COMMENTARY ON PROP. 174 : Voucher Danger: Commitment to Democracy, Equality Needed : We cannot continue single-focus initiatives that benefit a few or special programs operating in isolation.

The parental choice initiative, Proposition 174, bills itself as a remedy for a declining public school system. But we do not need to reach for new answers. We simply need to fulfill our traditional commitment to democracy and equality.

The challenge we must meet is to acknowledge our failings and begin moving, once again, toward meeting this basic American standard.

The voucher measure has dangerous implications. With the current enrollment in California public schools at 5.1 million students, it is estimated that the parental choice initiative would reduce the public K-12 education budget by approximately 10%. California now has approximately 550,000 students enrolled in private schools. If just 500,000 of those students use the vouchers, it will cost the state $2.6 billion annually.

To make up the difference, general fund dollars will be funneled from other programs--including higher education--into the school budget. Since Proposition 13, California’s per-pupil spending for K-12 public schools has plummeted from near the top to 41st in the nation.

Another potential harmful ingredient in the measure is a little-noticed provision that establishes the equivalent of a voucher for higher education.

The bill states that if the voucher amount for a child is more than the charges imposed by a selected private school, a credit will be applied toward charges to be used later toward any institution of higher education.

This provision is unlike the current student aid for higher education which is based largely on a combination of financial need and merit. It amounts to an entitlement for all students and could have ill effects on students’ incentives to perform well in school.

It also provides parents with an inducement to exercise their parental choice in order to establish a higher education fund for their child. For example, if a parent selects a school with annual tuitions of $2,000, over the years K-12, the parent would have established a college fund of $7,800.

But perhaps even more ominous are the measure’s implications for equality and diversity.

The initiative would not result in equal opportunities for all students because only certain socioeconomic groups would be able to take advantage of the option. The private schools can choose who to accept or reject and no transportation is provided for in the parental choice bill. The result would be poorer children in the neighborhood public schools and more affluent children attending the private school of their choice.

The consequences mean disparities that are already existing within the public school system will widen significantly. The competition for admission to the University of California and the California State University systems could be affected substantially and enrollment might become more homogenized. Some students might benefit from K-12 opportunities preparing them for higher education and some might not.

As a result, differences in eligibility rates for UC and CSU could increase markedly.

The California community colleges have come to occupy a central role in our system of higher education dedicated to broad access and excellence. While all universities are becoming more ethnically diverse, the community colleges still enroll nearly 70% of all minority post-secondary students.

These students, already struggling with greatly reduced resources, would likely have more obstacles to overcome in order to prepare academically for successful transfer to a four-year university. This would have a negative impact on the large numbers of students annually enrolled in our community colleges who are planning to transfer.

As educators, our work is rooted in the belief that learning is inherently social in nature. Teaching that occurs in diverse environments offers the best opportunities for learning.

If we have learned anything about educational reform during the past decade, it has been that we cannot continue single-focus initiatives that benefit a few or special programs operating in isolation and pretend that we are moving toward change.

Our efforts must become part of a comprehensive reform strategy focused on the core of our public schools. We must bring together all the players across an entire community, collaborating or working together to transform learning for all students.

The ultimate standard for which we must hold ourselves accountable to is to once again link equal access to knowledge as essential for our democracy.