Gore tax flunks education test.

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From http://www.Ralph Bristow.com

Remember the Al Gore Tax? That's the name we gave to the "universal service fee" that shows up on your phone bill each month to finance a plan to install computers in classrooms at poor schools around the nation. It seemed like such a good idea at the time - at least to the Clinton administration and Congress. Vice President Al Gore helped usher it through Congress in 1996.

Now, it seems the whole program is just one big mess.. The General Accounting Office says the government subsidies used to provide computers in poor schools are being abused. No! Say it ain't so Joe! Ah, but it is so. But that's not all. The computers, according to some accounts, are disrupting, not helping the students.

Starting with the graft, waste and corruption:

· A New York company was charged with eight counts of federal crimes after the firm bought expensive equipment beyond what the schools could pay for, then created phony invoices for its own reimbursement.

· An $18 million e-rate project in Ysleta, Texas, was ended after federal auditors discovered that the firm contracting with the Ysleta schools had precluded other Internet companies from the bidding process.

· In San Francisco, school officials discovered that the $68 million price of a networking project by a private company would actually cost less than $18 million if done by district technicians. (Authorities might want to check for shoe boxes stuffed with cash under the beds of school officials.)

But what's a little graft and corruption when the end result is better education? Well, maybe. The program rested on a premise that there exists a "digital divide" between the rich and poor that created a disadvantage for the poor. Now, the Education Department reports that poor schools now have almost as many computers as rich schools, so the digital divide is closed, but the performance gap is as wide as ever. And, some teachers say the computers are more trouble than benefit. They report having to spend time doing such things as managing technical glitches, preventing students from cheating or viewing inappropriate material on computers.

It seems many teachers think their time might be better spent teaching these poor children the basics of education.

Do you suppose it's time for the sun to set on the "universal service fee?"