"The idea behind this proposal is
contrary to the intention of the
Constitution — that every child has
the best public access to an education."

frinettit Miller

Debate

"I have seen how Jewish education is
not as accessible as it should be ...
I think a new look has to be
taken, under new realities."

Rabbi F.B. "Bunny" Freedman

still undecided, with court action anticipated.
Funding, in the form of vouchers or "opportunity
scholarships," would come from the state education
budget, subtracted from the money that normally
would go to the neighborhood public school to edu-
cate that child. Private schools would be under no
obligation to accept voucher students.
Nationally, no state has yet passed a successful
statewide school voucher proposal. Legal fights
over vouchers, tax credits and other school plans
have or are still being waged in at least 10 states
and Puerto Rico. And California continues to try
to put a proposal on the ballot.
Michigan proponents frequently cite the
Milwaukee voucher program, the only one upheld
by the courts. But it has received mixed reviews.
So far, no studies show vouchers significantly
improving student performance.

Taking Sides

Kids First! Yes! is the statewide organization support-
ing the voucher proposal. Grand Rapids businessman
Dick DeVos, the group's co-chair, called the proposal
an attempt to even the educational playing field in
the state and to give hope to thousands of Michigan
parents and their kids.
"Many of our public schools do a fabulous job,"
he continued, "but there are a group of schools in
this state that simply are not getting the job done. If
you are a parent living in one of these districts with-
out adequate economic means, you have no alterna-
tive for your children. [The families] are trapped in a
failing school district, even though they are paying
taxes into the system."
Locally, the plan's most visible Jewish supporter is
Rabbi E.B. "Bunny" Freedman, administrator of the

"

the Southfield-based Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy
Network. Rabbi Freedman said he initially became
involved about seven years ago because he believes
there's a need for state funding to allow more low-
income students to attend Jewish day schools.
"I have seen how Jewish education is not as acces-
sible as it should be," said Rabbi Freedman, a former
educator in Orthodox Jewish schools for 15 years.
"One reason is that parents who want to send their
child to a Jewish school are taxed doubly — when
they pay the tuition and when they pay property
tax..
Rabbi Freedman now believes the effort to get
public funding for non-public education has another
purpose = allowing students from recognizably poor
school districts to have the opportunity for better
education at private schools.
He became the first Jew on the Kids First! Yes!
board. Rabbi Freedman called group members "car-
ing, sincere people."

Opposing The Issue

The proposal's opponents say it is a cynical ploy that
would benefit only a few students, leaving the needi-
est in public schools even more financially and intel-
lectually depleted than before. Opponents see the
underlying goal of the proposal as helping fund pri-
vate and parochial schools.
"Vouchers will take resources away from our
neighborhood schools — we know it and voucher
supporters know it," said Georgene Campbell, chair-
person of ALL Kids First!, the statewide group
opposing the proposal.
The Michigan Jewish Coalition Against Vouchers
is a member organization of ALL Kids First! MJCAV
represents more than 12 local groups, including the
Jewish Community Council of Metropolitan Detroit,
the Anti-Defamation League, B'nai B'rith, American
Jewish Committee and the Greater Detroit Chapter
of Hadassah.
"Mainstream Jewish people will not see this
voucher proposal as a relief plan for anything other
than some private and parochial schools," said
MJCAV co-chair Mindy Nathan, a school board
member in the Bloomfield Hills School District.
Miller said, "I wish I could make the Jewish com-
munity see [that] the small amount they would
receive from the state would be a drop in the bucket
compared to the amount of tax money that would go
to religious institutions they would never support."

Demystifying The Proposal

Voters should not expect to see the words "voucher"
or "opportunity scholarship" anywhere on the Nov. 7
ballot.
Although the exact wording has not yet been
approved, it will resemble the wording on petitions
that put the proposal on the ballot. Those petitions
called for "a proposed amendment to the Michigan
Constitution to provide for guaranteed school fund-
ing, teacher testing and school choice."
Here's what the three phrases mean:
Guaranteed school funding: In Michigan, public
schools' major funding has been a per-pupil allot-

VOUCHERS

on page 10

7
2000

