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In support of school choice

by Jeanne Allen
Philadelphia Business Journal
December 9, 2011

For the past year, I’ve battled with a leak in my kitchen. I’ve thrown good money after bad, trying to find a quick fix so as to avoid the inevitable – replacing a portion of the pipes. My neighbors suggested I do so, since all of our homes were built over 50 years ago with the same system and materials and have all had similar problems. But I shrugged it off. I know my own home better than they do, right? Had I heeded their advice, maybe I would have only had a minor hole in my wall to repair. But in letting it go, I recently woke to a flood of disaster.

Pennsylvania’s education system is a lot like my leaky pipe. But the destruction caused by letting it go for so long – throwing good taxpayer money after bad – has caused generations of students, ill-equipped to compete in the global economy, to leak through the cracks and has rewarded special interest groups for maintaining the status quo.

Critics of the comprehensive education reform efforts that are boldly underway in the State Capitol think they know best and that more money (for adults) is necessary to improve student outcomes. Like me, and my leaky pipe, they are seriously mistaken.

Consider that only 33 percent of Pennsylvania’s 4th graders and 36 percent of 8th graders can read at a basic proficiency. Eighth grade math scores are not much better with only 38 percent of students proficient. Opponents of reform claim that Harrisburg has cut $860 million in education funding this fiscal year. But these special interest groups are the only ones that will feel these cuts in their pocketbooks (PSEA alone boasts an annual income of $101 million, according to the Commonwealth Foundation); it won’t be the kids or classroom teachers.

Pennsylvania’s neighbors have led by example and have provided exceptional advice. Students in Washington, DC’s Opportunity Scholarship Program posted graduation rates that were 18 percent above their conventional public school peers.

Students who participated in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program for four years demonstrated significantly higher learning gains in math (11 percentage points) and reading (6 percentage points) than their peers in conventional public schools. In addition, they graduated at a rate that was 18 percent higher than students in conventional public schools.

Students who participated in the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program demonstrated a seven-percentage point increase in reading scores and a 15-percentage point increase in math scores over their peers in conventional public schools.

Low-income students participating in a Florida corporate voucher program are keeping pace with — and in many cases outpacing — all students nationwide (not just low-income children), despite the fact that the scholarships are a third of the cost of the per pupil expenditures in conventional schools.

The data do not lie. School choice works. Critics are afraid to use the data in this respect, but choose to make broad statements with no numbers to back their claims up.

Truth be told, across Pennsylvania, there are working families with students trapped in low-performing schools –– these families deserve better educational options. Lawmakers in Harrisburg are working to re-empower working families with the resources they need to choose the best school for their child.

Opponents to the reform efforts claim that such legislation would have a negative impact on public school funding and student achievement or that it is unconstitutional and that such programs discriminate.

The current school choice proposals in Pennsylvania would actually save the state money by using existing funds already being spent on persistently failing schools, simply allowing parents to redirect that money away from schools that do not meet their children’s needs to schools that do.

The United States Supreme Court has upheld voucher programs in other parts of the country and Pennsylvania case law clearly permits the transfer of funds to parents for the purposes of exercising school choice.

Contrary to the claim that choice programs discriminate, in Pennsylvania, nearly 600,000 students would be eligible by year three of the program. In fact, 78 percent of Pennsylvanians support the idea that all students should be eligible for the scholarship according to a recent statewide poll.

Pennsylvania is poised to be the third state to have statewide choice, behind Indiana and Ohio. Thirteen other states have expansive programs that focus on the needs of children.

Lawmakers in the Keystone State can no longer be paralyzed by politics and special interests. It’s time to stop the leaky pipe that is failing our kids. The longer they procrastinate, the more taxpayers will be forced to throw good money after bad. School choice in Pennsylvania is the sure fix to stop the state’s flood of disaster that is the current public education system.