The hundreds of congressional “earmarks” in the fiscal 2002 budget for the Department of Education cover a wide range of projects and programs. They are scattered across the country, and together total about $440 million, according to the department. Supporters defend such allocations as being tailored to legitimate needs; opponents dismiss them as “pork” secured without public scrutiny by well-placed lawmakers. Below is just a sampling.
$150,000: Lady B. Ranch in Apple Valley, Calif., for direct services related to the Therapeutic Horseback Riding Program.
$5 million: To promote educational, cultural, apprenticeship, and exchange programs for Alaska Natives, native Hawaiians, and their historical whaling and trading partners in Massachusetts.
$100,000: The Boston History Collaborative, to develop educational programs on the history of Boston.
$18 million: Project GRAD-USA Inc. in Houston, Texas for continued support and expansion of the school reform program.
$850,000: 2002 Paralympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, to support venue operations, spectator services, broadcast support, and ceremonies.
$250,000: Alaska Geographic Alliance, to work with the Library of Congress to incorporate the library’s “Meeting of Frontiers” work into the Alaska school history and geography curriculum.
$200,000: Babyland Family Services, in Newark, N.J., for technology training and extended learning opportunities for students, parents, and teachers.
$14,000: Boys and Girls Club of El Dorado, Ark., for after-school programs for at-risk youths.
$950,000: Chippewa Falls Unified School District in Wisconsin, for after-school programs.
$1 million: Cincinnati Arts School, Inc., for development of the school’s academic and artistic curricula.
$1.2 million: Rockford Public School District #205 in Illinois, for a magnet schools program.
$100,000: International Music Products Association in Carlsbad, Calif., for school music programs.
$400,000: Pacific Islands Center for Educational Development in American Samoa.
