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In this issue:
 • DC Support for Hurricane Katrina Students
 • Letter of Thanks
 • Support Educate New Mexico When You Shop!

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Educating Katrina Victims
washingtonpost.com           Tuesday, October 25, 2005; A20

IN AN UNUSUAL display of timeliness, both the House and Senate education committees have produced pragmatic legislation offering federal funding for the education of children displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Both bills would link concrete sums directly to individual children. Both systems are temporary, ending after this school year. And both would allow what has generally been taboo: providing federal money to private as well as public schools.

Both bills nevertheless reflect the preferences and anxieties of the people who wrote them. The bipartisan Senate version, sponsored by Sens. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), is the more cautious of the two. The authors want accountability; they do not want private schools spending the money on religious instruction, and they do not want to create an extra incentive for children to go to private school. So they would have the federal money go through the "normal" channels: from the federal government to state educational agencies to school districts, which have experience doling out federal dollars, including to private schools, which sometimes get federal funding for special education and other programs even now. To obtain funds, schools would have to collect parental applications and send them to school districts, which would then disburse the money.

The House version, by contrast, reflects the concerns of Rep. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House education committee, about bureaucratic hang-ups — federal funding usually takes a long time to get through the "normal" process — and his desire to offer flexibility to Katrina families who may still be in transit. The House bill proposes the creation of family reimbursement accounts, bypassing the states and school districts altogether. Parents would apply for and receive account numbers directly, and they would give their number to the school enrolling their child. The school would then seek reimbursement.

© 2005 The Washington Post Company
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A Letter of Thanks
I'm sure you know by now that Bethany is not attending a private school this year. We were holding out to the last minute hoping there was some way we could manage a private school tuition. The reality is that we can't this year even with the Educate NM scholarship. I wish there were some way we could reserve the financial aid she would have gotten through Educate NM until next, year but I know we can't.

It has truly been a blessing for our 2 older children, Jesse & Joshua, to have been able to attend St. Pius High School. There are no words to describe our gratitude to Educate NM for making this possible. Our older son Jesse is attending college at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts on almost a full scholarship. I believe without the education he received at St. Pius this opportunity would not have been possible for him. Our other son Joshua is a Junior at St Pius and loves being there. He even works summers to help pay his tuition. He sees the value of attending a private school and would not want it any other way.

Thank you again for making this journey possible for all of us. Educate NM truly has changed our lives and we will forever be grateful!

Sincerely, Celeste & Steve Herrera
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Support Educate New Mexico While You Shop!!!!
Contact our office at 505-797-4002 or tdwilli@educatenm.org to see how your use of the following will help generate cash for Educate New Mexico scholarships!!!!

1. Albertsons’ Community Partner Card (A percentage of each purchase you make at Albertsons’ goes to ENM.)


2. Escrip (visit www.escrip.com to find out how you can shop, save and help ENM! ENM’s Group ID is 7431425)


3. School Cash (visit www.schoolcash.com and select Educate New Mexico from the list of organizations to support.)

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