John McCain
NAACP Speech
Cincinnati, OH 07/16/08

TRANSCRIPTION
QUESTIONER: I work with Head Start workers and federal funding has not been allocated to those workers. The congress has not approved the funding. The workers are making minimal wages to provide educational opportunities to our young people.

What are you going to do now, as a senator and go back and give the funding that is needed so Head Start workers and families can receive the funds that are needed to educate the poor?

JOHN MCCAIN: I obviously support Head Start programs. [...] I would be glad to fully fund those programs, but there has to be monitoring. There has to be measurable success. There has to be [...] a return on the taxpayers dollars that these programs actually are beneficial and we need to review them from time to time as to see how they can do a better job and there's no reason--there's no reason why you should resent any scrutiny, any oversight and any evaluation because I'll support the full funding, if you'll agree with that. How's that?

QUESTIONER: I will agree that--

MCCAIN: Thank you!

QUESTIONER: --that there is federal mandate and monitoring of the systems that are done by the federal government and the agencies that allocate the funds. We are talking about 1.5% raises as a cost increase of living to those workers. If I am making $17,000 a year, I cannot afford my housing. I cannot afford gas and food and to provide health care for my children. These people have gone to school and gotten the mandates that have been allocated by the federal and state and city governments and they need to be making wages that will help maintain their standard of living as well.

What are you gonna do, senator? We can't continue this way.

MCCAIN: I'll be glad to tell you exactly what I'm gonna do and that's what I said in my speech. A great and outstanding teacher such as you, I'm gonna--I know you are. It's obvious from your passion. You're a great American also. I'll say to you again what I said in my speech: I want to reward good teachers.

I don't want someone to have tenure after only two years of teaching. I want them to compete with other teachers. I want us to reward them. I want to find bad teachers another line of work. That's what I want to do and I want to reward good teachers, reward principles.

In New York City we have seen a dramatic improvement of schools. We have seen it in New Orleans. There's now more than 30 charter schools there in New Orleans and ask anybody in that state and they'll tell you that education is improving and that's what we need is choice and competition and part of that is rewarding good teachers such as yourself and god bless you and thank you for serving.

LABEL: JM OH 7-16 (JR#60) F - ClipB