ith a new principal and of the changes in the teaching staff and everything else that I’ve described. He would leave the failing schools in place, and take money away from the school, and try to convince the parents that it’s not enough for them to go and pay tuition at a private school, when it’s not,” (Frontline, Gore 4). The two candidates also agree on many issues, such as, school choice, accountability, getting more teachers, more spending on education, and better work environments. However, their differing opinions have made education the topic that it is.Another reason why education reform has been so dominant is because at a time of prosperity, people focus on different issues, and the candidates need to address those issues. Chester Finn Jr. tells Frontline, “The voters have made real clear that in a time of general peace and prosperity, this is one of the foremost things on their minds. This is one of the top concerns that any candidate in his or her right mind would want to respond to what the voters are interested in,” (Frontline, Finn 1). In a poll performed by the Washington Post, education, which received thirty-eight percent of the votes, was considered to be the most important issue in the election (Washington Post 2000: 2).Finally, education reform played a large part in this election, because of the “baby boom echo.” More children are going into schools than ever before. The US Department of Education estimates that 2400 new schools will be needed by 2003 to accommodate increases in the school population, what the department calls the baby boom echo (Walton 2000: 3). Libraries gymnasiums, cafeterias, temporary trailers and even storage closets are being used for classrooms. The GAO estimates the cost to repair, renovate and replace schools at $122 billion, while the NAE says $322 billion (Walton 2000: 3). The Student Teacher Achievement Ratio study found that in...
