Aid have illustrated how that can be done as they have developed press kits and a coherent and consistent strategy to work with students and their parents to raise the issue to national discussion. Mark Pitsch from Education Week talked about the impor­ tance of looking at how education affects real people, not just decision-makers, and publiciz­ ing what is found. Claudio Sanchez (NPR’s education reporter) outlined some o f the important education sto­ ries that are not getting covered by the media: African Americans are reaching parity in gradu­ ation rates, approximately 40 states do not cer­ tify teachers, the march for children on Wash­ ington, D.C., affirmative action changes, and others. He said we need to test out ideas lo­ cally with the media, especially those that can help close the gap between reality and percep­ tions. According to Sanchez, once there is lo­ cal media coverage it is easier to get national coverage. both parties support education but there are differing ideas on how that support should be provided and w h at results a re desired. versities, the Coalition of Higher Education As­ sistance Organizations, the National Associa­ tion of Independent Colleges and Universities, the National Association o f Students for Higher Education, and the National Indian Education Association among others. As an active mem­ ber of the committee, ALA is able to support federal issues relating to all types of educational institutions, including higher education. There are many allies for ALA and libraries out there and we need to keep reaching out to coalitions such as CEF to get broad support and exposure for libraries. These types of coa­ litions are especially important for higher edu­ cation because some of our library funding is­ sues are intertwined with funding for higher education in general. ACRL’s support of ALA Goal 2000 and other ALA initiatives has pro­ vided resources for working closely with coali­ tions like CEF. ■