School board members in Duval County, Fla., blocked a motion Tuesday night that would have forced them to vote on a resolution opposing a lawsuit that seeks to end the nation’s largest private school choice program.
Board member Jason Fischer, who crafted the resolution, tried to add it to the agenda, but could not get a second. Two of his six fellow board members, Becki Couch and Paula Wright, are in leadership positions in the Florida School Boards Association, which, along with the Florida teachers union, Florida PTA and other groups, filed suit last week against the state’s 13-year-old tax credit scholarship program.
Fischer couldn’t bring the resolution forward sooner because the agenda was published before the suit was filed. But with the FSBA board of directors meeting Wednesday in Vero Beach, and the families of more than 60,000 scholarship students in limbo, Fischer said it couldn’t wait.
“We are dues paying members of FSBA and as you know if their lawsuit is successful it would deny low-income children, some of the poorest children in our community, their right to attend a school of their choice,” said Fischer, who vowed to try again with the resolution next month. “This is an issue that has unnecessarily created concern and chaos in the lives of tens of thousands of disadvantaged families across the state of Florida, almost 5,000 in Duval County alone. It is appalling. It is shameful.”
“Why in the world would anyone attack the students who are the most vulnerable and the most struggling?”
Couch’s response: The program doesn’t come with enough regulatory accountability.
“That doesn’t mean that there aren’t schools that accept the scholarships and do a great job because there are,” she said, according to WJCT News. “But it’s having that consistency across the state to ensure that all children receive a quality education and that there’s accountability for that.”
About a dozen tax credit scholarship parents attended the board meeting, and a half-dozen spoke to board members.
“I totally believe in what the public school has to offer, but as parents, we have the right to choose what is best for our children,” said parent Tiffany Clark, according to WJCT.
Another parent, Charles Craven, described how his brother’s child frequently comes home crying because of bullying in public school, while his children attend a private school with few problems. The scholarships, he continued, “allow us to have the American dream, the pursuit of our children’s happiness and the chance for a good education.”
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Why worry? If vouchers are declared unconstitutional then private charities and businesses can contribute the money to cover the voucher.
Hi Parent and Teacher, the current “voucher” program (as you call it) is already backed by contributions from private businesses to private charities.
Excellent. Then if the voucher program is unconstitutional then they can still pay for it….just without a tax credit. No big deal. Right?
Well this is an interesting comment. Why are you ok with private school scholarship contributions backed by tax deductions and not tax credits?
Whatever you choose to call it, corporations can pay for vouchers if they choose. They need not receive a tax credit or deduction. Let them pay to send kids to private school.
Are you not the least bit curious to find out if the voucher system you have is constitutional? Yes or no.