It’s a Personal Decision . . . Period : The Clintons’ choosing of a private school for their daughter shouldn’t be a political issue

Like most parents, Bill and Hillary Clinton want the best for their child. And like most parents who live in big cities, they face a difficult choice: where to send their child to school.

The Clintons have chosen to send Chelsea, a 12-year-old eighth-grader, to Sidwell Friends, a prestigious Quaker-run private school in a middle-class section of Washington, D.C. A school means more than education for the daughter of the next President; any campus she goes to must balance intellectual pursuits with very real security concerns.

This will not be the first time that a President’s child has attended private school. Historically, most children of Presidents and other major officeholders have attended private schools in Washington. Amy Carter was a notable exception; she attended public schools about 15 years ago. Since then, the district’s public schools have declined further, plagued by poor test scores, a high dropout rate, an increasing teen-age pregnancy rate and security problems.

Because of the multitude of problems at public schools, it is commonplace in Washington for parents to choose private schools, when income permits. Years ago, Sharon Pratt Kelly, now mayor of the district, enrolled her children in private schools. But private schools are out of reach for most Americans. And therein lies a political dilemma for President-elect Clinton.

While on the campaign trail, Clinton said: “The idea of school choice has been oversold by some people as a panacea for our problems. The (Bush) Administration says that basically its whole school reform plan is a private voucher system. (It says) if only anybody could take their tax money and go to private schools, the problems would be solved. . . . Private schools have their problems, and there are public schools that are performing at globally competitive levels even in tough inner-city neighborhoods.” He supported school choice within public schools, but he opposed private school vouchers.

His commitment to public schools in Arkansas went beyond campaign promises. He championed education reform, and also sent Chelsea to a well-integrated public school in Little Rock. The Clintons’ personal decision to send Chelsea to a highly rated private school--where they feel she can best make the transition to Washington--is just that, personal.

As President, Clinton must figure out how to improve the nation’s urban public schools, although they are locally financed and controlled. Symbols are important, but there’s no reason that the President-elect’s daughter, or anyone’s child, should be used to make a political point. The real debate should focus on how to give public schools more of the attributes that make many private schools so attractive.