Gore Calls Education "Number-One Priority"

Los Angeles

Declaring education the nation’s “number-one priority,” Vice President Al Gore officially accepted the Democratic nomination for president here last night.

Mr. Gore vowed that, if elected, he would pursue measures to rebuild crumbling schools, hire more teachers to reduce class sizes, increase teacher pay and professionalism, give families more tax breaks for college tuition, and provide high-quality preschool for all children in the United States.

“Education may be a local responsibility, but I believe it has to be our number-one priority,” he said to the chants and cheers of attendees gathered here at the Staples Center for his acceptance speech, the highlight of the four-day convention. “We can’t stop until every school in America is a good place to...