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With
Coleman's Help, Republicans Promote School Voucher Plan
by Rob Hotakainen, Star Tribune, 10/13/2003
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A year after the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of
public school vouchers, Congress is trying to approve the first
federal program of its kind -- with help from Sen. Norm Coleman.
After opposing vouchers in his Senate campaign last year, the
Minnesota Republican is backing the plan, which would give
$7,500 to low-income students in Washington, D.C., to pay for
tuition at private and parochial schools. President Bush and
Washington Mayor Anthony Williams are among the key promoters of
the plan, which would cost $13 million.
"I'm not going to push for vouchers for Minnesota kids," Coleman
said in an interview. "I'm not going to push for a national
program. But I will certainly support the local mayor in his
effort to provide greater opportunity for his kids."
In a speech on the Senate floor, Coleman recalled how he
supported an experimental voucher program for St. Paul schools
in 1996 when he was the city's mayor.
"And not a single elected official, other than myself, would
stand up and do it. . . . What are we afraid of?" he said.
After debating the issue for five days recently and getting
nowhere, Senate leaders decided to postpone a vote. But the
issue is expected to come back later this month.
Mark Dayton, Minnesota's Democratic senator, said he will vote
against the voucher plan.
"I expect it will pass, given the propensity of the Republican
caucus to support almost unanimously what the administration is
asking for," said Dayton, a former public school teacher in New
York City.
'Got hammered'
Despite his support for the proposal, Coleman said he dislikes
even using the word "voucher." "In my state it's a pretty
divisive word," he told his colleagues.
When Coleman ran for governor in 1998, Democrats criticized him
for supporting former Gov. Arne Carlson's voucher proposal. In
1999, while attending a mayors summit in Washington, Coleman
recalled how he "got hammered on the voucher issue" in his
gubernatorial campaign.
Calling it "the deadly v-word," Coleman said then that
Republicans needed "to get away from the voucher word." In his
Senate campaign last year, Coleman opposed vouchers, saying the
issue was too divisive and that it was time to "find another
way" to promote school choice.
"I have to tell you that when I ran I said I'm not going to be
pushing the voucher issue," Coleman said in his Senate speech.
"I'm not going to be pushing it in Minnesota."
He expressed hope that members of Congress "have the courage to
give it a shot and give it a chance" for the children of
Washington.
Last month, the House voted 205-203 to approve its voucher plan
for Washington students. The House bill passed with support from
three Minnesota Republicans -- Gil Gutknecht, Mark Kennedy and
John Kline. It was opposed by the state's four Democratic House
members -- Betty McCollum, Martin Sabo, Collin Peterson and Jim
Oberstar, as well as Republican Rep. Jim Ramstad.
Ramstad said that vouchers would open the door to government
regulation of private and public schools, threatening their
independence. In addition, he said that vouchers could hurt
public schools.
"We simply cannot afford to divert scarce resources from our
public schools at a time when they are struggling financially to
educate record enrollments," Ramstad said. "Vouchers would
benefit only a few children, at best, at the expense of the vast
majority of students."
No effect
Coleman said the proposal in Congress would have "not one dime
of impact" in Minnesota.
"I don't see why anybody in Minnesota would be concerned if the
mayor of Washington wants to provide another choice and
opportunity for the kids in Washington," he said.
Dayton said the voucher plan "has very important national
implications that affects all school districts," because it
would be the first federal program approved by Congress and
signed into law by a president.
Coleman's stance drew mixed reviews in Minnesota.
Judy Schaubach, president of Education Minnesota, the teachers
union, said that instead of supporting vouchers, Congress should
be "funding the things we know that work," such as lower class
sizes, well-qualified teachers and reading programs.
Of the voucher plan, she said: "The purpose for doing it is
allegedly to help these kids, but there's just no evidence that
that's how it's going to work. So it's disappointing that
somehow that rhetoric is resonating with the senator. . . . When
public money is spent in this way, it does have an impact. I
mean, there are limited dollars available."
Warren Grantham, executive director of the Minnesota Education
League, a nonprofit group that promotes school choice, applauded
Coleman and said Washington schools need immediate help.
"Though we are approaching the kind of situation they have in
D.C., with our black kids especially, the education system here
isn't in meltdown as it is out there," he said. "Kids in D.C.
have no hope, and parents need help."
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