School Voucher Plan May Reach November Ballot : Education: Backers of parental choice initiative say nearly 1 million have signed petitions. Opponents doubt that the measure will qualify and plan to closely monitor the verification process.

The sponsors of a plan to funnel tax dollars into private school vouchers announced Monday that they have gathered nearly 1 million signatures to qualify their proposal for the ballot, making it one of several voter-driven initiatives that may come before California voters in November.

Though the signatures must be verified by election officials in each of the state’s 58 counties, representatives of the Excellence Through Choice in Education League said they are confident that they will have the 615,958 signatures necessary for the Parental Choice initiative to go before California voters.

“Despite unprecedented resistance to this initiative . . . we have every reason to believe that we will be on the ballot in November,” said Kevin D. Teasley, vice chairman of ExCel.

But opponents of the voucher proposal say they doubt that the measure will qualify and plan to closely monitor the verification process.

“I’ve seen (the initiative’s sponsors) in print as recently as a week ago saying they had 700,000 signatures,” said Bob Wells, director of governmental relations for the Assn. of California School Administrators. “Now they’re saying they have a million. We’ll believe it when we see the signatures.”

The Parental Choice initiative--which would provide a voucher worth about $2,500 to every school-age child to help pay tuition at private or parochial schools--is one of several measures that sponsors are attempting to qualify for the November ballot and is among the most controversial. Critics say the vouchers will siphon funds away from public schools, while those in favor of the proposal say the plan would help public schools by creating educational models and alternatives and relieving the pressures of growing enrollment.

The volley of words among educators, parents and business leaders has worked its way into the courtroom where sponsors of the voucher plan have filed suit against seven school districts, including Los Angeles Unified. The suits charge that district officials have broken state law by using public resources to denounce the proposed initiative.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge issued a preliminary injunction last month, barring the Los Angeles school district from using public funds or other resources to dissuade the public from supporting the proposal.

In the meantime, thousands of campaign workers have solicited signatures outside public gathering places. Signatures gathered in 51 counties were turned in to their local election officials April 27th, Teasley said. The names of those supporting the initiative in Los Angeles and Fresno counties were turned in last week, while signatures collected in the five remaining counties, including Orange, Sacramento and San Diego, were submitted Monday.

Opponents of the plan contend that the number of signatures turned in to county officials was lower than expected. Wells also said there may not be enough time to verify the signatures before the June 25 deadline to qualify the initiative for the November ballot.

“There’s a long list of specific requirements on what does and doesn’t constitute a valid signature,” Wells said. Short of a round-the-clock effort by election officials, “there’s not enough days between now and June 25 for all those steps to occur.”

Meanwhile, the backers of five other initiatives have said that their measures appeared destined to qualify for the November ballot. Supporters of a “tax-the-rich” initiative filed 651,000 signatures Monday. A total of 384,000 signatures are needed to qualify the measure, which would repeal the sales tax on snack foods, roll back a one-quarter cent increase in the rate on all taxable items, and re-establish the renters’ tax credit at its previous level. It also would impose billions of dollars of state and local tax increases on business and the wealthy.

The measure is supported by such organizations as the California Tax Reform Assn. and the Congress of California Seniors and opposed by business groups, including the California Taxpayers Assn. It was condemned by Gov. Pete Wilson’s Council on Competitiveness, which said that the initiative would reduce the incentive for private companies to create jobs in the state.

Also expected to qualify for the November ballot are a measure to require California companies to provide health insurance for their workers, a proposal to protect the pensions of state employees from budget-balancing raids by the Legislature and governor, and an initiative involving right-to-die laws.

Wilson’s initiative to reduce welfare grants by as much as 25% and give the governor sweeping new budget powers also is almost certain to appear on the ballot.