Critics Launch Bid to Defeat School Voucher Initiative

As thousands of children began the first day of school Tuesday in Los Angeles and throughout the state, opponents of the controversial school voucher initiative launched a series of political salvos against a November statewide ballot measure they say could destroy public education in California.

In Los Angeles, a coalition of 36 civil rights and good-government groups compared backers of Proposition 174, the voucher initiative, to “snake oil peddlers.” Speakers from African-American, Jewish, Latino and other groups warned that the measure would unravel a pluralistic public education system that, while troubled, is still the best hope for poor, minority or disadvantaged students to have equal access to education.

Meanwhile, in Sacramento, Acting Supt. of Public Instruction William D. Dawson told reporters that vouchers could bring the progress of the last decade’s educational reforms to “a grinding halt.” And today, the Los Angeles City Council is expected to go on record opposing the measure.

The initiative would give parents of every California student a $2,600 voucher to spend as tuition for the school of their choice--public or private. Backers say such a free-enterprise approach would radically reform a woefully inadequate public education system, but opponents claim that vouchers would strike down the wall between church and state and provide a bonanza to private schools, particularly religious institutions.

The voucher fight is drawing national attention, and in past weeks supporters of Prop. 174 have garnered the endorsement of former U.S. Education Secretary William Bennett, as well as former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Jack Kemp. Last month, U.S. Senate minority leader Bob Dole (R-Kansas) endorsed the initiative in a speech before the National Governor’s Conference.

On Tuesday, Yes on Prop. 174 spokesman Sean Walsh characterized criticisms of the measure as “ ‘caveperson’ logic.” He said they were political cover for school administrators and teachers, who have a vested financial interest in perpetuating the public school system.

Walsh said private and public polls show strong support for the voucher among African-American and Latino voters, those who are less likely to afford private schools.

But leaders of minority groups were among the new coalition that announced its opposition Tuesday. Representatives from the League of Women Voters, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the American Jewish Congress took swipes at the proposal at a news conference in front of Gardner Street School in Hollywood.

Although every student would be given a voucher, opponents argued that students from wealthy families would benefit because poor or disadvantaged students still could not make up the difference to pay an average of $8,000 to $10,000 a year for private school. They also said that segregation would result because the measure does not force private schools to accept all students, including those with disabilities, or to provide transportation for pupils in inner-city neighborhoods.

“Like snake oil peddlers of bygone years, backers of this ballot initiative expect that we will believe them when they say, ‘Trust us. It’s good for you,’ ” said Joe R. Hicks, executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Los Angeles.

Times staff writer Richard Simon contributed to this story.