For Immediate Release:
December 5, 2011
Christian Estevez, Chair,
Education Committee – 973-418-7012
Daniel Santo Pietro, Chair,
Public Policy Committee – 732-496-9628
The Latino Action Network [LAN]
today announced its opposition to the Opportunity Scholarship Act because it
would drain money away from public education and give it to corporate interests
so it could be doled out to private schools.
“The Opportunity Scholarship
Act is a big gimmick that benefits corporate interests that would do nothing to
help poor children stuck in failing school districts,” said Christian Estevez,
Executive Vice President of the Latino Action Network and Chair of the
Education Committee. “Not one penny of corporate money would fund the
scholarships established by this misguided legislation. The state would take
money from our public schools and hand it to the corporations, who would then
claim corporate philanthropy with our tax dollars.”
Estevez concluded: “This is an
educational gimmick of the worst sort. This legislation does nothing to address
the core issues of housing and educational segregation. We pledge to work with
legislators to address the real issues that hurt so many children of low and
moderate-income families.”
Below is the official policy
statement of the Latino Action Network with regards to the Opportunity
Scholarship Act:
The Latino Action Network
opposes the publicly funded voucher bill known as the ‘Opportunity Scholarship
Act’. This voucher law would provide corporations a 100% tax credit for
contributions made to a state run voucher program, which would then distribute
the funds. This legislation would divert from $360 million to over $1 billion
in tax dollars away from the public education system to private and religious
schools.
The Opportunity Scholarship
Act, as written, diverts tax dollars already owed to the state of New Jersey without
requiring any additional contribution from corporations. Participating corporations
will be given bragging rights for providing ‘scholarships’ without making any
sacrifice on their part.
The Latino Action Network
believes that it is fiscally irresponsible to divert up to one billion dollars
from struggling schools in order to pay for a voucher program that has failed
to improve the academic achievement of students using them in other states.
Furthermore, providing vouchers to a small group of students does nothing to
address the underlying conditions that cause schools to struggle in the first
place. The vast majority of students in communities with high concentrations of
poverty would still be trapped in struggling schools.
There is clear agreement from both sides of this debate that
the vast majority of poor children of color in New Jersey are confined to the state’s
lowest performing schools based solely on the zip code in which they reside.
The members of the Latino Action Network believe that we must do everything we
can to end the practice of educational and housing segregation in our state. In
the meantime, we must provide immediate relief to as many students as we can.
The Opportunity Scholarship Act does not provide that relief.
Private and
religious schools have no requirement to prove that public money spent in their
institutions will be used to improve students' academic experiences or
achievements. These schools are not held to the same level of standards or
accountability as public schools. At a time when our schools need more
efficiency and effectiveness, this legislation will lead to less
accountability. It is incongruous for Gov. Christie to both say that schools
should be measured based on results and to push the Opportunity Scholarship Act
which has neither proven effective in increasing results nor requires better
results.
There are many
ways the state can increase access to excellent public schools for children who
live in high poverty areas. These options include the expansion of models like
magnet schools, charter schools, and the Interdistrict School Choice Program
which enables all students to attend a public school outside their district of
residence without any additional cost to their parents or to taxpayers.
The Latino Action Network
stands willing and ready to work with lawmakers to develop a comprehensive plan
that improves the public education system for the benefit of all New Jersey. We believe
that New Jersey
should strive to provide the comprehensive and equitable education which our
state constitution requires and all of our children deserve.
