LETTERS: Give vouchers a chance

After reading Ian Rosenblum's guest column noting the national importance of public education reform ("Better public education for all," The Summer Pennsylvanian, 6/11/98), I thought that the Penn community might like to learn a little more about how this issue is unfolding in Philadelphia. Instead of raising local taxes another $150 million, the parochial schools of Philadelphia (led by but not limited to the Catholic schools) would offer 20,500 students spots in any school of their choice. The program would work like this: the school district would provide selected students with $1,000 vouchers to be used at the public or private school of their parents' choice. The Philadelphia school district currently spends $6,800 per student, and almost $120 million would be saved if Mayor Rendell and Superintendent Hornbeck approve this plan. However, they rejected the plan less than 24 hours after it was received. Dr. Walter Palmer, a Penn professor who helped to author this proposal, continues the fight to get it approved. Dr. Palmer stressed how helpful this would be to poor families in Philadelphia -- those students who received the vouchers would not only reap the benefits of a non-stressed educational system themselves, but would be lessening the burden on public schools by reducing the student load by over 10 percent. The recent loans secured by the city are certainly more "stopgap" than this proposal. The 20,500 seats would remain in circulation for students to use after seniors graduate from high school and leave their spots open. The Coalition's proposal certainly isn't "stopgap"; it's a start at a new foundation for all schools in Philadelphia, and an economical one at that. Hopefully the Coalition can convince Mayor Rendell and Superintendent Hornbeck of this, before more students fall by the wayside. Hannah Sassaman SAS '01