With Voucher Issue Heating Up, Phoenixville School District May Take Stance

As members of the state senate’s education committee met for a day-long hearing Wednesday on vouchers, the Phoenixville Area School Board briefly discussed the topic at its Thursday work session.

Sen. Jeffrey Piccola (R-Dauphin) and Sen. Anthony Williams (D-Philadelphia) introduced the legislation, known as Senate Bill 1. 

“Personally, I don’t think it’s a good way to spend taxpayer money,” School Board Member Betsy Ruch said Thursday.

Ruch described the bill to the school board. It would be phased in over three years.

“This would provide taxpayer funded tuition vouchers to students from low-income families attending underperforming schools to be used for either public, private or parochial schools,” Ruch said.

The board directed Superintendent Dr. Alan Fegley to get a resolution together for the board to discuss at the Feb. 17 school board meeting. School Board President Paul Slaninka said the bill seemed to have support in the state capital.

“Dr. Fegley and I had a meeting with one of the representatives and we were told there are some heavy hitters in Harrisburg who want this to happen. It’s almost a fait accompli,” Slaninka said.

The Pennsylvania School Boards Association has a Web page devoted to the voucher issue and offers up two letters boards can send to legislators to express opposition to the bill.

In one letter, the theory that vouchers would spur competition and improve education is eschewed.

“Senate Bill 1 is based on the idea that vouchers will create competition among public and private schools, which will spur innovation and improve the quality of education for all students,” the letter states. “Due to the many obligations public schools must shoulder, the contemplated competition among public and private schools and the resulting improvement in our struggling schools may not occur.”

A second letter points out that the voucher system singles out certain students and weakens public education by taking funding from low-achieving schools. The letter suggests overhauling and improving the public school system entirely.

Supporters of Senate Bill 1, such as the REACH Foundation, argue that school choice would let families choose the best education for their children.

“Too many children are still trapped in failing government-run, ZIP code-based schools ([more than] 60,000 in Philadelphia alone),” the REACH Web site says. “Parents—and children—can’t afford to wait any longer to be given the option to attend a school that best fits their educational needs.”

Locally, State Sen. Andy Dinniman (D-Chester, Montgomery) serves as the minority chair of the state senate education committee. The hearing is being broadcast live on PCN. The last speaker goes before the committee at 3 p.m.

The next school board meeting will be held Thursday at 7 p.m.