School Choice

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge is just one of a cadre of current (mostly Republican) politicians to have their attempts at free-market education reform diverted by the dead end of school choice in the form of tuition vouchers or charter schools. In New Jersey, Gov. Christine Todd Whitman and Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler have fallen into the same trap, as has House Speaker Newt Gingrich. While the freedom for families to choose what and how they will learn is not only just but economically crucial, true choice in learning depends on access to Knowledge Age tools, not Industrial Age schools.

A bill that would establish an educational choice system in Pennsylvania's public and private schools was the subject of an intense debate in the state Senate last night, with legislators on both sides angling to shape the legislation. The state Senate was expected to take a final vote today on the measure, which would allow parents of public school students to decide which public schools their children attend and provide $900 to defray tuition for those attending nonpublic schools.

The Senate and Assembly Education Committees postponed votes yesterday on school choice, the plan to allow a limited number of New Jersey children to attend public schools outside the districts where they live. Action was delayed after the Republican-sponsored bill continued to draw fire, not only from a variety of educational groups, but also from some Republicans. Adopting the program is a tacit admission that certain districts aren't up to par, said Assemblyman Gerald J. Luongo (R., Gloucester)

Constitutional Party gubernatorial candidate Peg Luksik took on Philadelphia questions with characteristic directness: If elected, she'd abolish auto-emissions testing, push school choice and college instead of job-training, and attempt to pump up small businesses. She'd also pay for more police at the city and state levels. But she trashes the idea that reduced class-size can help the embattled Philadelphia School District. And she opposes any new gun controls. "I don't think that a gun control law is going to solve the problem," she said.

One way big-government liberals disguise the true nature of their political agenda is with slogans. Nebulous terms like "common good" and "public interest" - and meaningless phrases like "we are all in this together" - divert attention from the facts that: Government's defining characteristic is its legal monopoly on physical force. Every social program must be paid for. "Common good" really means the good of some at the unchosen expense of others. Consider the monotonous references to our children, as in "Our children are our future.

A panel discussion on school choice is set for 7:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Archbishop Wood High School. Among the many legislators and public figures on the panel are State Sens. Stewart Greenleaf and David W. Heckler; State Reps. David J. Steil and Thomas Druce; former State House Speaker Bob O'Donnell; Attorney General Ernie Preate; David Kirkpatrick of the Road to Educational Achievement Through Choice (REACH), and the Rev. Horace Strand of the Faith Temple Christian Day School.

Although the school choice bill seems like a ghost of Christmas past, area educators warn that it's too soon for a eulogy. "I don't think there is any question it will come up again," said Colonial School Superintendent Stanley Durtan. "The question is, in what form?" The bill that passed in the state Senate and failed in a different form in the House earlier this month would have given parents vouchers of $900 to be used for school tuition. Proponents said the boost to private and parochial schools would have bettered public schools through competition; opponents said the voucher system could dismantle public education, especially in cities.

State Rep. Dwight Evans called the Philadelphia School District's top official yesterday with a stern warning: Don't eliminate or severely reduce funding for private groups managing 41 public schools, or else face a loss of state funding. The state has earmarked $25 million in annual funding for outside groups that manage city schools, $18 million of which has gone to the six groups called Educational Management Organizations (EMOs). Evans and several other legislators had indicated in recent months that funding could be in jeopardy if the district fired the groups, but Evans decided Philadelphia School Reform Commission Chairman James Nevels needed to hear the message again and directly.

ROBBINSVILLE, N.J. - Students who transfer under the school-choice program will not have to sit out 30 days to participate in varsity sports, the NJSIAA says. The decision, announced Wednesday, was a reversal of a rule the state association instituted in November, when it said that school-choice transfers would be held to the same standards as other transfers - requiring varsity athletes who do not change residence to sit out 30 days before playing for their new school. But NJSIAA officials said the state Department of Education doesn't want any impediments on students who transfer under the school-choice program.

ROBBINSVILLE, N.J. - Students who transfer under the school-choice program will not have to sit out 30 days to participate in varsity sports, the NJSIAA says. The decision, announced Wednesday, was a reversal of a rule the state association instituted in November, when it said that school-choice transfers would be held to the same standards as other transfers - requiring varsity athletes who do not change residence to sit out 30 days before playing for their new school. But NJSIAA officials said the state Department of Education doesn't want any impediments on students who transfer under the school-choice program.