School Vouchers and politics. Whose side are you on? Is it a Republican or a Democratic issue? Is it bi-partisanship? Is it truly about educating children? The discussion of vouchers is an emotional one for some people and both sides argue that it's an issue of fairness.
A poll conducted by the University of Texas's Office of Survey Research shows that 62 percent of Texans would support a voucher system. Another poll conducted in late February by Scripps Howard (The Texas Poll) found that 54% also supported legislation that would create a voucher program for students in low-performing public schools to attend private schools.
Who's cashing in on public education? Many inner city Blacks are beginning to join the Republicans' cry for vouchers to pay private-school tuition. Why? Lower-income Black families view the vouchers as their last best hope for getting at least some of their kids into better schools. While opponents argue that vouchers will eventually tear down the public school system. Vouchers could be a big meal ticket for private schools.
When did the grass roots effort really start to gain its momentum? Let's journey back to May 6, 1997 when the Texas House of Representatives participated in a debate for almost two hours before a vote was taken on a voucher bill to allow low-income children attending poorly performing public schools to transfer and attend private schools. Representative Henry Cuellar, a Democrat, introduced H.B. 318. The bill's purpose was to expand and improve the current Public Education Grant Program for public school choice.
During the debate process, Representative Ron Wilson, also a Democrat wanted to add an amendment to add private schools to the current range of choices for parents. There was an attempt to kill the bill by tabling the amendment. A vote was taken, resulting in a 68-68 tie vote and thus began the ongoing growing support for choice in Texas. The amendment died.
Governor George W. Bush supports school choice and charter schools and vowed to push for passage of a school choice bill during his campaign. Lt. Governor Bob Bullock also endorsed Bush's support of school vouchers.
CEO Horizon, CEO America, CEO San Antonio, local business leaders and Edgewood ISD drew local and national headlines when it launched the nation's first fully-funded voucher program offered to every family in a school district during the fall 1998 school year. CEO along with San Antonio business leaders, agreed to contribute at least $50 million, available over the next 10 years to every low-income child in the predominantly Hispanic Edgewood district to attend the school of his or her choice, beginning in the fall of 1998. For every 15 scholarships awarded to a child currently enrolled in public school, one will go to a child in a non-public school in proportion to current school enrollment (93.7 percent of students attend public school, and 6.3% attend non-public school). Eligible students who transfer to a suitable school will be guaranteed the full CEO Horizon tuition. Students enrolled in schools within the district will receive $3,600 annually for kindergarten through 8th grades and $4,000 for 9th through 12th grades. Students living in the district but enrolled in an existing school outside the district will be eligible for 100 percent of tuition up to $2,000 for grades K-8 and $3,500 for grades 9-12.
We can all agree that privately funded vouchers don't require the approval of our state representatives and Congress. But it is growing clearer and clearer as the presidential election grows nearer that Republicans are thinking hard about making education and vouchers a key platform agenda.
Why? Votes and more votes. The Republicans and the GOP are finally waking up and discovering that vouchers will attract lower-income African-Americans, whose votes usually go to Democrats. A poll by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, which focuses on issues of concern to Blacks, showed support for vouchers among African-Americans increased from 47% to 57% from the previous year. What was more interesting was that for Blacks between the ages 26 to 35, the figure was 86%.
The wave of school vouchers support is continuing across the country. Consider that New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani already has proposed a school choice plan for one of the city's community school districts, saying it might force failing public schools to improve. Look around and you will see that only a few Black leaders are for vouchers. Remember that Texas' own Ron Wilson, a Black Democratic legislator from Houston, came within one single vote of a majority to add the school choice amendment.
The NAACP has joined with the liberal People for the American Way to organize an antivoucher demonstration in Philadelphia. However articles reported by Sally B. Donnelly of Washington and Tamala M. Edwards of Philadelphia, had these following quotes:
Congressman Floyd Flake, a New York Democrat said, "The NAACP is out of touch. The next wave of the civil rights movement will be demand for choice in schools."
"I'm all for public schools, but we need a needling in the system," said Augustus Baxter, a former member of the Philadelphia school board who is part of the pro-voucher movement.
Jim Lester, a grandfather, said: "The Democrats use us, and the Republicans abuse us," he said. "I don't care if it's Democrats, Republicans or chickens- I just want what's best for my grandbaby."
President Bill Clinton vetoed the D.C. Student Opportunity Scholarship Act of 1998 passed by Congress in 1998. It was a $7 million dollar plan to offer 2,000 District of Columbia students, vouchers worth up to $3,200 to help them attend a public, private, or religious school of choice. It was interesting to note that several days after the President's veto, the Washington Post conducted a poll of District residents on this issue. The poll showed that 65 percent of African-Americans who reside in the District with incomes under $50,000 favor using federal dollars to send children to private or religious schools.
An astute observer should note that not all voucher programs would hurt public schools. Some long-term Democrats don't care who's behind the voucher program when school choice empowers parents. It cannot be argued that a powerful grass-roots movement is slowly gathering force that may transform the politics of American education. Color them Black, color them White, or any color, their determination is strong. Although most Black political and spiritual leaders differ on the issue, one thing is clear, their constituents are growing increasingly angry at the public schools' poor record of teaching Black children.
However, despite the growing Black support for vouchers, the civil-rights establishment and most Black leaders in Congress and state legislatures remain steadfastly opposed.
Policy Review: The Journal of American Citizenship reported excerpts from the following two community leaders: Jessica Butler, a spokesperson for the Greater Harrisburg branch of the NAACP was reported as exclaiming, "tuition vouchers are just the latest scheme for abandoning our public schools."
Michael Myers, the president and executive director of the New York Civil Rights Coalition says, "School choice is a gimmick. There is no such thing as school choice for children who don't have a choice," since private schools get to select the types of students they like. Other opponents of school vouchers feel even more strongly as expressed by Felmers Chaney, in a brief filed against the expanded Milwaukee school-choice plan.
Chaney, head of the Milwaukee NAACP, was quoted in Policy Review: The Journal of American Citizenship, "Choice is just a subterfuge for segregation, like it was in the South. Taken as a whole, expanded [school choice] will deny African-Americans equal educational opportunity."
School vouchers- public schools vs. private schools- Democrats vs. Republicans- parents vs. parents- politicians vs. parents- neighbor vs. neighbor- Election 2000- the fight is just beginning.