Public Schools Hope Voucher Initiative Earns an ‘F’

A statewide initiative that would allow parents to use taxpayer money to send their children to private schools could divert millions of dollars in state money from Ventura County’s general services and local public schools.

Proposition 38, which will appear on the November ballot, would give parents a $4,000-per-child credit, or voucher, to help pay for private school tuition.

While some Ventura County parents, many with children in private schools, support the proposition for giving them more choice, it is opposed by public school educators, school board members, teachers unions and politicians, who say it would drain already scarce resources from public campuses.

And there’s the question of whether the county’s existing private schools could even accommodate new students. Many have waiting lists or tuitions far above the value of the voucher. They also have strict admissions guidelines that may be out of the reach of many students.

Gov. Gray Davis, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and the California Teachers Assn. have come out against the initiative. And a Field Poll last month showed that 36% of voters support the proposition and 49% oppose it, with 15% undecided.

Locally, a few school boards have passed resolutions opposing the initiative, and several more plan to do the same.

“Prop. 38 is going to take away from the public schools and it’s undermining what we are trying to do in terms of accountability,” said Cliff Rodrigues, president of the Ventura Unified school board, which unanimously passed such a resolution last week.

Last school year, about 15,035 students attended about 100 private and home schools in Ventura County. Those students made up nearly 10% of the total enrollment, with 137,410 students attending public schools throughout the county. Statewide, there were 640,802 students enrolled in private schools in the 1999-2000 school year, 9.7% of total enrollment.

The average annual tuition for private schools in California is $4,568 per elementary student, and $4,773 per high school student, according to a recent study by WestEd, a nonprofit research group based in San Francisco. The report was partially sponsored by the California Teachers Assn.

Under the proposition, parents whose children already attend private or parochial schools, or parents who transfer their children to private schools, would receive the $4,000 subsidy.

Parents also would be able to declare their home a private voucher school and receive the $4,000. The voucher system would start in the 2001-2002 school year, and would be phased in over four years.

Private school officials in the area say they support parental choice but aren’t sure if the proposed voucher system is the solution. Most private schools are full and don’t have room for additional students. In fact, the WestEd study reported that almost a quarter of the state’s private schools said they were 100% full, and nearly 60% said they were between 90% and 100% full.

About 350 students, kindergarten through 12th grade, attend the Ojai Valley School, a nondenominational private campus that charges between $6,000 and $12,500 for day students. President Michael Hermes said many of the grades have waiting lists, and the campus would likely have to turn away new voucher-holding students.

“We are very strongly in favor of choice, because we are one of those choices,” Hermes said. “But I have no idea where all these people are going to go. And none of us like the thought of a bunch of inferior schools popping up because there is money available.”

Educators are worried that if the proposition passes, only some students would have the option to attend private schools like Ojai Valley. Private campuses can’t discriminate based on race, but select their student body based on gender, religion, language proficiency, academic skills and ability to pay. Most private schools have selective admissions policies and don’t offer additional services for students with disabilities or students who speak limited English.

“That is one of the myths that the parents will have more choice,” said Steve Blum, president of the Ventura Unified Education Assn. “The only choices they have is which schools they want to apply to. The schools will pick who they want and who they don’t want to admit.”

Blum called the proposition a Trojan horse, because he believes the supporters are trying to fool the poor into thinking it is something that it is good for them.

John Hatcher, president of the Ventura County chapter of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, said low-income families would be left behind if the proposition passes. Even if students are admitted and the voucher is granted, parents would still have to pay the difference in tuition, and pay for textbooks and transportation, Hatcher said.

“The only people that would benefit from this are rich people,” he said. “They wouldn’t have to spend their money. They could spend taxpayer money.”

Hatcher said he supports spending tax dollars instead on “building up the public education system to support all of the kids in the state of California.”

Proposition 38 advocates, however, argue that public education is falling into disrepair, and parents deserve to enroll their children in a school that will help them achieve. They say vouchers would increase competition between public and private schools and would motivate public schools to improve. And they say that letting parents choose private schools would lead to smaller class sizes and safer campuses for students who remain in the public school system.

Simi Valley parent David Vargha, who sends his two young children to a private school in Simi Valley, said he strongly supports the voucher initiative, and believes it would level the playing field between low- and middle-income families. Vargha, an E-commerce executive, pays $3,300 annually for each of his two children to attend Grace Brethren School.

“In this country, we like to feel like we have a choice,” Vargha said. “I’m afforded that choice because I have an income that allows me to do that. But a lot of families don’t have that choice.”

Vargha chose Grace Brethren over his neighborhood public school because he believes private campuses generally offer a stronger academic program. Other parents in the county enroll their children in private school because of the religious values, safety, discipline and small class sizes.

Moorpark’s June Dubreuil, who plans to campaign for Proposition 38, also sends her children to a private school.

“When you are public school and can’t afford to put your child in private school, you just have to live with that,” she said. “This allows parents a choice to take their tax dollars and put their children where they are best suited. It will empower parents to make those choices that they can’t make right now.”

Opponents also criticize the proposition because it doesn’t hold voucher and private schools accountable to the public. The schools would be free from most state regulations, and would not have to hire credentialed teachers or follow the state’s new curriculum standards. They also would not be required to hold public meetings or have their finances audited.

“Prop. 38 would use public funds with no accountability to taxpayers,” Ventura County Supt. of Schools Chuck Weis said. “These schools could take this money and use it however they want.”

Port Hueneme resident Gil Guevara said he is campaigning against the initiative because he believes it will only hurt public schools. Every student who transfers into a private campus means less money for the neighborhood school, he said.

“I’m not entirely happy with public schools,” said Guevara, whose grown daughter attended public schools, “but we don’t need to dismantle them and start something else.”