Vouchers heading to vote, group says

A group backed by a Silicon Valley venture capitalist announced Monday that it has submitted 1.15 million signatures to qualify a voucher initiative for California's November ballot that would offer each child $4,000 a year to pay for private schooling.

Tim Draper, the initiative's author and a former member of the state Board of Education, said vouchers would give parents "real choices when making decisions regarding the education of their children."

He predicted the measure -- which requires 670,816 valid signatures to be placed on the November ballot -- would qualify easily after the signatures are reviewed by county election officials.

"This will be a debate about the future of California's children," Draper said. "Will we offer parents the sense of pride that comes from doing everything they can for their child, or will the state force them to continue sending their children to a low-performing school?"

The California Teachers Association, which raised more than $14 million to defeat a voucher initiative -- touted by supporters who decried falling test scores and depressing dropout rates in their efforts to win voter approval -- in 1993 by a 3-1 margin, predicted that voters "will not be fooled" by the latest incarnation.

The measure also would allow, but would not require, the Legislature to increase annual per-pupil spending by nearly $1,000 to meet the national average.

"The voucher initiative submitted by Tim Draper is nothing more than a deceptive 'bait and switch' scam that puts the future of free public education for all California children at risk," said Wayne Johnson, president of the 300,000-member union. "Like previous private voucher proposals, the Draper voucher initiative gives taxpayer money to private and religious schools -- schools with no accountability for whether their students are learning or for how taxpayer money is spent."

The teachers union is sponsoring a measure pegged for the November ballot that would require per-pupil spending to be increased to the national average.

Vouchers have long been a controversial issue pushed by various groups and many Republican politicians both in California and nationally as a way to help students in low-performing schools.

Only five public voucher programs are operating now -- in Milwaukee, Cleveland, Florida, Minnesota and Arizona -- but more than 25 legislatures are considering bills that could create some type of system in which public dollars would be used for private and parochial schools.

Florida's program, which was the first to tie voucher eligibility to test scores, serves as a model for a national plan proposed by Gov. George W. Bush of Texas, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. His expected Democratic opponent, Vice President Al Gore, says Bush's plan would hurt public schools.

Draper is a father of four who says the poor education his children were receiving in public schools opened his eyes to the state system's deficiencies. He says his time on the state school board convinced him repairing the system would be very difficult.

Draper said he put up the $2 million it took to finance the statewide signature-gathering effort, and he estimated it will cost more than $20 million to run an election campaign. Asked who would pay for the campaign, he said, "Me and fellow believers."

Voucher foes contend that using public money to help some students get into private schools hurts those left behind. They also argue that private and parochial schools would take only higher-performing children, leaving public school classrooms filled with a higher percentage of students who have learning, language and behavioral problems.

But Draper argues that his measure would strengthen public education because the state currently spends more than $4,000 annually per pupil -- the proposed cost of a voucher -- and the balance could be used to improve public schools.

According to figures from the 1997-98 school year, California spends an average of $5,600 per student -- $900 less than the national average.

Hilary McLean, a spokeswoman for Gov. Gray Davis, said the Democratic governor has not taken a position on the Draper initiative, but "has stated in the past that he opposes vouchers."

Davis also has said he believes that increasing school spending in California to the national average would require a huge tax hike.

	This article was originally published by the Sacramento Bee on May 2, 2000 © 2000 Sacramento Bee Related Links The ABCs of Vouchers and Poilitics (Business Week) More information on school vouchers

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