71.   Ray Rist, a professor of education and sociology at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., said evidence is scant that uniforms improve schools.

72.   Republicans, however, have argued that money alone will not improve schools.

73.   Right now the city and, especially, the state are the biggest obstacles to improving the schools.

74.   Safran, the Massachusetts education official, said he did not believe that efforts to improve struggling schools were doomed without the right for children to transfer out.

75.   She also stressed the need for improving schools in Maryland, saying she is particularly sensitive to the education issue because she was once a biology teacher.

76.   Siegelman campaigned hard on the need to improve schools and proposed a state lottery to pay for it.

77.   Sixty-six percent said they would be willing to pay more taxes to help improve those schools.

78.   Six percent supported having state government take over public schools, and the remaining few were uncertain what was needed to improve schools.

79.   So Annis asked what they would do to improve their school.

80.   The business group supports higher taxes to improve the schools, but only if extensive reforms are enacted.