Opposition to Senate’s Education Reform Bill

I sincerely doubt that your readers are aware that the U.S. Senate is scheduled in January to deal with an educational reform bill known as the Neighborhood School Improvement Act.

This sound educational proposal aims to assist local school districts in improving their schools. It is threatened by strong lobbies who are aggressive in their pursuit to fund private schools with public tax dollars.

Using “parental choice” as the bait, the private school lobbies are pushing for amendments that would institute a federal school-voucher system. This means giving parents direct financial aid that would be used to purchase instructional materials, which are often beyond public accountability.

The Monrovia-Duarte PTA Council and the National PTA do not oppose parental choice within the public school system, if the plans are beneficial to all children. We do oppose school vouchers or any plan that funnels public tax dollars into private and parochial schools.

These schools are already subsidized by public tax dollars for such items as textbooks, bilingual programs, remedial education and special education. We need these scarce resources to improve public schools that are responsible for the vast many.

Who chooses when a parent presents a school voucher financed by taxpayers to a private school? Not that parent. The ultimate choice rests with the private school--to accept or reject that particular student.

Who loses? The rest of the community loses. We lose dollars that could have supported the local school but would be funneled to support private choices.

Almost 150 years ago, Horace Mann wrote that a system of public schools was “the foundation on which republican government can securely rest.” We cannot rest on our proud heritage while our public schools and the children who depend upon them face continual deterioration of education due to declining dollars.

CHRIS NEIL

President

Monrovia-Duarte PTA Council