|
|
October 8, 1999/28 Tishri 5760, Vol. 52, No.6
Vouching for schoolsEditorialA welcome buzz about public education is being heard these days above the usual pre-election cacophony. Presidential candidates of both major parties are talking about school issues, listening to the concerns of parents, educators and students, and taking the pulse of the country on hot-button issues including vouchers.A recent Newsweek magazine poll showed that campaign rhetoric reflects real voter concern. Respondents rated education as a pressing national issue, on par with Social Security reform, crime prevention, helping the poor and health care. Yet the primary strategy proposed to fix what's wrong with public education - school choice - is troubling, particularly to those concerned about church/state separation and guaranteeing good public education for all students. Arizona's tax credit for donations to organizations that provide private-school scholarships, devised as a constitutionally OK method for siphoning tax dollars to parochial institutions, was allowed to stand this week by the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear an appeal of a failed lawsuit challenging the law. On the political front, U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), candidate for president, has gone on the offensive in promoting school vouchers. He sidesteps the charge of diverting public education funds to private and parochial schools, proposing to eliminate federal subsidies to ethanol, sugar, gas and oil industries, then use the $5.4 million saved to pay for a pilot national school voucher program. This innovative approach begs the question of using public funds to pay for private schooling and fails to allay the concerns of constitutional watchdogs, whose eyes are trained on a possible U.S. Supreme Court ruling this year on a program that uses public funds to pay for private-school supplies. The ruling could indicate court leanings on vouchers. As the debate unfolds, the best advice for public-education advocates is to get involved with local schools and pay close attention to legislative proposals. |
