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School Closings Across Nation; U.S. History Textbook Controversy; Foreign Cars, Domestic Jobs
Aired March 17, 2010 - 14:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: A story that we've been following very closely here is the closing of schools across the nation, closing of public schools because of budget deficits or deficits in the level of education that they are providing.
CNNMoney.com anchor Poppy Harlow is in New York. She's very familiar both with this story and things in Detroit, so she's been looking in to this.
This is an announcement from somebody who was put in by the state to fix the budget shortfall in Detroit, and the announcement was that they're closing a lot of schools in Detroit to try and save money.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM ANCHOR: Yes, that's exactly right. Forty- four schools, Ali, to be exact.
We know now today they will close, as of this summer. A number of other schools are going to close after that.
And why? They've got a huge issue with enrollment, they've got a massive education shortfall.
I mean, look at this. Fifty-eight percent of people in Detroit, school kids graduate, 58 percent. That is abysmal.
They say by closing schools, putting the money where it's needed, getting the best teachers in, they think they can make that graduation rate, Ali, 98 percent by 2015. They only have five years to do that, but they're facing what the Detroit Public Schools told us this morning, an academic emergency.
They've got a $316 million budget shortfall, and here's what's happening. You have about 84,000 kids in the Detroit public schools right now. They think it's going to drop to 56,000 by the year 2014.
Why? Because the parents are pulling their kids out of these schools, sending them to private schools, suburban schools or charter schools. They don't trust the Detroit public school system. So that guy you mentioned, Ali, that's in charge in making a difference, his name is Robert Bobb. He's the emergency financial manager, meaning he doesn't have to answer to any boards, any bureaucracy, doesn't have to look at the red tape. He can do what he wants, and he's cutting 44 schools to try to improve the education system. Here's his announcement this morning. Here's why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT BOBB, EMERGENCY FINANCIAL MANAGER, DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS: We believe that this plan provides certainty where, in the minds of some, there may be uncertainty. We want to build flexible, adaptable and sustainable learning environments. We want to support smaller learning environments. Want to develop multi-use facilities that support community use and community partnerships.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: So, Ali, it's all about community. He says don't just make the schools better. Bring the parents in, bring the communities in, make these community hubs, Ali.
VELSHI: Yes.
HARLOW: It's much further than just making a new school.
VELSHI: Right. And this is a story, while it's playing out in Detroit, it's playing out across the country.
HARLOW: Absolutely.
VELSHI: There are parents who do not see it the same way that Robert Bobb does.
HARLOW: That's exactly right. I mean, we've spent, as you said, a lot of time in Detroit. This is some video we shot with Fredrika Turner and her daughter a few months ago in Detroit. This is Fredrika's old high school. It's shut down, it's run down, the windows are blown out.
And she told us, simply put, Ali, she will not put her daughter in a Detroit public school. She said the same thing to me on the phone this morning. Here's why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREDRIKA TURNER, DETROIT PARENT: Well, my daughter has never attended any Detroit public school, and it's because of this. As a concerned parent, my daughter would never go to a Detroit public school as of now, whereas I felt comfortable as a child going to school, I would -- I don't feel comfortable to allow her to attend a Detroit public school.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: So, she simply can't send her daughter to a Detroit public school. She's moved to the suburbs, sending her daughter to a school outside Detroit, Ali.
And as you know, we're looking at how people are coping, how they're surviving in Detroit. So here's a quick snippet from people across the city about why Detroit and education are really the key here.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do I survive in Detroit?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Education.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's hard to say.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go to school. Don't be like a person like me out here selling drugs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just perseverance and education, going back and getting your education. You have to be proficient in this city to achieve what you want to achieve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: So, Ali, that's just a small snippet of what we heard in Detroit, but it really comes down to education. It's why we have to focus on this and follow this, and we will.
VELSHI: Yes. Poppy, good to see you.
Poppy Harlow anchors on CNNMoney.com and she follows Detroit very, very closely.
All right. It's just past 2:00 on the East Coast. A new hour, a new "Rundown." Here's what I've got "On the Rundown" this hour.
Dropping Thomas Jefferson, praising Joseph McCarthy. Conservatives in Texas want to rewrite history textbooks. And if that happens, most of the nation could follow.
We're going to drill down on this, and you are part of our greater conversation.
Plus, sand is like gold in a big part of the nation right now. People are scrambling to pile on the sandbags as rivers rise. Our Chad Myers is on the story. He'll tell you what you need to know.
Also, everyone who knows me knows I'm a frequent flyer, so my heart really went out to the dozens of passengers who were stranded on a Virgin America flight for hours. You could say the airline got off cheap for now. I've got some things to say about this in my "XYZ."
But first, the big story.
"History is more or less bunk." Those are the words that capitalist icon Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company, said. A strong argument could be made that the Republican member of the Texas Board of Education shares Ford's disdain of history, at least the way it's written in high schools' U.S. history textbooks. As we told you yesterday, the Texas Board of Education is in a fight over very conservative proposals that Republicans on the board are demanding to be included in new U.S. history textbooks for the public high schools. Among other things, Republican board members argue that the textbooks should challenge evolution and place a greater emphasis on the role of religion, specifically Christianity, in American history.
Joining me on the phone from College Station, Texas, for more on this, is a Republican member of the board, Dr. Don McLeroy.
Dr. McLeroy, thank you for joining us.
Give me a sense of your thinking, yours and the fellow board members, Republican board members, on why you want to change Texas textbooks.
DR. DON MCLEROY, TEXAS BOARD OF EDUCATION: Well, thanks for inviting me. Actually, what we're doing is we think we're providing balance and bias to standards that are being proposed to us by some writing review committees.
VELSHI: And what are the biases that you think are there, and what is it that you would like to see more of?
Well, the things that -- well, there's two things.
First, on bias, the review committees took the word "imperialism," added it to where, today, in our Texas standards, it talks about the United States' history in the 20th century, it talks about expansionism. Well, they inserted the word "imperialism." Well, we've changed -- taken the word "imperialism" out and put back "expansionism."
And another bias was in the early eighth grade history, where we talked about early American history, they initially took out a standard that talks about the foundations of representative government in the United States. They took out a standard that required the students to describe the role religion played. Well, that is still in there. We have not deleted anything. We've actually kept it in, and so that's some of the bias.
VELSHI: Don, correct me if I'm wrong. I've read about this and I'm sure I haven't read as much as you know about it.
It does appear that there seems to be some emphasis on making clear that this was -- this country was founded on Christian principles, by Christians, to be a Christian country. Am I reading that wrongly?
MCLEROY: We've been very strong about supporting the idea that America was built on biblical ideals. If you go to the Declaration of Independence and you look at what Thomas Jefferson said, Thomas Jefferson said -- and the people signed it -- " We hold these truths to be self-evident," all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator. And those principles involve that there is truth, there's a creator, and that we've created. To say our country was founded on secular principles is just clearly not true. I mean, the secularist says there is no truth, there is no God. And so, even though it doesn't use biblical language, we're not arguing that they were all, you know, devout Christians. But the ideas that they advocated, like even Thomas Jefferson, were biblical ideals of truth and creator and created.
VELSHI: In the -- in what you're proposing, Newt Gingrich is in, Ted Kennedy's out.
MCLEROY: Well, there was a whole list of people in -- and that was just -- those are two different standards, so it's hard to compare the two. Yes, Ted Kennedy -- Senator Kennedy suggested in one that we voted -- one standard that was voted down. But as far as we talked about the conservative resurgence of the 1980s with Ronald Reagan --
VELSHI: Right.
MCLEROY: -- and with Newt Gingrich. And basically, that was just providing balance not against Senator Kennedy, however, but against all the ideals that are presented in history about the progressive era, the Great Society, and -- well, the New Deal and then the Great Society, which were really, you know, a movement away from the Christian -- I mean, from the founding ideals of a limited government. All those were increasing government, especially, you know, the New Deal and the Great Society.
And so there was a resurgence of ideals, American ideals of limited government and the importance of the individual with President Reagan and Newt Gingrich. And those ideals we added in there. To me, that's just providing balance.
VELSHI: Don, just stand by. I want to read you some of the stuff we've been getting on Facebook. We've asked people to comment on this.
Schuyler says, "I'm very happy as a Texan that these changes have been made. It's time our children learned what really has occurred in our history. The revisionist history of the last 50-plus years has completely screwed up generations of people's understanding about what America stands for and how it was founded."
Julie writes, "This is blatant censorship and revisionist history at its worst. The far right in Texas are forcing their agenda on to everyone else. It smacks of Orwell's "1984."
And Lois says, "This is why we need to keep the writing of textbooks to historians, scientists, et cetera. History and the world may not necessarily work in the way we want, but it is there and we must learn about it as such."
Don, there are critics who say that you want kids learning an American history that ignores or marginalizes blacks, women, Latinos and immigrants.
What's your response to that? MCLEROY: Well, I would just say it's inaccurate. I'd say that the responses you read, though, really capture a flavor of the argument.
What we -- there's people on both sides that kind of -- about are we whitewashing history or are we just presenting accurate history. I contend that we're making accurate history, that we're going to talk about what made our country really a special place. Just the whole concept of American exceptionalism is a debatable issue, but we included a new standard in the U.S. history to talk about American values, that they're exceptional, that that's made America different from other places in the world.
I mean, does America share the world's values? I say, no, we don't. America is different. And if we shared the world's values, then we would be just like the rest of the world. Where do you turn to for all the good that America has done in the world?
As far as the minorities, we want to include all the significant minorities, and I think we have. I think we've expanded the number and the importance of all the minorities in our standards. There's a real net increase in that.
VELSHI: Don, thank you for joining us. It's good to talk to you.
MCLEROY: Hey, thank you very much.
VELSHI: My pleasure.
Don McLeroy is a dentist. He is one of the conservatives on the school board who has voted for some changes to the Texas history textbooks.
On the other side of this break, we're going to get the other side of this fight from a college history professor who has had his texts turned down because he says it wasn't what boards like that wanted.
We'll talk to him in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Want to bring you the other side in the fight over high school textbooks, history textbooks in Texas.
Joining us from Springfield, Massachusetts, is Daniel Czitrom. He teaches American history and culture at Mount Holyoke College.
Daniel, thank you for joining us.
Why is Texas and what they do with history textbooks in schools so important?
PROF. DANIEL CZITROM, MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE: Thanks very much for having me, Ali.
I think the larger issue here is really the unwillingness of many conservatives to accept the profound changes that have taken place in the writing and teaching of American history in the last 40 or 50 years. I think that the story of the American past right now is much more capacious, more open, it's messier, it's more inclusive than it was 40 or 50 years ago. And I think most of these folks would prefer we go back to a time when African-Americans, women, Latinos, immigrants, popular culture, all these topics are effectively ignored or marginalized in the teaching of American history. I think that's what this debate and this controversy is really about.
VELSHI: You've written textbooks that have been -- or a textbook. You've been in this debate somehow. Tell me what your role has been.
CZITROM: Well, I'm co-author of a book, "Out of Many: A History of the American People," that has been turned down or excluded some years ago by the Texas school board. I'd rather not get into the specifics of all that. I'm not a publisher, I don't work for a publisher. I'm an author, I'm a historian.
I really think that the larger issue here is --
VELSHI: Well, hang on. Before we get to the larger issue, so have you had work that you've done not accepted because somebody has had a political agenda?
CZITROM: I don't know why they didn't accept it. I wouldn't put it that way. I mean, you know, you'll have to ask them that.
VELSHI: All right.
What's the issue, though/ Historians, isn't this the whole thing? Aren't we constantly evolving and rewriting history?
CZITROM: Absolutely. I mean, that's why I reject the term "revisionist history." All history is revisionist if it's any good. We're always revising the past, and I think that is, as I said before, a big problem for these groups, who, by the way, are heavily funded, well organized and operate as pressure groups with great success, I should add, in Texas. I think their real agenda, as I said, is to turn back the clock to a time when history was less messy, less complicated and less inclusive than it is now.
VELSHI: What's the --
CZITROM: I think that's their fundamental problem.
VELSHI: For parents out there watching, I don't know that we necessarily realize the impact that a history textbook has. Is what is in your child's history textbook the bulk of where they're going to learn their history?
CZITROM: Well, I mean, it depends. I mean, for some students, it might be the only history they learn.
Obviously, we're always trying to encourage students to get deeper into history. I think that most of the historians and teachers I know are interested in using not only textbooks, but other sources -- biographies, primary sources, films, whatever. I mean, really, the ultimate goal is to equip our students with the kind of analytical skills, the tools that allow them to become critical thinkers on their own. And I think that most people would agree that we want more voices, we want more points of view.
After all, differences of interpretation, disagreements about emphasis and how you interpret the past, that's the lifeblood of history. We shouldn't be running from that and we shouldn't be trying to reduce that to some cartoonish notion of balancing bias. This is one of the big problems I have with what's happening in Texas.
VELSHI: Well, you heard the conversation that I had with Dr. McLeroy.
CZITROM: Yes.
VELSHI: He was saying that he felt that they were adding things that had been left out. For instance, the Christian or religious founding and intent of our founding fathers in this country.
Do you agree with that?
CZITROM: That's a highly debatable issue. I mean, again, I know in our book, for example, we certainly give a lot of attention to the resurgence of conservatism in the 1970s and '80s.
We talk about Reagan. We talk about the tax revolt. All that stuff is in there, but, you know, the idea that because you talk about something you have a bias seems to me absurd.
And so often people will say, well, the recent history is too critical of America, it runs down America, it demeans America. I mean, if you talk honestly about the history of race relations and American apartheid, does that mean you are demeaning America? I don't think so.
I think that means you are trying to take an honest look at our history. I think that a lot of the folks like Mr. McLeroy are interested in a kind of pseudo-patriotic history in which the main goal is to somehow celebrate America as being the greatest place ever, and to me that's not part of what historians are doing. That's not our job.
VELSHI: When you meet with your fellow historians and you talk about American history, is there generally an impression that this is a failed experiment, or this is a great country, or is it somewhere in the middle, or do historians not occupy themselves with that sort of discussion?
CZITROM: I think that what you said at the end is right. I think most historians are not focused on creating some kind of master narrative or some kind of great statement about America being great or America not being so great.
I think most historians in recent years have been more focused on issues of conflict, what are the fundamental conflicts that have helped shape our past and our present. And I think it's those conflicts and the fact that many of them have been painful, many of them, you know, are difficult to study, many of them make students uncomfortable. That's the kind of things that the folks in the Texas school board want to exclude, and I think by doing that, they do a terrible disservice to our students and our teachers.
VELSHI: What's your sense of the quality and completeness of textbooks for students in public schools in -- for history in America?
CZITROM: Well, I think they vary tremendously. You know, there are a lot of textbooks out there. There are textbooks written for colleges, textbooks written for high schools and grade schools.
Again, I think that the study of the past is always being shaped to some extent by what's happening in contemporary life. There really wasn't much black history before the civil rights movement. There wasn't much women's history before the women's movement.
And I think, in fact, what's going on in Texas today could be seen as a kind of case study on that very point. That is that contemporary debate, contemporary argument, politics are always shaping and reshaping how people view the past.
VELSHI: Good to talk to you, Dan. Thank you very much for joining us.
CZITROM: Thanks for having me.
VELSHI: Dan Czitrom is a professor of history at Mount Holyoke College in Springfield, Massachusetts.
When we come back, Tom Foreman is out there building up America, or at least finding out how you are building up America.
We'll visit with him when we get back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: All right. It's time to build up America, where we look at where jobs are being created, how they're being created and which communities are thriving.
Tom Foreman visited Montgomery, Alabama, where a foreign carmaker is creating domestic jobs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Ali. You read the car trades. You have a sense of what's going on in the automotive industry, and you know that Hyundai is doing very well. This, though, is a story about how a community grabbed on to the coattails of that success and said let's ride it, too. And it is really paying off in southern Alabama.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Just south of Montgomery, at the gleaming new Hyundai plant, almost every minute another new call rolls off the line. And just about as often you can find someone like Yolanda Williams singing the company's praises.
YOLANDA WILLIAMS, HYUNDAI TEAM MEMBER: I love it. I enjoy what I do every day.
FOREMAN (on camera): Did you ever have any idea you would be making a living from the car industry in southern Alabama?
WILLIAMS: No, I never dreamed. And it's changed a lot of people's lives down here.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Winning this massive economic prize over other states that wanted it had local leaders scrambling at one point, making sure Hyundai knew how transportation services, power grids and, most of all, the local community could and would meet all their needs.
RICK NEAL, VICE PRESIDENT, HYUNDAI: So this location was great.
FOREMAN (on camera): And they made sure that you had everything?
NEAL: Everything.
FOREMAN: The land, the communications, the transportation.
NEAL: Yes. Utilities.
FOREMAN: And it seems like it's working?
NEAL: It is working. It's working for them. It's working for us.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Last year, Hyundai was one of just three companies to increase sales in America. The success for the community?
FOREMAN (on camera): So you're just looking to see if there's anything wrong with this piece.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Good jobs.
JASON THOMAS, HYUNDAI TEAM MEMBER: It means the world to me. And I know a lot of other people feel the same way.
FOREMAN (on camera): How secure do you feel in your job?
JAMES LENOIR, HYUNDAI TEAM MEMBER: I feel really secure. I really do.
FOREMAN: Enough to buy a house? Enough to move forward?
LENOIR: I have.
FOREMAN: Hyundai doesn't make everything it needs, so that means that lots of suppliers have sprung up all throughout this region to make bumpers and sun roofs and dashboards. And that has created many more jobs. FOREMAN (voice-over): About 800 have come from Mobis, another Korean company, that followed Hyundai here.
FOREMAN (on camera): I'm guessing a lot of people are pretty happy about this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we are. As a matter of fact, I'm one of them.
FOREMAN (voice-over): In all, local officials estimate more than 20,000 jobs have rippled out from the Hyundai deal, building up south Alabama one job, one car, one minute at a time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: We often talk about how success breeds success. Well, that happens even in hard times.
Now Kia is opening a plant just across the line in Georgia over here. That's also expected to wash jobs out into the region. And they're very much need here, Ali, where, as you know, the unemployment rate is above the national average -- Ali.
VELSHI: All right, Tom.
And Tom's on the CNN Express. We'll be bringing his visits across America to you every day.
Listen, when we come back, we're going to check in with Chad Myers. He is watching those floodplains in the upper Midwest, watching to see where things are going. We'll bring you an update as soon as we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: I'm here at the severe weather center with Chad Myers. He's keeping a very, very close eye on the rivers.
They're not near cresting yet, that's the bad part.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Another two or three days, depending on where you are.
VELSHI: Yes.
MYERS: Obviously, this bubble of water kind of runs up the Red River. We're talking about it in parts of North Dakota and Minnesota.
VELSHI: Right.
MYERS: Not the one that's Oklahoma and Texas.
VELSHI: Right.
MYERS: Here's the problem. Look at the record highs from yesterday: Eau Claire and the Twin Cities, all above 60, almost 65 degrees, International Falls. So, from Fargo through Grand Forks, the water is moving up, about here, about Wahpeton, that's about where the bubble is now.
VELSHI: OK.
MYERS: You'll start to see the water go down tonight and tomorrow. But then it goes up in Fargo, goes up in Grand Fork, and that's all because the ground is frozen solid.
VELSHI: Right.
MYERS: It's been a very cold winter there, frozen solid. The water can't go down. It has to go off.
Miami, you're seeing some showers there. Not such a great day to be traveling through parts of the south. There's WPLG, our affiliate in Miami. Kind of some cloud cover. You should be able to see North Beach over here --
VELSHI: Right.
MYERS: -- from the downtown.
And also Atlanta, although not reporting any delays right now, you can't see the tops of the buildings in Atlanta, and that always means that you have to spread those planes out just a little bit.
VELSHI: All right. Well, you and I will be watching these floods and the dangers of them very closely over the next few days. So, stay with us at CNN. Chad Myers, we'll have that.
When we come back, we are now hearing from the Pope on the unfolding sex scandal that's taking place in Europe's Catholic Church. We'll hear what the Pope had to say about it when we come back.
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VELSHI: I told you we've now heard from the Pope about the scandal that is unfolding across Europe in the Catholic Church.
Let's go to Diana Magnay who is in Rome. She's been following this very closely.
Diana, we were going to hear from the Pope because of St. Patrick's Day. Is this an exceptional comment that he's made? And what did he have to say about it?
DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Ali.
Well, this was just his regular weekly address, but he did use the opportunity of St. Patrick's day to tell the Irish faithful that he would be addressing the issue of abuse, child abuse, within the Irish Catholic Church in a letter that he expects to sign on Friday, a pastoral letter that's been long awaited, that he's been promising for a long time. He said that would then address the problem of child abuse in the Catholic Church. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE BENEDICT XVI, CATHOLIC CHURCH: As you know, in recent months, the church in Ireland has been severely shaken as a result of the child abuse crisis. As a sign of my deep concern, I have written a personal letter dealing with this painful situation. I will sign it on the solemnity of Saint Joseph, the guardian of the Holy Family and patron of the universal church, and send it soon after. I ask all of you to read it for yourselves, with an open heart, and in a spirit of faith. My hope is that it will help in the process of repentance, healing, and renewal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MAGNAY: Now, Ali, there were two main problems within the Irish Catholic Church, according to a government-backed report. There were the problem of pedophile priests, widespread child abuse, and the problem that bishops didn't want to tell on priests within their parishes.
And that scandal goes right up to the very top of the Catholic Church there in Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, who is the head of the Catholic Church. It was revealed this week had actually been present at a meeting where two victims of child abuse, ages just 10 and 14, were sworn to secrecy so that they would never tell on the pedophile priests who had -- who had abused them. And that man went on to re- offend for 30 years.
So, today, in his St. Patrick's Day mass, Cardinal Brady apologized for what he'd done.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARDINAL SEAN BRADY, HEAD OF IRELAND CATHOLIC CHURCH: I want to say to anyone who has been hurt by any failure on my part that I apologize to you with all my heart. I also apologize to all who feel I have let them down. Looking back I am ashamed that I have not always upheld the values that I profess and believe in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Diana, we couldn't hear that very clearly. What was the gist of what he said?
MAGNAY: He basically said that he apologized in a heartfelt fashion for what he had done, and that he had acted in a way that was appropriate to his rank. So, a heartfelt apology, but many victims' groups in Ireland said that simply isn't enough, that he should resign. But in the last few days, Cardinal Brady has said he won't resign unless the Pope asks him to -- Ali.
VELSHI: All right. We'll continue to see this story unfold because a similar situation in Germany, where it's sort of a two-fold problem. One is the abuse of the pedophilia versus who covers up for who and who lets whom continue on in their jobs, that one reaching up right up to the Vatican.
Diana Magnay is in Rome. She's covering this for us very closely.
Thank you, Diana. We will check in again to see where the story is going.
All right. When we come back, the race either to get health care reform or defeat health care reform. House Democrats and Republicans are scrambling for every vote they can get. The showdown is this week.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: All right, let me give you a check of the top stories that we're working on here at CNN right now.
More than a quarter of Detroit's 172 public schools will close at the end of the school year. Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb says blame budget concerns and declining enrollment. Forty-four schools and a support building will shutter in June, another six are slated to close in 2011.
President Obama calls it a good sign. He's reacting to Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich's decision to switch to a yes vote on health care reform. Kucinich voted no last time, thinking that health care reform didn't go as far as he wanted it to go. You better believe House Democrats are counting every last vote. They need 216 votes in the yes column to pass the overhaul in a direct vote.
Health care may still be in limbo, but a jobs bill is nearly done. The Senate has passed the $17.6 billion measure, and that is meant to spur hiring nationwide. Now, it just needs President Obama's signature, and he is expected to sign off.
All right, when we come back, take a look. Where is he? Is he here? Is he wearing green?
Right. There he is.
ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I got green right here.
VELSHI: He's got green. This is our senior White House correspondent, Ed Henry. It's time for "The Ed Henry Segment."
HENRY: Arianna Huffington showed up at the White House and she's got green.
ARIANNA HUFFINGTON, HUFFINGTON.COM: I have green on my sleeves.
VELSHI: Give her -- Ed, give her a big hug for me. I haven't seen her for a long time.
HENRY: Ali wants me to give you a hug. I'll wait until after the segment. HUFFINGTON: OK.
VELSHI: Oh, you can do that in the break. Ed is going to hug Arianna and then we're going to talk to Ed about the hug when he comes back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
VELSHI: All right. We always got special music for Ed. He's our senior White House correspondent. You get to see him on TV all the time, usually looking serious and discussing serious things. But every now and then, actually every day at this time, we bring Ed on to give us a different perspective on the White House.
Where is it that you stand that all these famous people just walk by you all the time?
HENRY: Well, this is cool. Dave, if you don't mind, just looking -- we are on the driveway of the White House and this sort of leads to the West Wing.
VELSHI: Right.
HENRY: And we just kind of hang out here because here we get -- Arianna Huffington was coming in to meet with Robert Gibbs and she said other White House staffers. And so, we thought we'd grab her in for the tease of the segment at least and she was wearing a little green underneath the jacket at least.
But, as you can see, I've got a green tie, because it's a big day usually at the White House. Whether it's a Democratic president or Republican president, whether they're Irish or not, they typically celebrate this morning. For example, they turn the fountain here on the north side of the White House green, the water in the fountain. You'll remember back in Chicago, every year, the president's fully aware that they dye the river in downtown Chicago green as well.
And the president has the traditional lunch with the speaker of the House. This is a tradition that Tip O'Neill really got going with Ronald Reagan and so, President Obama keeping that tradition alive. And he was talking about how most people do not think the first African-American president has Irish roots, but he actually found out during the presidential campaign he has some Irish roots and the president joked -- on his mother's side -- he joked that he wishes he'd have learned that a lot sooner, because it would have helped him get elected in Chicago, a lot of Irish there. Any politician in Chicago would love to have Irish roots out there.
A lot of the politicians show up at this luncheon that's thrown by the speaker of the House. Nancy Pelosi threw it this year, of course. A lot of the Boston pals (ph). And in fact, one of the big things they were talking about today is how this is the first St. Patrick's Day without Senator Kennedy.
VELSHI: Right. HENRY: A lot of people there, including the Irish prime minister, were noting that as well. So, obviously, a sad moment there, but St. Patrick's Day usually pretty festive around here at the White House. So, we wear a little green.
VELSHI: Well, since you invoke Ted Kennedy, let's talk about health care. This was a big thing of his. Where are we now? We are in this dead-head where each side is saying that they are closer -- inching closer to victory or defeat of the health care reform bill, whichever way you want to look at it.
HENRY: Well, you know, it's funny. In talking to some Democrats in the last 24 hours of this whole maneuver, we're talking about yesterday about whether or not Speaker Pelosi is going to decide to deem the Senate bill passed and not force House members to directly vote on that Senate bill. She still has not pulled the trigger on that. It's still an option that's out there. She's spoken warmly about it, though, and it seems like something they may do.
Talking to some senior Democrats close to the White House who in private are saying that they're really concerned that that's the kind of thing that could really play into Republican hands and make it look like the deck is sort of stacked. And as one top Democrat close to the White House told me, you know, he said, he just thinks Democrats might be looking like they are playing too cute by using that tactic. Even if it's -- you know, it's something they're allowed to do, it might just look a little too cute.
But this Democrat was actually telling me that he's convinced that this weekend, the president will win, will get a deal finally, but what he said was the alternative is disaster.
VELSHI: We're looking at Saturday at this point? Is that what they're talking about?
HENRY: Saturday, maybe even Sunday.
VELSHI: OK.
HENRY: And I'm supposed to be flying out Sunday with the press corps. We're going to be going to Guam, Indonesia, and Australia. A lot of rumors around today -- is it going to be pushed back to Monday?
VELSHI: Yes.
HENRY: Is it going to be canceled altogether? I mean, nobody --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Yes. I hope they don't because you've been -- ever since I've known you, man, it's like all those years you've been talking about how much you want to get to Guam.
Let's talk about brackets. You and I enjoyed a basketball game last time you were in Atlanta.
HENRY: Do you have a favorite team? Do you have a favorite team?
VELSHI: Ohio State.
HENRY: Ohio State?
VELSHI: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: By the way, you know, just so you know before I get in trouble by anybody, that was my executive producer, Kelly, telling me to say Ohio State.
HENRY: She's an Ohio State fan.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Yes. Are you -- is that your iPod or your phone ringing? What is that?
HENRY: So, what's interesting -- that's not my phone. I don't know where that music is coming from.
But what's interesting the president finally put his brackets out there and they are on -- they are being put on ESPN.com. He gave the brackets to them. President is a big basketball.
I find it interesting that in his final four, he's got Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, and Villanova. He's got all of them out there and my Siena Saints in the first round, the president has been winning. So that's kind of interesting.
VELSHI: Well, Villanova is not -- you know, we, that is not your phone ringing, is it?
HENRY: Well, you know --
VELSHI: Kelly is telling me it's --
HENRY: I think my colleague's phone. I'm starting to wonder whether --
VELSHI: You're such a hipster, that I would imagine you have a cool ring like that.
HENRY: I don't know. We're picking it up on the microphone out here, I guess, it's not me. But the president picked Siena the first round, and then he has us losing. But I'm proud that he picked Siena in the first round.
VELSHI: All right, Ed. Good to see you, as always.
Our senior White House correspondent, Ed Henry, everyday here on the Ed Henry report, and as you can see -- "The Ed Henry Segment" telling you things you're not seeing elsewhere on CNN. All right. When we come back, my old stomping grounds, the New York Stock Exchange, things are changing there. Our man, Carter Evans, is going to tell us about some massive renovations.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VELSHI: Just grabbing a little piece of cake there for a second. No rest for the weary.
All right. Talking about no rest for the weary, let's go to Carter Evans. He works at the New York Stock Exchange for us here at CNN.
The New York Stock Exchange is a place that I've spent some time in the past. It is changing a lot. The scene at the New York Stock Exchange is changing. History is changing along with it.
Carter, tell us the story.
CARTER EVANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Ali. You know, we started seeing some of these changes with the new big board, last year. So, I'm here early in the morning. There's all this banging and sawing. There was a big wall blocking off part of the trading floor here and no one really knew what was going on. It turns out it's the first stage of a very big change here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EVANS (voice-over): The new face of the New York Stock Exchange is a work in progress, transforming the trading floor into a 21st century powerhouse of technology.
KEITH BLISS, CUTTONE & CO., INC.: Four panels, four screens that they're looking at.
EVANS: Keith Bliss is with Cuttone, one of the first firms to settle into the new, state-of-the-artwork stations. These guys used to be in a different building, taking orders from clients and then sending them electronically to traders on the floor. Now, they do it all right here face to face.
(on camera): What is it about having that human contact that can enhance a deal?
BLISS: Well, it's just like you interviewing me. You can read my face. You can -- you can gauge the inflection of my voice. If you and I were talking on the phone and having the same interview, it wouldn't have the same effect.
EVANS (voice-over): The current stock exchange was built back in 1903. Gone are the days of flying paper and screaming brokers. Now, about 85 percent of the trading here is electronic.
LOU PASTINA, EXECUTIVE V.P., NYSE OPERATION: But the very large orders that need to be done and need to have the touch of a human being with decision-making capabilities -- this is the place to do it.
EVANS: This is the New York Stock Exchange you're familiar with, the flashy look. But here's the part you don't see on TV.
(on camera): The trading stations, packed with brokers, they're standing all day long. And it's been like this for decades.
DAVE HENDERSON, NYSE TRADER: They're so old. These things have been since almost around 1910.
EVANS (voice-over): Dave Henderson has been working on the trading floor for 22 years. He's watched the exchange evolve and electrify, but he's still standing in the same spot. So, he's looking forward to his new desk job, but as far as improving communication --
HENDERSON: I definitely do think in a way it's going to enhance, but, you know, the jury's still out. It's going to take some time to find out if indeed it does that.
EVANS: In the meantime, the next generation of the trading floor should be complete by the end of 2010, with easier access, more possibilities and hopes of even better collaboration.
PASTINA: I analogize this to a luxury box, if you will, with an opportunity to put the uniform on and go right out onto the field.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
EVANS: So, what makes the New York Stock Exchange so unique as opposed to the NASDAQ is the human element. All trading can be done electronically, in fact, most of it is. But these traders will tell you the human aspect of the trading here is priceless. So, they're upgrading the technology, but at the same time, they're adding more people to the mix, and hopefully improving communication here, adding more liquidity.
And, Ali, as you know, if you're trying to sell something, it's always good to have more buyers.
VELSHI: That's right. Well, it's a mess -- a mess of a place some days, but it's always fun to work down there. All right. I miss it.
Carter, thanks very much. Great to see you on the show.
Carter Evans at the New York Stock Exchange.
All right. Those passengers stranded by Virgin America for more than seven hours. I'll have something to say about it on other side of this break.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Time now for the "XYZ" of it.
I have a love/hate relationship with the airlines. On average, I fly two times a week. I see airline staff more often than I see my family. Most of the time, I get to where I have to go in a reasonable amount of time at a pretty fair price, with better-than-average service.
I also love planes and everything to do with flying. I learned to fly a plane years ago.
I hate the part -- well, the "hate" part I have is when I feel like I'm just a number, not a valued client. I feel it the most when I'm sitting on a plane on the tarmac for hours, like the planeload of people were the past weekend, a trip from Los Angeles to New York -- 5 1/2 hours normally took 16 hours.
Virgin America Flight 404 just diverted shy of JFK because of high winds. So, it sat on the tarmac about 80 miles from the city for seven hours. Inside that plane, 126 people, minimal food -- and according to the passengers, a flight crew that was spoiling for a fight.
This used to happen a lot. It happens a lot less these days now that airlines cancel flights when -- flights -- when big, bad weather is expected. I actually support that idea. Part of it is airlines understanding how mad people get when they're stuck on the tarmac.
And part of it is a new regulation that is set to take effect on April 29th. After that date, if an airline does what Virgin America did, keeping passengers on the tarmac for more than three hours, they'll be fined up to $27,500 per passenger. In Virgin America's case, that would amount to nearly $3.5 million.
Now, you can't blame the airlines for weather. But a plane that is full of human, paying passengers, airlines don't seem to get that it's remarkable uncomfortable for people who don't make their living in the skies to be stuck on a stationary plane. If something prevents the plane and its passengers from being where they need to be, the airline needs to have a really good plan to take proper care of them and get them off the plane if necessary. It may be inefficient, it may be costly, it's rare, and it's the cost of maintaining customer loyalty.
When weeks and months go by between these incidents, I find myself wondering if that $27,500 fine per passenger is too high. But when those things happen, I realize the airlines which I love sometimes forget how to love us passengers back.
That's it for me. I'll be back tomorrow at 10:00 Pacific, 1:00 Eastern.
Right now, here's Rick and "RICK'S LIST."
