Friends, foes of choice lining up
By Yvonne Wenger
COLUMBIA — School choice will get its first major vetting in South Carolina this year when a Senate panel meets today to hear the merits and the demerits of proposals to offer more learning options within public schools and to provide tax credits and scholarships for private school tuition.
Dot Scott
Joseph Darby
Sen. Robert Ford
More than 40 people are signed up to speak during the scheduled two-hour meeting on Statehouse grounds.
On Wednesday the two sides on the polarizing issue staked out their positions and warmed up their arguments.
"Here we go again," Debbie Elmore, South Carolina School Boards Association director of communications, said.
She called the latest bill on school choice, a six-year-old movement to help parents pay private school tuition with public money, another scheme that is nothing more than a "private school bailout bill."
But something is different this go-around. Sen. Robert Ford, a black Charleston Democrat, is leading the effort, which previously has been dismissed by some as an effort by wealthy whites to get free tuition for their kids to elite private schools.
Ford's position has rankled public school advocates and black leaders in the Charleston community. The senator said he reversed his previous stance on the matter after learning about the ways school choice has worked well in other states.
The bill would provide children with a tuition tax credit worth $2,433 for most, $4,867 for students with special needs and $3,650 for those who attend a failing school. A scholarship fund also would be created to supplement the tax credits through charitable contributions.
Dot Scott and the Rev. Joe Darby, president and vice president of the Charleston branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said that Ford is not considering all the facts, especially the damage they believe the tax credits will cause already struggling public schools.
If you go
A Senate education subcommittee will hold a public hearing from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. today in Columbia to discuss bills that would expand school choice options in public and private schools. The hearing will be held in room 308 of the Gressette Building on the Statehouse grounds. The meeting is open to the public, although Monday was the registration deadline for those wishing to speak. Additional comments can be submitted in writing. To read the bills that will be discussed, "the Education Opportunity Act" bill 520 and "Public School Choice Program Act" bill 607, log on to scstatehouse.gov. Use the Quick Search option on the right to search by bill number.
Scott and Darby also question the timing of Ford's change of heart, within months of Ford's announcement that he will run for governor in 2010. School choice advocates have historically contributed a significant amount of money to candidates who support the cause.
Ford's personal credibility is on the line, Scott said.
She said she is concerned that private schools are not obligated to accept all children, and she also wonders if the same care would be available in private schools for children who depend on their school for free breakfast and transportation.
Diversity, in race and performance, is better for students, and filtering out students with parents who have the means and gumption to pursue the tuition credits will leave an "education ghetto" in the public schools, Darby said.
What's more, he added, the difference between tuition and the tax credits or scholarships does not add up.
It is time in South Carolina to fix the public schools, Darby said.
Darby and Scott want Ford to hold a meeting in his district to allow his constituents to tell him what they think about his legislation. They don't think Ford has support in his district.
"It's more than an affront to the people," Scott said. "Obviously, he is not representing the will of his people."
Ford said a poll conducted earlier this month that surveyed 1,000 black voters statewide shows broad support for his legislation.
Press release
Read a press release from opponents of Robert Ford's school choice plan.
The public has spoken, Ford said, and the poll's findings don't support the claims made by Scott and Darby.
"Why would I listen to them anymore? They don't represent anybody, and the poll proves it," Ford said.
Superintendent of Education Jim Rex, who opposes tax credits or vouchers for private school tuition, is expected to speak today about the second bill on the agenda.
That bill would require school districts to offer more instructional options to parents.
The Senate subcommittee members are not expected to take action on the bills today, just receive the testimony.
Given the little time left before the Legislature's summer adjournment in May or June, it is unlikely either of these bills will become law this year.
POLL FINDS SUPPORT FOR CHOICE
Pulse Opinion Research, a public opinion research group that follows Rasmussen Reports standards, polled 1,000 black voters across the state earlier this month to see where they stand on using tax credits toward private school tuition, and related questions. The poll was paid for by the Parents in Charge Foundation, an organization that advocates for school choice by helping parents pay for private school tuition, including tapping tax dollars to do so. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points. Here are highlights:
• Should parents, grandparents or custodial relatives be allowed to receive state scholarships for their children to go to private schools if they feel the public schools are not meeting their children's needs? Yes, 43 percent; no, 40 percent; not sure, 17 percent.
• Will giving parents tax credits and scholarships to allow them to choose the best public school or a private school improve the graduation rate in South Carolina? Yes, 53 percent; no, 28 percent; not sure, 19 percent.
• Do you agree or disagree with this statement, "Trapping poor black students in failing public schools is the largest civil rights issue facing our state today?" Agree, 53 percent; disagree, 31 percent; not sure, 15 percent.
• Sen. Robert Ford is an African-American Democrat state senator who is proposing giving parents tax credits and scholarships to choose the best school for their children. Is Sen. Ford looking out for poor kids by getting them out of failing schools and into a better learning environment? Yes, 61 percent; no, 21 percent; not sure, 18 percent.
• Are public schools becoming more segregated, less segregated or has there been no change? More segregated, 42 percent; less segregated, 22 percent; no change, 26 percent; not sure, 9 percent.
Reach Yvonne Wenger at 803-799-9051 or ywenger@postandcourier.com.
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karmann (anonymous) says...
Those who advocate keeping the schools the same have little to no idea about the conditions of the schools. I see them disagreeing w/ new ideas, but I don't see them advocating any new ideas themselves.
April 23, 2009 at 6:01 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
moonpie (anonymous) says...
"She (DOT SCOTT) said she is concerned that private schools are not obligated to accept all children, and she also wonders if the same care would be available in private schools for children who depend on their school for free breakfast and transportation". LORD ONLY KNOWS WE CAN'T DEPEND ON THE SPERM DONOR OR BIRTHING PERSON TO DO THAT!
"Diversity, in race and performance, is better for students, and filtering out students with parents who have the means and gumption to pursue the tuition credits will leave an "education ghetto" in the public schools, Darby said."
YEAH RIGHT, RICH AND MIDDLE CLASS WHITE KIDS ARE FLOODING TO BURKE, NC HIGH, STALL AND THE LIKES. DIVERSITY ISN'T WORKING. YOU ALREADY HAVE EDUCATION GHETTOS YOUR JUST TO STUPID AND RACIST TO ADMIT IT! NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT ALREADY ALLOWS PARENTS TO REMOVE THEIR KIDS FROM FAILING SCHOOLS. THE ONES THAT CAN TRANSPORT THEM MOVE THEM! WE DON'T WANT TO GO DOWN THE SAME ROADS YOU HAVE CHOSEN FOR YOUR PEOPLE. DEPENDENT ON GOV FOR EVERYTHING!
April 23, 2009 at 6:17 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
retired (anonymous) says...
Let's see, now.
Pro-choice on killing defenseless babies.
Anti-choice on attending a good school using your own tax money.
What's wrong with this picture?
April 23, 2009 at 7:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
3olivesmike (anonymous) says...
I just cannot understand why the so called representatives of economically disadvantaged minority parents would not want to afford these parents a chance to participate in the education market. Why is it more important to protect a failed public system that will never do anything but fail without competition than to provide children with a chance at breaking the poverty cycle? The article mentions "public school advocates". Who, in the minority community, could possibly be an advocate of this obstruction to their children's success?
April 23, 2009 at 7:44 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
theronce (anonymous) says...
The more people that the government has dependent on the government schools, increases the power of the government. This is about power and money...that's it.
April 23, 2009 at 8:01 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
WAres (anonymous) says...
Hey Dot and Joe, here is some simple math you might want to consider. Try to keep up.
average amt of money given to SC school for each student is $10,000. For example...School A has 10 kids. School gets $10k for each totaling $100,000. Now 3 kids leave for private school accepting the $2500 tax credit. School A keeps the remainder because kids are still zoned for School A.These fund are to be redistributed among remaining students.
$100,000-7500= $92,500 92500/7=13300 (approx)Divide that among 7 remaining students and you now have approx.$13,300 per student. Remaining kids benefit by over $3000/ student. That is the way it works.
How is this a bad thing!!!! Quit perpetuating the negative and push for a positive change!!!
April 23, 2009 at 9:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wjhamilton3 (anonymous) says...
Wow, some of those survey questions are really biased. I wonder if their sampling method has similar defects. "Trapping poor black students" is hardly the language one uses to get an objective response.
I know dozens of private schools are on the verge of bankruptcy, but the state has no money to start a program like this now.
Charter schools are a fairer and more responsible way to provide school choice with full accountability and no racial or disability discrimination.
Are the private schools going to release testing and performance data if this is approved and tax credits are awarded? In the places where voucher systems have been implemented no huge gains have been seen.
So Ford wants to start a program the state can't afford based on defective opinion research using biased questions without proof it will produce positive results while ignoring proven alternatives like Charter Schools.
Thankfully, I'll finally get to vote against him in the primary when he runs for the Democratic nomination for Governor.
April 23, 2009 at 9:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
desspec (anonymous) says...
Depending on the school for free breakfast? Boy, that's a mouthful!
April 23, 2009 at 10:01 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
theronce (anonymous) says...
For whatever reason, I've seen hungry kids in the public schools. It's more common than I thought. I will never begrudge another person of food. In some cases for bad or stupid people, they might have to listen to me raise the roof about it, but please do eat. I don't think that I would even want the money from the government; it gives them another way of control.
April 23, 2009 at 10:23 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MP (anonymous) says...
It is so simple. Choice- the ability to choose where to send your child to school in order to get the best possible education. No choice- keeping everything status-quo where teachers do not get to teach, they only get to provide day care for the unruly, ill-mannered misbehavors who will never succeed at anything and keep the smarter ones from having the opportunity to learn.
There is a whole segment of our population who simply look at schools as a place to dump their kids for several hours a day and put the responsibility for raising them on someone else.
April 23, 2009 at 10:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MP (anonymous) says...
Hey Darby and Scott!!! Wake up! Education money is about education. That means teaching. It is not about funding nonperforming schools or keeping brick and mortar structures open just to warehouse problem children!
April 23, 2009 at 10:48 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
PHiers (anonymous) says...
First, lets get a list of all the state senators/representives who have received donations from the NEA before the vote. Second, let's find out how much money the NEA has contributed to the NAACP, particularly to the local Charleston chapter. Then we'll know who will be supporting the status quo and why. Like they always say, "follow the money"! While we're at it lets get a list of all the folks who are against school choice and find out where their children attend school.
Maintaining the status quo (government run schools) only helps the mediocre teachers and administrators. It does NOTHING to improve the opportunity for children to get a good education.
A voucher program for K-12 schools is NO different than the federal Pell Grant program which allows low-income recipients the opportunity to go to ANY accredited college or university they choose. If they choose a school with tuition higher than the amount of the Pell grant then it is their responsibility to come up with the balance. This program has done nothing to hurt state and community supported colleges and universities but instead has forced them to improve in order to be competitive with the private colleges and universities.
The public school system should not be used as a make work program for mediocre educators who are afraid of competition!
As for the issue of not accepting a child; can't think of one reason except a child being a major discipline problem and in that case they should not be in any classroom public or private until the parents, child, administrators, and teachers have come up with a solution to resolve the issue. That is the point ... to give parents the option of removing their children from terrible classroom situations.
April 23, 2009 at 11:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
rollnwflo (anonymous) says...
What's so hard to fathom is that we demand choices in every aspect of our life but fail to give parents a choice in the single greatest obligation as a parent, the education of their children. People already make this choice every day, by voting with their feet and moving to better schools/districts. I would only hope that the parents of children currently trapped by this system would speak out and let themselves be heard. Our education system is beyond discussion as to whether or not it is broken, and yet all we hear is no to choice and its the parents fault. This is a key reason many families have failed to escape the cycle of poverty that follows poor or little education.
April 23, 2009 at 11:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
holly123 (anonymous) says...
It is time in South Carolina to fix the public schools, Darby said.
Wow! Is he admitting that the system is broken? He and Dot Scott fought the Charleston Charter for Math and Science the whole way. These 2 can't be trusted!
April 23, 2009 at 12:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
theronce (anonymous) says...
The problem with government schools is that they need all of our money. It's in the papers and other media all the time..more money, not enough money. Even the wisest of the wise politicians tell us that they need more money. If you have any spare money to educate a child elsewhere then that is money that they could and should have.
April 23, 2009 at 12:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
crankyyankee (anonymous) says...
I think the Charleston public school district is doing a whale of a job as it presently stands. You don't think Dot or Joe are products of private school do you? No private school would admit such failures! The state port needs truck drivers and the public school system is preparing their students to be just that. Someone has to drive the trucks!
April 23, 2009 at 1:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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