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A war of words is brewing over a controversial school choice bill in the Statehouse. This time the NAACP (web | news) lashes out against Senator Robert Ford, one of the bill’s sponsors.
The argument is simple, Senator Ford says it is time to get children out of failing schools, while his critics say taking students out of public schools and putting them into private ones does not change anything.
“We support strong public schools and opposed any plans to create scholarships, vouchers or tax credits that would send children to private schools and take away public funds,” said Dot Scott, President of the
Ford’s school choice bill includes vouchers and tax credits up to a little under $5,000 that would help cushion the financial blow of sending children to private schools.
“This is the right thing to do,” said Senator Ford, “I’m not going to let any more kids graduate from failing schools if I can help it.”
The NAACP and other activists are standing against the plan. They say pulling children from public schools will lead to a new type of segregation and financial woes for school districts and parents.
“It is a sham,” said Linda Ketner, "people are being told it helps poor people and middle class people. It is absolutely untrue. There is no way you can take a $2,400 tax voucher and go to any private school you want to go to and not have to pay more.”
Senator Ford points to the success of school choice. He says 19 states have signed off on similar programs. He also points to a recent report by Neighborhoodscout that shows that 38 of the top 100 failing schools in the nation are located in the
“Why would you want to continue to pour money after money, billions and billions of dollars into a failing school program and that is what we have in
The NAACP is calling for Ford to withdraw his bill. He says he does not plan to do that.
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