State school board group to oppose school choice measure

Pittsburgh Tribune Review January 21, 2011 : by Jodi Weigand

The Pennsylvania School Boards Association is prepared to challenge a proposal to use taxpayer dollars to pay for private school education.

The nonprofit group also has concerns about open enrollment in the state's public schools, its assistant executive director, Tim Allwein, said Thursday.

State Rep. Jim Christiana, R-Beaver County, plans to introduce legislation next week -- National School Choice Week -- that would allow parents to send children to any public school outside their home districts.

Christiana's proposal is different from a voucher program touted by Sens. Anthony Williams, D-Philadelphia, and Jeffrey Piccola, R-Dauphin, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, that eventually would give all low-income students annual vouchers to attend public, private or parochial schools of their choice.

Several states, including Ohio, New Jersey, Minnesota and Wisconsin, have had open-enrollment policies for years. There are 18 voucher programs in 12 states.In Pennsylvania, the school boards association's stance is the same as when a voucher system was proposed was under former Gov. Tom Ridge -- legislation that failed. Allwein acknowledged the fight will be tougher this time.

Political analysts have said school choice plans have a better chance of moving ahead in a Republican-controlled Legislature led by Republican Gov. Tom Corbett, a school choice proponent."I think going into any fight, you have confidence you can win it," Allwein said. "I think it's going to be a lot of hard work, but I think it's one we can win."

Stuart Knade, the association's chief counsel, said the voucher proposal violates Pennsylvania's constitution, which prohibits using money raised for public schools to support any sectarian school.

The Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers opposes the voucher plan. In a letter to state leaders, union President John Tarka said "legislation that would divert badly needed funds" could hamper efforts to improve Pittsburgh public schools.

Christiana, who supports the Williams/Piccola plan, also supports increased competition among schools, saying it could result in better educational opportunities. He said it's clear parents want options, based on climbing charter and cyber charter school enrollments.

"That shows there is a demand, that parents are not getting the results they want in the public system," Christiana said. "I think education reform is at the front of the line in this new term."Joyce Keith, 57, of McKeesport likes school choice in any form.

"Parents would be able to go to the school, evaluate the environment and what curriculum they think their child may need," she said. "It will make the schools want to do better to improve their way of educating children."

Under Christiana's open-enrollment plan, districts would not be required to participate and wouldn't have to accept every student who applies.

School boards would develop admission standards, set class sizes and student-to-teacher ratios, and could designate the number of vacant spaces available, according to a draft of the legislation. Students couldn't be rejected based on grades, race, gender or special needs.

Wythe Keever, spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the state's largest teacher union, didn't take a position on open enrollment, though he's not optimistic about school districts' support.

"No school board wants to vote to raise property taxes to add staff and expand facilities in order to receive nonresident students," he wrote in an e-mail.