NAPPANEE, Ind. — Education and local energy woes dominated discussion during a visit to a NorthWood High School class by Rep. Mark Souder, R-3rd District, Friday afternoon.

Speaking in response to questions posed by students, Souder said that in the last few years, federal spending on education has increased at a dramatic rate, partially due to the increase in requirements on public schools.

“Funding has not been keeping up with federal mandates,” he said, adding that an additional downside of the problem was that “educational spending has been going up at two and three times the rate of inflation, and that can’t happen indefinitely.”

Part of the issue, he argues, is that the public has a hard time understanding that with more federal dollars comes more federal control.

In order for education funding to continue to increase, the federal government would have to increase regulations on testing, length and timing of school days as well as lesson content.

No Child Left Behind has also caused new and unique problems, although it has helped to close the gap between minority and special needs students and the general student body, he said.

“We need more money to accelerate teaching English,” Souder said, adding that “fairness in testing and variables” was also necessary to realistically portray improvements in schools with high numbers of lower-performing special needs groups.

Generating energy

One student asked Souder what he thought would be necessary to provide the energy the country so sorely needs with the absence of any new refinery construction in the United States for the last 30 years.

“We need refineries, we need pipelines, we need ethanol, we need wind energy and we need as much solar energy as we can get,” he said. “There also hasn’t been any expansion of currently existing refineries in about as long.”

Souder pointed out the BP refinery in Whiting, Ind., as an example. Facility owners have been trying to expand the plant by nearly double in order to be able to process Canadian crude, which must be separated from the shale it is found in.

Another difficulty complicating the issue of alternative energy sources is the public outcry to switch to the newest and most effective forms of energy before they are realistically available.

“Everyone is saying they want ethanol, but they don’t want the price of corn to go up, and now people are calling for cellulosic ethanol,” he said.

According to Souder, an agricultural specialist told him the earliest we can expect a functioning cellulosic ethanol plant is five years from now.

Effects of the rising cost of gasoline, both diesel and unleaded, is a particularly sticky issue in Elkhart County, where the percentage of manufacturing jobs is highest in the country. Federal mandates on gas mileage further complicate the issue, Souder said.

“This issue is theoretical in a lot of places, but it’s lifeblood here,” he said.

Souder referenced the number of large, low gas mileage vehicles manufactured in the state, from large trucks to recreational vehicles and Hummers. GM and Ford, he indicated, are closing plants in order to meet requirements.

Iraq War

Souder spoke briefly on the Iraq War, generally supporting President Bush, but arguing that some level of troop reduction was called for. The issue hits close to home for many local residents, as approximately 700 of the recently deployed Indiana National Guardsmen are from the 3rd District, with Fort Wayne’s army recruiting office rated as number one in the country according to Souder.

“Petraeus’ predecessor, General Casey, once told me we could do with 30,000 fewer troops in Iraq while he was publicly supporting the opinion of the White House,” he said.

He later added that if the Iraqi government is unable to regain control of Basra from Shiite militias “we would be in real trouble.”

Souder was accompanied by Cory Martin, regional director at his Goshen office and 1996 NorthWood High School graduate, and Allen Halferty, a 16-year-old sophomore at The Crossing Educational Center.

Halferty will follow Souder as an assistant for the next three to six months through a deal worked out by Crossing founder and executive director Rob Staley.