POINT

COUNTERPOINT

It's A Matter Of Choice

Dangers Aplenty With Vouchers

than for government to collect educa-
Morristown, N.J.
tional taxes from all its citizens, but
his year's election may have
provide funds only to those who agree
more impact on the future
to subject their children to the indoc-
of the.American Jewish
trination of the government-run
community than any in
schools? We need not refrain from
recent history. For Jews, and other
calling it indoctrination, for children
minorities as well, the issue
are taught that the world
of school choice can deter-
came about from itself, and
mine our very survival, both
there is no such thing as
materially and spiritually.
absolute morality.
As portrayed in so many
What is so ironic about
recent articles in the Anglo-
this entire matter is that our
Jewish press, there is a great
society is so concerned with
dearth of slots in yeshivot
respecting the civil rights of
and day schools, resulting in
every individual. Yet, we
many of our youth being
tread on the civil rights of
denied a Jewish education.
ISRAEL
parents who merely want
Add to this the many thou-
the free choice to raise their
TEITELBAUM
sands who send their chil-
children in accordance with
Special to
dren to public schools, with
their heritage. As Jersey
the best of intentions, never
the Jewish News
City
Mayor Bret Schundler,
dreaming how far this can
leader
of the school choice
lead their children to stray
movement
in
New
Jersey, puts it,
from Judaism.
"The desire of our founding fathers
Was this the intention of the First
was to respect the right of parents to
Amendment to our Constitution,
determine the appropriate education

T

"We tread on the
civil rights of
parents who
merely want the
free choice to
raise their
children in
accordance with
their heritage."

— Israel Teitelbaum

which specifically provided for govern-
ment not to interfere with religion?
What greater interference can there be

Israel Teitelbaum is a co-founder of
Parents for Free Choice in Education.
The Morristown, NJ-based organiza-
tion was founded in 1998 in the wake
of the U.S. Supreme Court decision to
let stand the Wisconsin Supreme Court
ruling approving the school-voucher pro-
gram in Milwaukee. He can be reached
at (973) 267-4213, or via e-mail,
schoolchoice@earthlink.net

lates the essence of democracy. The
Bloomfield Township
Michigan Constitution has expressly
sing tax dollars to subsidize
prohibited the use of public money,
private and parochial
directly or indirectly, to support pri-
schools is bad public policy
vate and parochial schools for 37
and bad for the Jewish
years. Changing the Constitution will
community.
hurt public schools, where more than
On Nov. 7,
95 percent of our
Michigan voters
Jewish children are
will be asked to
enrolled. A vouch-
change our state
er system will
Constitution to
siphon tax dollars
permit tax dollars
from all public
to be used indirect-
schools,
including
ly to finance private
those
that
serve
and religious
the children with
schools. This seri-
the greatest needs.
ously threatens the
Proposal 1 is seri-
HOWARD I. W ALLACH AND
religious freedom
ously flawed, and
that has flourished
MINDY NATHAN
we urge you to
in this country, in
Special to the Jewish News
vote "No" in
part because the
November.
founders recog-
nized the need to separate government
Widespread Opposition
and religion. Michigan's system of com-
All of the major Jewish organizations
pulsory education for grades K-12 is not
(17 already, with more expected) in
only the law, but also has served our
community very well.

On The Ballot

On Nov. 7, Michigan voters will consider Proposal 1.
Specifically, passage through a majority of "yes" votes would:
• Permit indirect public aid to non-public preschool through sec-
ondary schools, including tuition vouchers, tuition tax credits, tax
benefits, exemptions or deductions, subsidies, grants or loans of public
money or property.
• Provide parents in districts with a graduation rate of less than two-
thirds in 1998-99 a tuition voucher of up to $3,100 (half of what the
state spends, on average, per public-school pupil) to pay tuition at a
private or parochial school.
• Allow other districts to adopt vouchers with a vote of the people or
the school board.
• Require teacher testing on academic subjects in public schools and
in non-public schools that redeem tuition vouchers.
• Adjust minimum per-pupil funding from 1994-95 to 2000 - 2001
level.

of their children."

Why We Need Choice
The school-choice issue affects our
society in many other ways as well.
The education of our youth is what
shapes our society. Therefore, when we
seek the root causes of our societal
problems, such as moral confusion
and crime, the first place to look is at
the educational system. Mikel Holt,
author of Not Yet Free at Last, a book
that describes the 20-year battle for
school choice in Milwaukee, summa-
rizes the matter: "We're losing an
entire generation of black children

POINT

on page 38

CA voucher
system will
siphon tax
dollars from all
public schools,
including those
that serve the
children with the
greatest needs."

— Mindy Nathan
and Howard Wallach

Subsidizing religious schools with
tax dollars so they can provide the
education mandated by state law vio-

Mindy Nathan is a co-chair of the
JCAV, a member of the Bloomfield Hills
Board of Education and a board mem-
ber of the Anti-Defamation League and
the National Council of Jewish Women.

Howard I. Wallach is a co-chair of the
JCAV, immediate past president of the
Jewish Community Council of Metro-
politan Detroit, a local attorney, presi-
dent of the Israel Cancer Association of
Michigan and a board member of the
ADL, the American Jewish Committee
and Congregation Beth Ahm.

metropolitan Detroit have united as
the Jewish Coalition Against Vouchers
(JCAV). Support of the principle of
separation of church and state forms
the backbone of the JCAV's opposi-
tion to Proposal 1. Using tax dollars
to subsidize private and religious insti-
tutions not only deprives us of the
freedom to direct our dollars to the
religious institutions of our choice,
but also forces us to support the reli-
gious education of others.

COUNTERPOINT

on page 38

9/8
2000

37

