Bush Voices Faith in Religious City Schools

President calls for steps to stop school closures common in urban areas

Washington

Describing the dwindling number of faith-based schools in U.S. cities as a “crisis,” President Bush last week called for efforts from government at all levels, as well as corporations and private citizens, to help change the situation.

Such inner-city schools are closing at an “alarming rate,” the president said at a conference on the topic. He noted that between 2000 and 2006, 1,200 religious schools in American cities have shut down, displacing some 400,000 students.

“We have an interest in the health of these centers of excellence,” he said. “It’s in the country’s interest to get beyond the debate over public-private, to recognize that this is...