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Diane feinstein suports dc vouchers { September 27 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://timesargus.nybor.com/Local/Story/72281.htmlhttp://timesargus.nybor.com/Local/Story/72281.html
Vermont Senators oppose voucher plans
September 27, 2003
By DARREN M. ALLEN Vermont Press Bureau
MONTPELIER – Vermont’s U.S. Senators will not support a controversial private-school voucher program for the nation’s capital that is under consideration in Congress.
The $13 million program – which has the backing of Washington, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams – squeaked through the House by one vote earlier this month and could possibly reach the Senate floor early next week. If the Senate passes the measure, it would be the first congressionally approved voucher program.
For Vermont’s senators, however, the plan is flawed and represents an unacceptable diversion of money away from Washington’s beleaguered public schools.
“The citizens of Washington, D.C. should not be forced to establish a private school voucher program they do not want and that will siphon off the resources from the public school system,” said Sen. James Jeffords, I-Vt. And staffers for Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said that he is unlikely to support any voucher program – the senator has voted against vouchers on each of the five previous times he’s faced the issued.
Under the plan, up to 1,700 low-income students attending failing schools would receive up to $7,500 to attend private schools. While voucher programs are in place in several locations around the country, they are always controversial and largely opposed by Democrats and much of the public education establishment. Williams – a Democrat who is in a political battle with his city council over the plan – went to the Senate Thursday and appealed for approval of the plan. He has said many of the 67,000 students in the city’s schools are desperate, and that half of them already drop out before receiving a high school degree.
And not all Democrats are opposed to the five-year pilot plan – Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., has offered her support to a modified plan that requires all of the students receiving vouchers to be tested to ensure their progress.
Libby Sternberg, executive director of Vermonters for Better Education, said that she found the Vermont senators’ opposition disturbing.
“What they are saying is that they know better what D.C. students need than Anthony Williams does,” Sternberg said. She fired off letters to the two on Friday, urging them to consider voting for the program.
“Vermonters know that school choice is not some radical new experiment,” she wrote. “It has existed in our tuition towns since 1869. As you know, Vermonters are a compassionate people, and the District of Columbia program will help rescue thousands of children who are trapped in inappropriate school … while citizens of Vermont don’t have a direct stake in the DC schools, they do have a legitimate interest in ensuring that all children – no matter where they live – have equal access to quality education.”
Contact Darren Allen at darren.allen@timesargus.com
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