Voucher proposal defeated

A proposal that would have allowed the creation of a pilot school choice program for children in New York's worst public schools was dramatically defeated by the New York State Board of Regents last week.

The proposal was rejected by 12 members of the 16-member board at a Nov. 7 meeting. The proposal would have allowed the commissioner of education to institute a school choice program at Schools Under Registration Review (SURR), the state's worst performing public schools.

Proponents say the proposal would have saved taxpayers money, provided New York's poorest families with options in their children's education and helped improved the state's worst schools.

'Misguided'

Church officials, educators and parents were disturbed by the defeat of the proposal. New York State's Catholic bishops, for example, called the Regents' failure to support this proposal "tragic and misguided."

The vote "sends the message to parents that the education policy-making body in our state will not even explore the idea of a school choice program," said John Kerry, executive director of the New York State Catholic Conference, which represents the bishops in matters of public policy.

"It is alarming that our state will continue to compel parents to send their children to schools which present a clear danger to their health, safety and education."

Disappointed

Sister Mary Anne Brawley, DC, executive director of the Catholic School Administrators Association of New York State, found the vote demoralizing. Her organization has been working for more than ten years to see a proposal similar to this one implemented in the state.

According to Sister Mary Anne, the proposal was different from previous efforts in that it focused on the 87 SURR schools in the state. Previous attempts were called too broad by opponents.

"It seemed logical to me, but not to them," she said. "It seems to me that they are more interested in preserving the [public school] system than helping a child. Children are losing every day."

'Trapped'

Kathleen Gallagher, associate director of the New York State Catholic Conference, said that the defeat of the proposal "holds a lot of children and parents hostage. They're trapped in failing schools."

Both Mrs. Gallagher and Sister Mary Anne were surprised by the comments of those who voted down the proposal. Several who voted against the proposal called it a band-aid approach that wouldn't help all children in failing schools.

"If the house is burning and you can't get every child out, do you decide not to save any of them and let them all die?" Sister Mary Anne asked.

Frustration

One local parent present at the meeting felt similar frustration with the Regents' vote.

"I can understand the Regents' point of view that this doesn't help the whole problem," said Jami King, father of a fifth grader at The Regional School at St. Casimir in Albany, "This is part of the solution, not THE solution."

Learning that the debate has been going on for more than a decade was discouraging for Mr. King. As a young parent, he said he can't imagine waiting years to fix a problem for a child.

Personal experience

Mr. King is interested in the issue because his daughter Ja'Khirah was having difficulties in the public school she was attending. This year, she was able to enroll at St. Casimir's through a privately funded school choice program that serves students in poorly performing schools in the Capital District. Since her transfer to the Catholic school, Mr. King reports, she enjoys school and is challenged.

Mr. King hopes more parents and community members will become involved in education reform, including school choice programs.

"This affects everyone," he said. "It's a parent problem and a community problem. We need to work together."

Refusing to implement a school choice pilot program hurts many, Mr. King said. "It's hurting us as a people."

Poor are hurt

Mrs. Gallagher concurred, noting that a school choice program not only meets immediate needs of education reform but also serves as a prevention measure for other societal ills. "School choice is the best welfare reform for any state," she explained. "It gives poor an option."

According to the New York State Catholic Conference, choice is denied to the poor in one area only: education.

"Poor families have the ability to choose their physicians, health care plans, housing facilities and other services with public funds," Mr. Kerry said. "The only thing needy families are being denied is the choice of schools for their children."

'Shattered dreams'

Regent R. Carlos Carballada, who created the school choice proposal, agreed that school choice has the potential to dramatically improve the lives of the poor.

"We continue to force parents to send their kids to a school caught in a cycle of failure. The cost -- shattered dreams, failed lives and unfulfilled potential -- is devastating," he said.

"As one New York City parent has said, `A child can move from a low-performing elementary school to a low-performing middle school, and drop out from a low-performing high school into a high-performing jail.'"

History of proposal

Regent Carballada proposed a school choice demonstration project five years ago. He reports that privately funded school choice initiatives in the state and around the country, as well as Milwaukee's publicly funded program, have shown success in improved test scores and higher reading levels. Others report the programs have reduced drop-out rates.

Regent Carballada told his colleagues: "Just imagine how far we could have come, the progress we could have made, the human potential we could have saved, had we approved the demonstration program five years ago."

He also told his colleagues that the proposal, which allowed students to attend nonpublic schools, including religious ones, would save the state and taxpayers money.

"The value of the voucher would be less than what is currently spent per pupil and in many cases less than what the state alone provides in per pupil aid," he explained.

Currently, the average spending per pupil at a public school is $9,000. The proposed voucher would be worth $2,500 or the per-pupil cost of the nonpublic school, whichever is less. An additional grant with a value up to $800 would have been provided to students needing special remedial assistance.

While the Regents defeated the proposal before them, the fight for school choice in New York State will continue.

"This is not the end of it," Mrs. Gallagher said. "We'll go directly to the Legislature. We're looking at a variety of options."

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