School vouchers still a tough sell in New Jersey

Press of Atlantic City ^ | June 14, 2004

[Coleus]

School vouchers still a tough sell in New Jersey

By DIANE D’AMICO Education Writer, (609) 272-7241, E-Mail

NEWARK - Does New Jersey have "school choice?" It depends on your definition.

Charter schools, "choice" public schools and vocational schools all offer students the opportunity to attend a school outside of the public school in their hometown.

But the next step - giving parents vouchers so their children can attend private or parochial schools at public expense, has not gained a strong foothold in the state.

It's certainly not for lack of trying. Excellent Education for Everyone, or E3, has been actively lobbying around the state for a voucher school choice option. There has been some support in struggling urban districts, but no legislation has been introduced that could make it law.

Paul Tractenberg, founder of the Institute on Education Law and Policy, thinks the larger issue is how public schools operate in New Jersey. An author of a new report "Tough Choices: Setting the Stage for Informed, Objective Deliberation on School Choice," Tractenberg is spurring the debate in an effort to address why people believe choice is necessary, and if it is effective.

"It is important to understand the complexity," Tractenberg said. "It goes to the issue of what is a public school, and do we need to change the way we think about public schools."

At a recent workshop at Rutgers University, Tractenberg moderated a discussion of the tough road ahead.

"You just can't do it all at once," said Joseph Doria, former Assembly Education Committee chairman and current Mayor of Bayonne. "We did charter schools. We've started public preschools. But there is no sea change. You have to tinker around the edges."

He believes a major issue is accountability.

"Private schools may want choice, but they don't want all the strings that would likely come with the money," he said.

Derrell Bradford, of E3 applies accountability to the struggling urban school districts.

"They're spending the most money, but also have the most dropouts and failures," he said. "We say empower the parents and let them make the choice."

Jacqui Greadington of the New Jersey Education Association said giving a few children vouchers is not good if it takes money away from the rest.

Edwina Lee of the New Jersey School Boards Association noted that parents are just one part of the public, and that ultimately the issue comes down to how taxpayer money is distributed.

Doria agreed.

"More people worry about their taxes than their schools because most people are happy with their child's school," he said. "The concern is paying for education. Any choice system has to work within the real world."

[Coleus]

How Vouchers Will Enrich Public Schools

Bush Repeats Support For School Vouchers

Supporting school vouchers requires courage

Ron Paul - Are Vouchers the Solution for Our Failing Public Schools?

[kcar]

Chemical alley. Having successfully fled that awful Nanny State, I disdain it, like Kira from Lenin's purges. No one that I know of who stays there makes a whit of sense anymore. All sneering liberal NYT's types.

Ping. Ne1 there?

[Coleus]

I like NJ, at least we don't smell like pigs.

[kcar]

That's all downstream somewhere. But what a Jersey-like response. Thx for reminding me of those I left behind.

[Puppage]

We've started public preschools

So they can start the indoctrination process earlier.

[Intolerant in NJ]

There has been some support in struggling urban districts, but no legislation has been introduced that could make it law...and never will be, because the fourteen worst "struggling urban districts" in the state already get millions of no-strings-attached extra tax dollars to bring them up to the spending levels of the most affluent districts in the state under the court-ordered Abbott plan. Moreover, this distorts the spending picture for schools all over the state. Our little south Jersey town with a percapita income of about half the state average always comes in toward the bottom in school-spending statistics, in large part because about one tenth of the districts of similar makeup and even lower income against which we're compared get Abbott funding, in essence doubling the number of affluent schools in comparison. Our teachers love it because they get to push for big raises by screaming about the town "hating children" and "shortchanging our children's future" for not spending more. The education establishment in Jersey has plenty of reasons beyond the usual self-serving ones like fear of accountability for opposing vouchers, in spite of how "progressive" it may claim to be.....

[Coleus]

We've started public preschools
So they can start the indoctrination process earlier.>>

Socialism at it's best.

[Coleus]

But what a Jersey-like response.>>

Yep, just like the name you chose for your un website.

Thx for reminding me of those I left behind.>>

Good, stay there.

[California Patriot]

The Northeast is a sinkhole of mindless statism. The hell
with them. They have the government they deserve. Especially in New Jersey.

[Clemenza]

The Northeast is a sinkhole of mindless statism.

As opposed to the paragon of conservatism that is Californication.

[tkathy]

Tax money to send children to religious schools is not a sensible idea.

[ladylib]

Thanks, Coleus.

"Jacqui Greadington of the New Jersey Education Association said giving a few children vouchers is not good if it takes money away from the rest."

Gee, whatever happened to "If it helps just one child"?

I don't know about vouchers, however. The only thing I have against them is the fact that they will have strings attached.

When Brett Schundler was mayor of Jersey City, he tried to enlist the help of either Coke or Pepsi (I forgot which one) to set up corporate scholarships. Teacher union thugs smashed soda machines and that was the end of that.

Most people are happy with their children's public schools. Perhaps they truly are or they delude themselves into thinking that the school is good, because who wants to admit to sending their child to a poorly performing or dangerous school?

The only way we are going to have choice in this state is if people who are unhappy with their children's schools band together and start private schools -- which is difficult but not impossible. Many private schools are founded by parents and teachers who are not happy.

[tbg681]

As a resident of the Peoples Republc of New Jersey all I can say is I loathe the NJNEA.

Public School = Democrat Party

Tax lice who feed off the scalp of productivity

[Coleus]

What?! What about the 928,174 people in NJ who voted for Bret Schundler? a conservative.

We don't live in an area called the Left Coast.