September 13, 2000

I'm still not sure about Prop. 38

I'm for vouchers in principle, because vouchers allow any parent the same right to choose the manner in which his child is educated the rich take for granted. Vouchers can allow parents freer choice. Don't be misled by red herrings. A parent to whom degrees and credentials are important will insist on a school for his child where the teachers are fully credentialed. Some parents, on the other hand, are more impressed with intelligence, kindness, generosity and character. In choosing a private school under vouchers, some parents will, no doubt, be conned. But there are lots of parents who today are extremely distressed with the lousy quality of the public schools in their neighborhood, but can't afford to get out from under.

My kids had the advantage of the Laguna Salada Alternative Class, where the low wealth public district in which we live was able to provide a far better education than they would normally have gotten. It was like a private school within a public school. No extra tax funds were expended. Parental involvement made the difference.

The Alternative did, however, take some very involved parents out of the other schools in the district, and in a sense, deprived the other children in the district of the benefits they might have received from those parents, who instead donated their time and effort to the Alternative Class.

Parents usually have only one go-round at parenthood. Louse up the first batch of kids, and you don't normally have a chance to make up for it. Parents might sacrifice themselves for an altruistic cause, but they won't usually sacrifice their kids. They won't keep their kids in the public schools if they think they can afford a better education in some private or parochial school. If Prop. 38 allows hardworking parents who really care away from slovenly, over-administrated, dangerous public schools to use private schools they judge better, safer and more satisfying, that is good, not bad. If public schools can be fixed, fix'em. If they aren't fixed, it'll do little good to try and force the most caring parents to stick with them against their will because they can't afford what they really want for their kids. That's a formula for deep resentment.

I haven't yet decided how to vote on 38. I intend to study it in great detail. I voted against the previous voucher initiative, Prop. 174, because it was deliberately designed to be unchangeable once passed. It set up high hurdles for any changes. No proposition is perfect. Every new law needs fine tuning, especially one written by those on the extreme of an issue. If you need a three-quarters vote of the legislature to change each minor detail, or 80 percent of any school board, as prop. 174 demanded, you may be stuck with a very poor law. If prop. 38 will allow some fine tuning later, if it's fair to all, if it's not poorly written, I'll probably vote for it. It's about time parents of kids in parochial schools got a break. The state government should concentrate on helping all children get an education, not just those attending a neighborhood public school.

Some recent Reactor columns may be found at Paul Azevedo's website, http://www.thereactor.net/ Reach him by e-mail at reactor@wenet.net