Boxer in

It was only the first day of school, but Democratic U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer didn’t wait to present Chapman Elementary School with her eponymous Excellence in Education Award. She honored the campus for its after-school program, in which half of the nearly 500 students participate.

The Aug. 5 event included Boxer’s entourage, city and school officials and a wide selection of media—including a Los Angeles Times reporter who had been sent up from the Sacramento bureau to ask one question: Will she run for governor if Gray Davis is recalled?

“No. No way. So, that’s all,” Boxer said. The recall itself is bogus, she said, setting “a disastrous precedent for the state.” The Democrats are fighting it.

“If we have to have a backup strategy, we have to decide that, but first we have to make a case against the recall,” she said. “We have a deep bench [of replacement candidate possibilities],” Boxer said. “I’m not sitting on it but there are others.” That includes Sen. Dianne Feinstein, she acknowledged.

Boxer, who was first elected to the Senate in 1992, plans to run for a third term in 2004.

Boxer arrived about 45 minutes late for the 11:15 a.m. appearance and apologized to Isabel Hernadez’ fourth grade students by explaining she was at a Willows rice farm. “Does anybody know what kind of birds are on a rice farm?” she asked, sitting on a chair and kneeling toward the children. The guesses came hesitantly. “No, not peacocks,” the senator said, stifling a chuckle.

She told the children how she works all the way across the United States in Washington, D.C., where, “We try to do our best to keep the country safe and strong.” She’s “kind of like a mayor,” she agreed, gesturing toward Chico’s Maureen Kirk, but representing more people. Also, she pointed out, California is the first state to elect two female senators.

Several of the students raised their hands when she asked who participates in the after-school program. “I try to make sure you have enough funding so you can have that program,” she said.

After she answered kids’ questions such as, “Do you do any speeches?” Boxer gave a little speech to the grownups before taking questions from them.

“I remember when my state college tuition was $17 a semester my dad looked at me and said, ‘Honey, you’re costing me a lot of money,'” Boxer said. “I am a firm believer in the public schools.”

Jane Dolan, 2nd District Butte County supervisor, is a frequent presence in Chapman and took the opportunity to sing the praises of the neighborhood school. “This is a dynamic school with an incredible group of kids,” she said.

“I think this is the first time a U.S. senator has come to an elementary school in Chico,” Dolan added.

Boxer praised Chapman Elementary and Principal Maureen Stuempfig and, in addition to the award, presented her with an American flag that had flown over the Capitol in the school’s name.

“I know that you’re very, very creative about using your Title I funding for your after-school programs,” Boxer said. “After-school is an extension of learning. Learning does not stop at 3 p.m.” The senator has given out between five and 20 of her Excellence in Education Awards each year since 1997.

Besides authoring an act promoting early childhood education, Boxer has worked to get computers in schools and preserve federal funding that has been slipping since President George W. Bush took office. It wasn’t until 1995, with Boxer’s lobbying, that the federal government began to fund after-school programs at all. “There isn’t a politician who doesn’t say our children are our future,” Boxer said, and the difference is who backs it up.

“That doesn’t just mean photo opportunities," she added, as cameras flashed around her.