The Clintons’ School Choice

Your Jan. 7 editorial on the Clinton decision to send Chelsea to Sidwell Friends says you still do not understand why we need public and private school choice. Yes, Bill and Hillary are like most parents in that they want what is best for their child. However, most parents in big cities, or anywhere else, cannot afford to choose the right school or neighborhood.

There are many private schools with tuitions that will be well within the grasp of everyone once the Parental Choice in Education Initiative is approved by the voters in June, 1994. In California, the average private school tuition is less than $2,600 per year, yet the public pays $5,200 per child attending public schools. If the state were to provide all parents these educational funds so that they too could shop for the best school for their children, we might see more parents making the same “personal” choice as Bill and Hillary Clinton. As it is though, most people can’t afford private schools, or even to move into neighborhoods to attend better public schools. Advocates of school choice believe that many parents will, if given the choice, choose public schools while others will choose private schools. All of these choices will be personal choices, not political. We simply want all parents to be able to make the same choice that Bill and Hillary Clinton did.

KEVIN D. TEASLEY

Campaign Director

Choice in Education League

El Segundo