Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 4, 1994 TAG: 9411040114
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-15 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"All things being equal, I would send my child to private school," she said. "But things are not equal."
But vouchers would enable many students from middle-income families to leave public schools, she said. Lower-income children would remain.
"We've been through this before - separate and unequal - and we will have the same thing again if we approve vouchers," she said. "A $500 or $1,500 voucher would not help me."
Her remarks drew strong applause at a meeting this week of the educational alternatives committee of Gov. George Allen's Commission on Champion Schools.
Others said they shared her sentiments, adding that they feared it would cause class conflict.
But still other speakers argued that families should have the opportunity to choose the schools their children attend. They denied that race was a factor in their support for vouchers.
Competition would help public schools become better, they said, by knowing that students could opt for private or parochial schools.
Opponents contended that vouchers would take money away from public schools, but supporters said costs would decrease if more students went to private schools.
No one has proposed a specific dollar amount for vouchers. One bill in the General Assembly this year would have provided vouchers of up to 80 percent of the funds allocated by the state for the education of each child.
State funds for school systems vary widely - from $3,000 to $4,000 per pupil down to $800 to $1,000.
The Virginia Education Association opposes vouchers, saying that among other things, vouchers would not help many students because private schools would not accept them. The teachers' organization said vouchers would take money away from public schools.
Vouchers are basically grants to families to help pay the cost of sending their children to private or parochial schools.
Beverly Sgro, secretary of education and chairwoman of the Commission on Champion Schools, said the group will make its recommendations to Allen next month.
State Sen. Brandon Bell, R-Roanoke County, introduced a voucher bill during the General Assembly's last session, but action was delayed. Bell said Thursday that it is unlikely he would attempt to revive the bill next year, in part because of opposition.
"I would say there is a remote chance that I will introduce anything on vouchers," said Bell, who is chairman of the educational alternatives committee.
Another form of school choice, charter schools, appears to have more support than vouchers and tuition tax credits.
Bell also introduced a charter schools bill this year, and he said it's likely he will introduce similar legislation next year.
"I think a charter school concept will enable us to offer some school choice without having to use vouchers," he said. He said he will decide in the next month how charter schools should work in Virginia.
Most charter schools are public schools - publicly funded and open to all students - but they are organized by individuals or groups as private, nonprofit corporations.
Charter schools are created around the concept of a charter or contract between the group organizing the school and a school board or other governing body. In some cases, teachers and parents operate the schools.
The charter outlines the school's educational plan and assessment measures. The schools are given autonomy in exchange for an accountability agreement.
The school board would not meddle in the school's operation but would hold the school accountable for achieving the results outlined in the charter agreement.
The charter school movement began in Minnesota in 1991 and has quickly spread. Advocates say charter schools do not take funds away from other public schools.
This week in Michigan, a judge blocked the state from establishing charter schools that would compete with public schools for students and state funds. Circuit Judge William Collette ruled that charter schools are not eligible for state funding, in part because they are not directly governed by the state Board of Education.
Leaders of the Michigan teachers' union and others challenged the establishment of charter schools, contending that it amounted to spending public money on private education.
by CNB