| Notes |
The key players at the summit were President Bush; his White House advisor, Porter; and the co-chairs of NGA’s education task force, Governor Clinton and Governor Campbell. Secretary Cavazos was present but chose not to attend the late-night session at the Boar’s Head Inn, where the final joint communiqué was crafted. Other par- ticularly significant individuals for the administration were John Sununu, the White House chief of staff, and Richard Darman, direc- tor of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Among the gov- ernors, NGA chair Terry Branstad (R-IA) and Booth Gardner (D-WA) also made major contributions, as well as NGA’s education chief staff analyst, Mike Cohen.120
Despite some last minute differences that had to be ironed out at the Boar’s Head Inn the previous evening, the President and the gov- ernors were able to issue a joint communiqué on September 28. The statement started by reiterating the centrality of education for improv- ing the economic well-being of the nation:
The President and the nation’s Governors agree that a better edu- cated citizenry is the key to the continued growth and prosperity of the United States. Education has historically been, and should remain, a state responsibility and a local function, which works best when there is also strong parental involve- ment in the schools. And as a Nation we must have an educated workforce, second to none, in order to succeed in an increasingly competitive world economy.
Education has always been important, but never this important because the stakes have changed: Our competitors for opportunity are also working to educate their people. As they continue to improve, they make the future a moving tar- get. We believe that the time has come, for the first time in U.S. history, to estab- lish clear, national performance goals, goals that will make us internationally competitive.121 |