F.A.C.E. to FACE   F.A.C.E. BULLETIN 5/11/06   Dear Friends,     An incredible editorial in the Wall Street Journal, Rotten Apples.   Great letter to the Editor by Bob Sanchez of the James Madison Institute, The aim of school vouchers is to improve public education, followed by a letter to the Editor that was published in the St. Pete Times today, Parental oversight can be problematic, that reveal a common bias: low income parents aren’t capable of knowing if a school is working.   An Editorial that appeared in the Broward Times, one of Fort Lauderdale's major black and widely read newspapers.  It makes the point that black legislators who voted against vouchers are really voting against their own.  The same can be said for white legislators with significant black/Hispanic constituents who betray poor black kids.   A piece in The Miami Herald, Let Florida voters decide on vouchers, by Roberto Martinez, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and member of the State Board of Education. Congratulations to our good friend Cory Booker on becoming the next Mayor of Newark, NJ, On 2nd Try, Booker Glides In as Newark Mayor.   Thank you for Stepping Up For Students,   Michael A. Benjamin Executive Director, F.A.C.E. Florida Alliance for Choices in Education   Wall Street Journal REVIEW & OUTLOOK                           Rotten Apples May 4, 2006; Page A14   If there were lingering doubts that teachers unions are the worms in the apple of the American education system, take a look at the monumental setback for school reform in Florida this week.   On Monday the unions in Tallahassee bullied all but one Democrat and four Republicans in the state senate to kill a school voucher bill that has already had a sterling record of success for thousands of children in districts with failing public schools. If that decision isn't reversed by Friday, one of the most heralded school reform measures anywhere in the country will be dismantled, and 775 school kids, 90% of whom are minorities, will be returned to the warehouses that are failed inner-city schools. A related voucher program that serves 18,000 learning disabled kids is also in jeopardy.   The program at issue is Governor Jeb Bush's seven-year-old "Florida A+ School Accountability and Choice Program." For the first time, schools have been graded on the reading, writing and math progress made by the children they are supposed to be teaching. (Imagine that.) Any school that received an F in two of four years is deemed a failure, and the kids then get a voucher to attend another school, public or private.   One immediate impact -- according to researchers at Harvard, Florida State, and the James Madison Institute -- has been that the mere threat of competition caused many inner-city school districts to improve. The percentage of African Americans who are now performing at or above grade level surged to 66% last year, from 23% in 1999. No union-backed school "reform" has had that rate of success -- not more funding, not higher teacher pay, not smaller class sizes, and so on. Two school districts in the state failed the program and the families were given vouchers. Those children have since made big academic gains.   But in one of the most absurd legal decisions in modern times, the Florida Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that the voucher program violated the "uniformity clause" of the state constitution guaranteeing a high-quality system of public schools. Because the performance of the voucher kids was superior to those in public schools, the court ruled that education was not uniform -- or in this case not uniformly miserable. As they used to say in the Soviet Union, everyone gets to share their poverty equally.   Governor Bush and minority families throughout the state were so enraged that they vowed to change the state constitution through a vote of the people to allow the A+ Program to go forward. But the state senate this week failed by one vote to allow that referendum to take place. Union pressure was so intense that the GOP state senate majority leader broke with his own party, his own governor and the pleas of parents and voted to topple the measure; he was removed from leadership by his fellow Republicans on Tuesday.   We're not sure whom to hold in highest contempt here: the four Republicans who buckled to union pressure, the Democrats who voted en masse against the interests of their own constituents, or the unions that pretend their political actions are in the interests of "the children" -- except when that conflicts with their own economic self interest.   The senate Republican president says he will force one more vote before Friday. The lone Democrat to vote for the measure, state senator Al Lawson, charged that his fellow party representatives, including other black members, put their fealty to the unions ahead of what's best for poor children. "Don't their parents have a right, when they pay taxes, to have their kids get the best education?" he asked.   In Florida, at least for now, the sad answer is no. And what is worse is that this week the unions and their Democratic allies -- who claim to represent these black and Hispanic families -- are celebrating their triumph in relegating another generation of children to their educational ghetto. The aim of school vouchers is to improve public education   Letter to the Editor Published May 11, 2006 The St. Petersburg Times obviously has philosophical differences with those who advocate school vouchers. Fair enough. What's unfair, though, is ascribing dubious motives to those who disagree. Yet that's the prevailing tone of much of the paper's commentary on the topic. Consider, for instance, Tuesday's editorial, A dubious virtual voucher. It accuses voucher advocates of viewing "privatization as an end unto itself."   Not so. Gov. Jeb Bush and other voucher supporters have consistently touted parental choice, together with accountability measures such as the FCAT, as a way to improve public education. Moreover, it's beginning to work, as the latest FCAT scores suggest - and as research by Harvard professor Paul Peterson and others has confirmed.   Voucher critics' constant complaints about private schools' "lack of accountability" also ring hollow. The schools attended by voucher recipients have the highest and best form of accountability: parental involvement, a byproduct of parental choice.   How sad that the Florida Senate's schism denied Floridians a chance to vote on a voucher amendment to the state Constitution. It's true, as the Times repeatedly has noted, that "the people have spoken" on the class size amendment, but they've never had a chance to speak on vouchers except in response to loaded questions in public opinion polls.   Indeed, the closest Florida voters came to a real referendum on vouchers was the 2002 race for governor between provoucher Jeb Bush and antivoucher Bill McBride, the teacher unions' candidate. Final score: Bush 56 percent, McBride 43 percent.   Robert F. Sanchez, policy director, James Madison Institute, Tallahassee     Parental oversight can be problematic   Re: A dubious virtual voucher, editorial.   I am not a fan of vouchers to fund private education. If school choice has taught us nothing else, it is that it's hard for even the most informed parents to make school decisions. What about those who are less informed? Perhaps I am cynical, but when I hear of a child who has gone from being a "D" student to an "A" student upon entering a private school, I wonder if it is the child who has improved, or the grade.   Since lawmakers are determined to keep pushing school vouchers, then I suggest they make it the law that all students in Florida, whether they are private, public or home-schooled, must take the FCAT. The results should have to be published as they are for public schools. If the FCAT is our benchmark, this would ensure that all students are meeting the required standard.   Rosemary Vieira, Palm Harbor Broward Times,   Sometimes we just get caught up. That's the only explanation most Blacks can conjure up when it comes to our Black-elected officials over the issues that impact our community like school vouchers. In truth you'd think Florida Black-elected officials wouldn't be against vouchers since vouchers primarily help Black youngsters but they won't vote for keeping them because vouchers are a Jeb Bush thing. Go figure - Black students make-up 64 percent of the "Opportunity Scholarship" vouchers participants, 42 percent of the state's "corporate Tax Credit" vouchers and 28 percent of the McKay Scholarship" vouchers for students with disabilities. And Florida's six Black State Senators, Mandy Dawson included are voting "No" on vouchers because it was a Republicans idea. Of all the people with a disability, Mandy Dawson should support vouchers, to allow Black youngsters with disabilities the same opportunity she got, when faced with numerous personal challenges. It doesn't make sense to allow politics to trump a voucher program that's beneficial to our community. I didn't always agree with Sun-Sentinel political columnist Buddy Nevin but I sure enjoyed reading his weekly column and coverage of the local political scene in Broward. Now, I find little reason to pick-up the Sentinel knowing that Buddy's political take isn't there. He had a certain edge that takes years to develop. Of course no one's irreplaceable but the paper would do well to find somebody to fill the big shoes left by Buddy.   Copyright 2006 The Miami Herald All Rights Reserved The Miami Herald May 11, 2006 Thursday SECTION: A; Pg. 31 LENGTH: 711 words HEADLINE: Let Florida voters decide on vouchers BYLINE: ROBERTO MARTINEZ, bob@colson.com BODY: Students in schools that have failed them should not be trapped in those schools merely because their parents cannot afford a better educational choice. Families with more financial resources make these choices regularly, but students with limited resources cannot. Why shouldn't low-income students be given that same choice through school vouchers? The case for school choice is that morally clear. Regrettably, last week the Florida Senate voted to deny Floridians the opportunity to decide for themselves whether to amend the state's Constitution to protect school choice. The amendment is necessary to override a decision by the Florida Supreme Court, which invalidated Florida's landmark effort to enhance parental choice over their children's education. Apart from its moral imperative, school choice, through vouchers and their threat, has been shown to improve the quality of public education in our state. Under Florida's principal voucher program (the Opportunity Scholarships Program, OPS, created by Gov. Jeb Bush's A+ Accountability Plan), students at schools that fail two out of any four years can receive a voucher to attend any school -- public or private. Research at Harvard University and elsewhere has concluded that Florida's voucher program has had a positive impact on student performance in public schools. The gains have been greatest among African-American students. This school year, 740 students participated in the OSP: 64 percent are African Americans, 30 percent are Hispanics and most come from low-income families. Unfortunately, the Florida Supreme Court decision eliminated the OSP. This is the first time that the state's Supreme Court has eliminated an educational program solely because private schools participate in them. That ruling threatens adversely to affect thousands of school children enrolled in other scholarship programs in which private schools also participate. Among the programs at risk are: The John McKay Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program, which allows parents of students with disabilities to choose the best academic environment for their children, including applying for a scholarship for the children to attend eligible private schools. This school year, 16,812 students participated in this program: 28 percent are African Americans, 19 percent are Hispanics and 46 percent are from families with limited financial resources. The Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program, which encourages private, voluntary contributions from corporate donors to nonprofit scholarship-funding organizations that award scholarships to children from low-income families. This program expands educational opportunities and school choice for children of families that have limited resources. This school year, 14,084 students participated in this program: 42 percent are African American, 22 percent are Hispanics, and all are from low-income families. The recently enacted Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Education Program, which provides a free pre-K educational program for all 4-year-olds. This school year 94,897 children were enrolled in this program, served by 4,700 providers -- approximately 87 percent of which are private or faith-based schools. These programs, serving an overwhelming number of minority students from low-income families, could be erased unless protected in our state Constitution. Ironically, at a time in which the OSP, the nation's most significant voucher program, has been eliminated, other states and municipalities have been implementing and expanding their own successful voucher programs in places as diverse as Washington, D.C., Milwaukee, Utah, Arizona and Pennsylvania. It's time to debate the merits of school choice and whether our state Constitution should be amended to protect that fundamental choice. School choice is too important to Floridians to be decided only by a group of legislators or Supreme Court justices. The public needs to hear from the thousands of low-income families and students who are helped by these programs. Their viewpoints are the ones that matter most. The people deserve the opportunity to decide this issue for themselves. Roberto Martinez, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, is a member of the State Board of Education. NY Times   May 10, 2006   On 2nd Try, Booker Glides In as Newark Mayor By DAMIEN CAVE   NEWARK, May 9 — Cory Booker, the Ivy League-educated lawyer who fought an unsuccessful battle four years ago against the powerful incumbent Sharpe James, was elected mayor on Tuesday, marking the start of a new political era in New Jersey's largest city.   With 166 of 168 districts reporting, Mr. Booker was leading his closest challenger, State Senator Ronald L. Rice, a former deputy mayor in the administration of Mayor James, by three to one, 32,134 to 10,337. It was the widest margin of victory ever recorded in Newark, the city clerk said.   Voters who had shunned Mr. Booker in 2002 indicated that they were ready for change after living under the leadership of just two mayors in the past 36 years. He has made safety his top priority, promising to overhaul the Police Department and fight gangs in schools. He has also promised to bring professionalism, accountability and fresh ideas to the city, which has long had a reputation for mismanagement.   Just after 10:30 p.m., Mr. Booker, 37, appeared on a stage at Essex County College, throwing miniature footballs into the crowd of several hundred supporters and pumping his fists.   "Newark, New Jersey, has spoken with clarity, spoken with faith, spoken with honor, spoken with love and spoken with courage," he said, during a rousing 25-minute speech. "Today, Newark, New Jersey, has embraced change."   He added, " This is the beginning of a new chapter in the life of our city."   Mr. Rice, meanwhile conceded defeat from a bingo hall downtown.   "Newark is our home, it is our promised land, and I will always be your leader," Mr. Rice, 60, said. He added: "I don't want you to feel I've disappointed you."   Mr. Booker's victory was amplified by his seeming success in the Municipal Council races, where his candidates swept to a probable majority. The council's support will be integral as he takes charge of this mostly minority city of 280,000, which is enjoying a revival downtown even as it fights to overcome the poverty that grips a third of its families, and the relentless street crime that early Tuesday morning left two teenagers shot dead in a parking lot.   Some of Mr. Booker's supporters had been backing him since he first moved to Newark in 1995 and ran successfully for a seat on the Municipal Council in 1998. He also drew an array of celebrities as supporters, including Oprah Winfrey and Spike Lee, and millions of dollars in campaign contributions from people living outside Newark.   Mr. Booker, a chatty former Rhodes scholar who developed his oratorical talents at Yale Law School, has been tagged by fellow Democrats as a rising star in the party, even as he struggled to win citywide approval.   Newark residents expected change no matter who would have emerged victorious: Mr. James dropped out of the contest in March, leaving an open seat for the first time in decades.   The city has had only two mayors since 1970, when Kenneth Gibson was elected, becoming the first African-American big city mayor in the Northeast. He was defeated for re-election in 1986 by Mr. James, who rode into office as a reformer.   Both men were shaped by the scorching Newark riot of 1967, which set the tone for their policies and politics and fed into a culture of hostility between the city's leaders and middle-class whites, who fled the city in droves.   Mr. Booker is also African-American, though he was accused of being not black enough during both campaigns by his opponents and their supporters.   Walter Fields, a former director of the N.A.A.C.P. in New Jersey, said that Mr. Booker's background and wide canvas of interests set him alongside other young minority leaders who are laying out a broader vision than their predecessors.   "This is important," Mr. Fields said, "because now you've got a Cory Booker in Newark, a Barack Obama in Illinois — the children of the civil rights generation are growing up and they're taking control. It's what our parent and grandparents were hoping for."   At times in recent days, Mr. Rice has seemed resigned to defeat, comparing his campaign to the Alamo. Though Mr. James pledged his support, it was only in recent days that he attended public campaign events on Mr. Rice's behalf, and at those he fed into the notion that Mr. Rice was still very much subordinate to his former City Hall boss. Mr. James had toyed with the public — and with Mr. Rice — by waiting until late March to announce his decision not to run. That left Mr. Rice only weeks to put together a campaign that struggled to raise money and compete.   Until Mr. James dropped out, it had appeared very likely that Newark would see a repeat of the campaign of 2002, when he and Mr. Booker fought a bitter and volatile campaign that was captured in the Academy Award-nominated documentary, "Street Fight." Mr. James has never provided a full explanation of why he decided not to seek a sixth term, though Mr. Booker has said that Mr. James was aware that he was lagging in the polls.   Though he will pass power to Mr. Booker July 1 — leaving a job where he earns about $190,000 year to chair an urban affairs institute at Essex County College that will pay him $40,000 less — Mr. James will not completely recede from the scene.   As a state senator representing Newark through 2007, "he will be gone but not forgotten, and is going to remain a powerful force as a potential advocate for the city," said David Rebovich, a political science professor at Rider University.   The success of Mr. Booker's administration, including his promises to put more police officers on the streets, regain mayoral control of schools and impose order on the chaos of the city's housing and development boom, will rest on the results of the Municipal Council races, most analysts have said. In the final days of the campaign, he fought aggressively to see his slate of council candidates elected.   Last night, three of his hand-picked Council candidates won outright while four others were in strong positions for a runoff election on June 13. None of the candidates allied with Mayor James won, including his son, John James, a candidate in the South Ward.   Voters dribbled into the polls, with overall turnout slightly below what it was in 2002, when the fierce campaign attracted national attention.   Even with his council victories, Mr. Booker may still face opposition.   "He's going to encounter a bureaucracy that has not had change in 20 years," said Reginald T. Jackson, executive director of the Black Ministers' Council of New Jersey. "It's going to be resistant."   On Tuesday, as both candidates crisscrossed the city by S.U.V., the canyon between the wealth and organization of their campaigns was hard to miss. Mr. Rice, who was outspent by more than 25 to 1, arrived at his local polling site more than three hours after he had been scheduled, at 11 a.m., apologetically noting to a pack of waiting reporters that he had stayed up all night going over election plans.   He spent what remained of the morning speeding in a gray Ford Explorer through the residential back streets of Newark, waving at supporters through the passenger window as the vehicle's tires screeched. A loudspeaker lashed to the roof blasted a campaign song with the lyrics, "Ron Rice, he's our next mayor!" laid over a melody from the Bee Gee's "Night Fever."   At one point, after stopping by a church to hand out fliers, Mr. Rice stood alone on Orange Street, smoked a cigarette, drank a cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee and shouted at voters, "Come to my fight, I need you in my corner! Take care of my cuts!"   At another point, Mr. Rice stopped by Newark's main post office, where he waited in line to mail several letters.   Mr. Booker, by contrast, who raised more than $6 million, roughly twice what he spent four years ago, was traveling with an entourage that reflected a muscular political organization that included most of the city's unions and elected officials.   He rolled through the streets at the head of a convoy of campaign vehicles, blowing through red lights as bystanders on the sidewalks in do-rags and sideways baseball caps pumped their fists in the air and yelled out: "Yes ! Yes !"   At one point, he made a point of seeking out supporters of Mr. Rice for doses of his charm, telling one group, "I hope we can work together when this is over."   Outside one polling place in a school on Webster Street near downtown, Eli Perez, a Democratic district leader, said he had just voted for Mr. Booker because he was sick and tired of all the crime in Newark.   "There are prostitutes on my street corner and I call the police and nothing ever gets done," Mr. Perez said   Four years ago, he didn't vote for Mr. Booker. "But I've talked with him now," Mr. Perez said, "and realize he's a great man."   Janon Fisher, John Koblin and Nate Schweber contributed reporting for this article.

 

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