Pa Leadership Panel Provokes Tea Partyers On SB1

BillLawrenceOnline.Com ^ | 4-11-11

[Tribune7]

Statements made regarding conservative skeptics of SB 1, the pending school choice legislation in the Pennsylvania legislature, at the 2011 Pa. Leadership Conference has those skeptics seeing blue.

An email blast sent by Lisa Esler of the Delaware County Patriots notes that critics of SB1 were not represented on a panel aimed at discussing the bill and that those on the panel were insulting to the critics and painted a false picture of their motives.

Mrs. Esler, in her email, said that Matt Kibbe of Freedomworks called the critics "bedwetters" while State Sen. Jeff Piccola (R-15), who is one of the authors of the bill, implied that racism was what was driving them.

The truth is that the Tea Party groups who are criticizing SB1 are for the most part strong supporters of school choice. Their objections to the bill are not that it helps kids from destitute families in failing school districts but that it fails to help struggling families in overrated suburban districts who may have a child stuck for a year with one of the many incompetent, union-protected teachers that fill those districts.

These Tea Party groups are filled with people who strongly supported helping destitute "inner-city" kids escape bad schools when it "wasn't cool" so it is a rather serious smear to accuse them of racism.

[Tribune7]

SB1 ping

[Flavious_Maximus]

Pennsylvania is enacting a pilot program like the one in Washington DC that allows school vouchers to inner city kids in Philadelphia. This means that the parents of these kids can get money from the State to help pay to send their children to any school (including private) in the district.

Why is this privilege given only to kids in Philly? It should be available for all citizens everywhere.

[HonestConservative]

Good point, Flav.

[codder too]

Pennsylvania's SB1 voucher/scholarship plan would apply to ALL students in the state, not just Philadelphia. It starts with those who have incomes that fall below poverty income levels designated in the bill, and would expand year by year as the program grows, to include higher income levels.

Scholarship funds are not tax dollars but money donated by business or industry,in return for tax breaks. Vouchers are tax dollars. SB1 is available on line. Read it and decide for yourself if it is a solution to the problem.

I attended the PLC did NOT hear the race card played at any time. In fact,SB1 attempts to help students and parents, many of whom are black or hispanic, to get out of under-performing schools and into schools where they have a better chance to achieve an education that will empower them. If that is what you call racist then you have a far different definition than mine or that of SB1.

[wintertime]

Flavious_Maximus

Patience is needed here. Why? Look what happened in Utah a few years ago.

Some years ago the Utah legislature passed a bill that would have given vouchers to every student in the state. The NEA went NUTZ! They rapidly organized a campaign to gather signatures for a special election to overturn the bill. It was almost impossible to get that many signatures but with plenty of nationwide union support they did it.

Then came the millions and millions of dollars from the NEA to fund an advertising campaign to scare the middle class voters half to death. They organized all the teachers, school workers, other unions, and parents from the PTAs.

Result: The bill went down in flames!

So....The next year the Utah legislature instituted a very, very **tiny** voucher program aimed just at students with disabilities. Reading difficulties were considered a “disability” ( wink!, wink!) Soon middle class parents were seeing some children in their neighborhood having the benefit of private schooling while their child was still stuck in the government school. This built the political force needed to expand not only vouchers but charters, as well.

So...Having many friends in Utah, I have followed this story closely. I support the gradual approach. There is nothing better for building a political lobby for choice, than parents, themselves, who have direct interest in the welfare of their child.