Thank you for joining us this morning. I appreciate this opportunity to discuss a critical issue here in the Greater Triangle Region - school construction.

My good friend Congressman David Price and I have been working on this issue in Congress for some five years now. The need for federal help for school construction here in North Carolina has never been more urgent.

Last year, the state Department of Public Instruction issued a report on the status of school facility needs in North Carolina. Despite several bond initiatives that have been enacted at the state and local levels over the past several years, our state still needs an additional $6.2 Billion for school construction over the next five years. That's "Billion" with a Capital B. We need $343 million here in Wake County alone.

The American Institute of Architects reports that one in three American schools is "in serious disrepair or suffering from extreme overcrowding." The average age of a public school building is 43 years old in this country. Forty-three years ago a gallon of gasoline cost a quarter. Forty-three years ago there were only forty-eight states and Dwight Eisenhower was President. Forty-three years ago there was no Research Triangle Park, and the average salary in America was $96 a week. We've made a lot of progress in the past forty-three years, and it's high time we upgrade our school facilities.

We know that more than 5,600 school trailers are being used in our state because the schools just can't accommodate the enrollment numbers. And we have 5,600 bricks here to symbolize each one of those trailers. Now, I know your principal (Sue Sisson) and your teachers do their level best to make school trailers work as a substitute for brick and mortar classrooms, I also know they would be the first to tell you that trailers are a poor substitute for the real thing.

Since September 11, our nation has united together to face down our enemies and to bolster our security here at home. It is a plain fact that school trailers are not as secure as first-rate facilities. Your school leaders take every step to enhance security on every inch of this campus, but their job would be a whole lot easier if they had the resources to build quality schools.

Congressman Price and I are working in Congress to provide those resources. H.R. 1076, the America's Better Classrooms, ABCs, Act will establish a federal-state partnership to leverage bond resources and build new schools. As the former Superintendent of our state's public schools, I know that students learn better in quality facilities. This legislation will help build those quality schools and foster greater learning opportunities. We now have 224 cosponsors on H.R. 1076 - a clear Majority of the U.S. House - and David and I are working hard to get the bill brought up for a vote.

Congress has passed into law the No Child Left Behind Act. Now, we need to pass the No Child Left Behind in a Trailer Act. That is what the legislation we are sponsoring is designed to accomplish.

So, I want to thank you all for joining us here to discuss this very important issue. I would be happy to answer any questions after we take our tour.

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