al condition. Close to ten percent of schools have enrollments twenty-five percent greater than the capacity of their buildings. The average dollar amount needed to fix each individual school is about $2.2 million and the grand total of funds needed to repair these schools is $127 billion (NCES).School safety has become a large concern since the many high school shootings. Yet statistics have not been changing for the better. During the 1996-1997 school year, 57% of public schools reported that one or more incidents of crime or violence had happened in their school. Ten percent of all public schools experienced one or more serious violent crime. Violent crimes are defined as murder, rape, sexual battery, suicide, physical attack, fight with a weapon, or robbery. Forty-five percent of elementary schools reported one or more violent incidents, compared with 74% of middle schools and 77% of high schools. School crime is proven to happen in larger schools, 38% of small schools reported incidents, while 89% of large schools reported criminal incidents. Schools in cities were twice as likely to report violent crime and gang activity than rural or suburban schools. During the 1998-1999 school year, 3,523 students were expelled for bringing a gun to school (NCES). Yet 78% of all schools claimed they had some type of violence prevention program, but it doesn't seem to be working. Neither does our former president's plan to reform education.Lieberman lists many ways to help improve education. He recommends that high school age children should be able to graduate in a shorter period of time if they desire and receive rewards for doing so (274). He believes the PTA should just consist of parents and students making goals for education to discuss with teachers and the school board (275). He believes there should be a national curriculum plan so that all children are taught the same basic important ideas. Teachers should be required t...
