Washington ? The sweeping No Child Left Behind education law is a centerpiece of President Bush’s domestic agenda. But Kansas Rep. Dennis Moore says without money to pay for it, the law itself should be left behind.

The point of the No Child Left Behind Act is to improve student and school achievement. The law expands testing, toughens teacher qualifications and checks up annually on student progress.

Those things cost money, and governors and congressional Democrats like Moore say the Republican-controlled Congress isn’t providing enough to pay for the new requirements.

“I voted for this bill, so I want it to succeed. I don’t want it to fail,” Moore said in an interview. “But on the other hand, it’s not reality to put additional burdens on people without the resources. The funding, I understand, is about $8 billion short of what the budget was.”

Bush’s education secretary, Rod Paige, maintains the law is sufficiently funded and accuses those trying to halt it of holding back children.

Moore has introduced legislation that would allow states or school districts to suspend implementation of the law until it is fully funded. Under the bill, the federal government would not be allowed to penalize states or districts for failing to comply with the law.

The idea originally came from a school administrator in Moore’s district, which includes Johnson County and the eastern half of the city of Lawrence.

Proposals similar to Moore’s are circulating in Congress. An amendment with a similar goal offered by Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, failed July 9 on a 223-199 vote. The vote was largely along party lines; Kansas Republican Reps. Jerry Moran, Jim Ryun and Todd Tiahrt opposed it.

NEA support

The National Education Assn. also supports Moore’s effort and is recruiting states to sue the federal government for allegedly breaking a promise to keep states from bearing any of the new law’s cost.

Even though Allen’s attempt failed, “we thought it was a real moral victory for us,” said Daniel Kaufman, a spokesman for the teachers’ group. The NEA is proposing nearly four dozen amendments to the law.

“Whether (congressional supporters) agree with us on all of the amendments we’re proposing, they’re very concerned about the funding issue and believe the Bush administration and Congress should put their money where their mouth is,” Kaufman said.

Budget roadblocks

The debate is taking place as states across the nation continue to experience serious budget shortfalls that have placed school funds on the chopping block. In Kansas, public schools escaped state budget cuts this year, but state funding for primary and secondary education was cut last year by about $17 million out of a $2.4 billion budget.

As a result, half the school districts in Kansas have cut staff, and 50 districts now charge students to participate in after-school activities, according to the NEA.

Josh Holly, a spokesman for the Republican-controlled House Education and the Workforce Committee, called efforts like Moore’s “fresh excuses for those who don’t want to be accountable for ensuring that America’s children learn.”

Holly said Congress had dramatically increased federal spending on elementary and secondary education and was providing enough funds to pay for the new law.

The federal government provides between 7 percent and 8 percent of the money that goes to public schools.

“Anything that’s going to weaken high standards and accountability provisions is going to face tough resistance,” Holly said. “For the first time, public education is not about money, it’s about results. It’s not about funding levels, it’s about holding schools accountable.”

Moore challenged the notion that unprecedented funding is enough.

“That’s fine, but that’s not the measure,” he said. “The measure is what was budgeted, what’s required, and what’s it going to take to do the job, not whether we put additional funds into education.

“If we set them up to fail, shame on all of us.”