Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 25 June 1999 — Page 2
PAGE A2
THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER
FRIDAY, JUNE 25,1999
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CHOICE Continued from A1
model with its recently-passed initiatives. Ironically Heffeman, like most national dignitaries who engage in local dialogue, said the local agenda actually helped further Florida aims. Indianapolis is generally known as one of the founders of the agenda because of the work of privately-owned foundations that have garnered funding to move students in lowincome families away from schools that are under-educating
them.
“Indianapolis is a catalyst for the school choice agenda,” he said. “It’s such a controversial idea and it’s so misunderstood people just shy away from it.” Under current Florida legislation, children in kindergarten through 12th grade are given tuition grants of $3,400 per year if they attended a school that received an “F* rating the two previous academic years. Kindergartners and first graders assigned to such schools are also eligible for the “opportunity scholar-
ships.”
The state-funded grants are used to enroll the student in a better institution as deemed by the parent-that includes’ private schools or-public schools that have a “C” rating or better.
emment sanctioned phenomenon in Indiana, said Heffeman. According to the choice advocate, choice has become a partisan politics issue that has been deemed conservative. And, in the state’s current leadership structure, gaining support from Democrats has been slow in coming. “Everything was positioned in place in Florida,” Heffeman said. “We absolutely benefited in that it had become an election issue. Republicans seem to be much more enamored with the choice agenda rather than Democrats.” , It is believed by local choice | advocates that, as was the case in
Florida, the battle for choice will i be won at the polls. More impor-1 tantly, because all sides agree' J the issue’s ramifications have a ; j profound effect on minorities, | j particularly African Americans, 1
the local charge must be willed
by Black leadership.
Locally, predominantly Black organizations like the Urban
Patrick Heffeman to public capital. That misconception, he added, is one of the primary reasons Indiana has not achieved what Florida
has.
“Our issue is simply that as many
families as possible should have as many choices as possible,” Heffeman said. “One of the most
constant refrains is ‘you’re taking Christian Schools Coalition have money from public schools.’Well, continued collaborative works
public money does not belong to
the schools that are failing. “This is a justice issue,” he
added. “Public funds should go to
better education.”
The misconception is refuted tive in several areas, African-12
Importantly, parents are given further in that, according to the American organizations, in large j information that discloses their Florida program, even schools that part, have openly opposed any « assigned-school’s rating annu- receive an “F” rating receive sub- choice agendas. In Florida, for f «
stantial funding to improve. Addi- example, the NAACPhas teamed J tionally, in several systems nation- with the American Civil Liberwide, public school systems still ties Union, the PTA and the receive money for children they do Florida Teachers Union in litiganot teach (choice scholarships do tion against the new agenda. I • not use the entire funds allotted to Heffeman said that since the f : teach a child in a given year, public teachers union stands to lose j systems are rewarded the remain- funds if choice agendas are sue- * ing amounts.) cessful, their reasoning behind ! But it. is not just the issue of opposition is obvious. It is the abandonment that prohibits educa- Black organizations that he and •
tional choice from becoming a gov-
^ I] with the state’s choice founda- * j tions in the effort to expedite J j state-wide political action. j But, while early studies sup- jj j port theories that choice is effec- 2
ally.
One of the most common misconceptions, according to Heffeman, is that when the debate for school choice arises, most believe it to be public money allotted solely to private schools. And, since 85 percent of Florida’s non-government schools are parochial, choice advocates also had to battle the opinion that faithbased institutions have no right
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other choice advocates are most
concerned with.
“The NAACP’s stance is a
great disappointment to me,” said Heffeman, who is also involved the Miami Urban League, one of the few Black organizations to support the issue. ‘To be honest, I don’t know why they oppose this. I feel perhaps it is because there are so few examples of this in the U.S. they may be persuaded not to try. And there’s a fear that poor children are going to be left behind in this. But the children most likely to benefit are in low-income areas. We also know that the majority of those
children are minorities.”
Rev. Marlon Moss, Jr., who j recently joined the local choice 2 effort, said that educational 2 choice faces an uphill climb in 2 African-American circles be- ; cause of the facade the issue cur- > j rently possesses. „; “Many people feel choice jj 2 would push us back several years 3 2 as a people,” Moss said, citing 2 court-ordered bussing to support 12 his statement. “What they fail to j realize is that this is just to pro- j vide parents with a choice for the. 2 education of their child. They I: should have the will to do that.” *
As the local debate on educa-
tional choice continues, local advocates said the new G.E.O./ Friedman partnership will help 2 bolster the local effort while col- 2 leering local and national re- j sources. jj 2 “I think it secures a base and 2 provides stability so that we can 12 help the community grow and! 2 understand the issue,” said* 2 G.E.O. President Kevin Teasiey. ■ 2 “It gives us a presence and a! 2
unified direction.”
But, saidTeasley,G.E.O. will 2 work simply as a agent The real ^ * change, choice advocates agree/ must begin with inner-city community awareness and solidarity
on the issue.
I
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