• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Agreement on Vouchers for Schools Still Elusive *** Number of Students Needed to Justify Transfers Falls Short

Posted on: Wednesday, 11 January 2006, 18:00 CST

By WILL SENTELL

Agreement on vouchers for schools still elusive *** Number of students needed to justify transfers falls short

Talks about using tax dollars for 3,000 public-school students to attend Catholic schools in New Orleans have failed to produce an agreement.

It seems to have been like a summer shower. It quickly evaporated, said the Rev. William Maestri, superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

State Superintendent of Education Cecil Picard, who showed unusual interest in the proposal in October, said the effort failed because there are not enough students to justify sending public- school students to Catholic schools, not because state leaders had a sudden change of heart.

We have plenty, plenty of capacity, which we did not know at the time, Picard said of public schools in New Orleans, which have been struggling to reopen since Hurricane Katrina struck Aug. 29.

Whether to use state tax dollars for students to attend private and parochial schools the payments are called vouchers has triggered arguments in the Legislature since the 1960s.

Catholic school leaders and other backers contend the payments give parents more choices.

They said those options are needed in New Orleans, plagued by troubled public schools long before Katrina.

Public-school leaders and other voucher opponents, which included Picard for years, say vouchers would rob public schools of vital dollars.

In an unusual move, the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted in October for Picard and others to talk to the archdiocese about using state tax dollars so 3,000 public-school students could attend Catholic schools.

Maestri said the archdiocese was asking for $2,500 per student about $7.5 million that otherwise would have gone to support those students in public schools.

He said the schools would accept students with previous discipline problems and those with disabilities. Maestri said that stance contradicted criticism that Catholic schools were only interested in cherry-picking the best pupils.

Maestri said students using vouchers would be subject to Louisianas standardized tests, another sticking point in past debates.

Picard said the states interest in the plan disappeared when it became apparent 17 public schools would be ready in New Orleans this month.

Those schools have a capacity of 12,000 students, and about 10,000 are expected.

The mix includes charter schools, those under state oversight for failing to meet performance scores and other schools run by the Orleans Parish School Board.

We have 17 schools that could be opened on the East and West Bank, and we dont have but a couple of thousand kids, Picard said.

Before those schools opened there were concerns public schools in New Orleans would remain closed until the fall 2006.

We did not know that at the time, Picard said of the October meeting where state officials said they were interested in voucher talks.

Maestri said school needs remain, especially for residents of the inner city.

I am very concerned that the vast majority of public school children in Orleans Parish remain unschooled, he said.

Source: Advocate; Baton Rouge, La.

More News in this Category