[Tom Hand]

From Team 1987 who fired off letter Jan 4th or so:

With our 400-500 letters sent this year, we have had responses from Kit Bond, Matt Bartle, and now Mr. Obama. The reply came through email to our mentor, Mr. H.

Here it it:
“Thank you for inviting President Obama to attend the Kansas City Regional FIRST Robotics Competition.

The President values each and every invitation, but due to time constraints, he must decline the majority he receives. We have reviewed your invitation, and unfortunately, the President will be unable to attend.

As you noted in your letter, President Obama has sought to prioritize science and math education and teacher recruitment. As he has said, “We need to recruit an army of new teachers. I’ll make this pledge: If you commit your life to teaching, America will pay for your college education. We’ll recruit teachers in math and science, and deploy them to under-staffed school districts in our inner cities and rural America. We’ll expand mentoring programs that pair experienced teachers with new recruits. And when our teachers succeed, I won’t just talk about how great they are—I’ll reward their greatness with better pay and more support.” We thank you for partnering in this pursuit as a science and math mentor, and we appreciate your understanding. We thank you and your organization for your contributions in this pursuit, and we appreciate your understanding.

Sincerely,

The White House Scheduling Department”