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School vouchers { July 2 2002 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11104-2002Jul1.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11104-2002Jul1.html
Bush Urges Wide Use Of School Vouchers
Rhetoric Shifts With Court Ruling
By Dana Milbank
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 2, 2002; Page A01
CLEVELAND, July 1 -- President Bush made a vigorous case for private-school vouchers today, plunging into the highly charged issue for the first time as president and comparing its importance to that of school desegregation in the 1950s.
Addressing a rally here in the home of the voucher plan that was upheld last week by the Supreme Court, Bush used the "V" word for the first time as president and apparently for the first time since he took the national stage as a presidential candidate. And he pledged to push other areas to adopt voucher plans of their own.
Cleveland's plan gives low-income parents a tuition subsidy of up to $2,250 per child to use at parochial or other private schools. The high court upheld the plan, 5 to 4.
"The Supreme Court of the United States gave a great victory to parents and students throughout the nation by upholding the decisions made by local folks here in the city of Cleveland, Ohio," Bush told the crowd. "One of my jobs is to make sure that we continue to insist upon reform, to take this court decision and encourage others to make the same decision at the local level."
Though Bush talked about vouchers during his presidential campaign, he referred to the concept as "school choice" while Democrat Al Gore attacked vouchers as "an illusion wrapped in an insult." The administration included vouchers in Bush's education proposal but signaled even before taking office that it was willing to drop the idea. The provision was quickly removed in negotiations with Congress last year.
Today, however, Bush showed he was willing to make a strong public push for vouchers, presenting the issue in stark moral terms.
"The Supreme Court in 1954 declared that our nation cannot have two education systems, and that was the right decision," Bush said. "Last week, what's notable and important is that the court declared that our nation will not accept one education system for those who can afford to send their children to a school of their choice and for those who can't, and that's just as historic."
In using civil rights language, Bush was following the lead of the voucher movement, which has emphasized benefits for minority students. Bush's education secretary, Roderick R. Paige, used more blunt language, hailing Cleveland in military terms in his remarks here as "ground zero for freedom of choice in public schools."
Though Bush is more popular than when he began his term, his full-throated endorsement of vouchers carries some political risk. In opinion polls, voters oppose voucher proposals by large margins and say they think vouchers will harm public schools by depriving them of funds. Voters have defeated such proposals by lopsided margins in Michigan and California. Programs exist in four places other than Cleveland: Florida, Maine, Vermont and Milwaukee. Bush will visit Milwaukee on Tuesday.
The White House had scheduled Bush's Cleveland appearance, billed as a "Rally on Inner City Compassion," before last Thursday's ruling by the Supreme Court. But a Bush aide said the plan was made with awareness that the ruling would be released last week and would most likely be favorable.
Even some voucher supporters were surprised by Bush's words, particularly by his use of the term "voucher" itself. Just as Republicans have turned the "estate tax" into the "death tax," Democrats have made "vouchers" a bad word. "The whole voucher phrase has been destroyed," said GOP strategist Frank Luntz. He prefers the terms "parental choice" or "scholarships."
Bush has not proposed a new voucher plan, instead addressing the subject in a gradual fashion. In last year's legislation, parents of students in substandard schools were allowed to choose among public schools and to get outside tutoring for their children. "The money follows the child, and the parent can decide who provides the after-school tutoring," Bush said today. In Bush's budget for next year, he has proposed "education tax credits" that would help parents send their children to a different public or private school of their choice.
Bush stood in front of a backdrop that said "A Better America" and was joined on stage by 50 children and community leaders, most of them black. Speaking to a mostly white audience, Bush extolled the achievements of last year's education legislation.
"Starting this September, as many as 3.5 million students across America who attend failing schools will have different options of transferring to another public school," he said. "It's part of being an accountable society."
Yet the president was greeted in Cleveland today with fresh doubts about the new education law. On the front page of the Cleveland Plain Dealer was an article in which local educators said even high-performing schools are likely to be labeled "failing" under the new law. Among those so labeled in Ohio is a Cincinnati elementary school that won the Education Department's highest award just over a year ago.
Bush also used his speech to express concern that a wave of corporate scandals could threaten employment. "You see, in order to keep the job base increasing in America, there must be trust, and some have violated the trust," he said. Bush said "the vast majority, by far, of corporate America are aboveboard," and that he would "bring some of these folks to justice who have violated their trust" -- words similar to those he commonly uses when discussing terrorists.
On the subject of terrorists, Bush said the United States and its allies have "hauled in over 2,400 people so far." In an aside, Bush added to laughter: "Oh, I know that in the midst of this war there is a lot of warlike talk, and I'm as guilty as -- I'm guilty. I talk that way. But I want you to know, I love peace."
© 2002 The Washington Post Company
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