Cut me a break. Contrary to the rallying cry by proponents of a school voucher plan, this is not the “civil rights” campaign of the century.

To categorize it this way is an insult to any black Philadelphian old enough to have sat in a segregated movie theater balcony, or been denied the simple privilege of trying on a hat in a Center City department store.

The reality is that the lack of a quality public education for poor children stems in large part from our own inaction and avoidance, from removing our kids and ourselves from the schools that used to educate most of us, and the commonwealth’s failure to ensure that all Pennsylvania children are equipped with an adequate, fair and equal education.

So now, as the quality of a child’s education largely remains determined by his or her address, the state Senate is advancing a Trojan-horse of a bill that it is claimed will “target these schools and those students who are trapped.”

Phased in over three years, Senate Bill 1 calls for low-income students in chronically failing schools to be eligible for state-funded vouchers (up to $9,000) in the first year, followed in year two by low-income students living within the schools’ boundaries, with all low-income students participating in the final year.

Pardon me if I hesitate to believe this magic bullet will address the myriad ills that have been allowed to fester for decades in the state’s under-performing schools.

Beginning in the 1970s, our Legislature shifted more of the burden of public school funding to local communities (in the form of property taxes) to the point where by 2006, the state’s share of the education budget was only 36 percent – as compared to the 47 percent national average.

Not surprisingly, districts in wealthier neighborhoods were able to spend more, resulting in wildly uneven expenditures; at over $21,000 per pupil Lower Merion, the highest in the state, spends twice as much as, say, Philadelphia or Upper Darby.

The Legislature and ex-Gov. Ed Rendell began to correct this disparity a couple of years ago, adopting a “fair funding” plan sending additional millions to local districts. But by then the effect was too little too late, akin to shutting the proverbial barn door 20 years after the horse galloped away.

The difference in the way Pennsylvania educates its children is stark. Both Lower Merion and South Philadelphia high schools were originally constructed in 1911. Both were demolished and rebuilt, South Philly in 1955 and Lower Merion in 1963. But last year a brand-new Lower Merion opened – at a cost of $100 million, along with Harriton, the district’s other high school, also for $100 million in 2009.

Certainly, money is not the answer to all the problems affecting lower-performing schools, but you don’t need to be a genius to figure out which kids are getting a better education.

Simply visit the libraries in the poorer schools, if they are lucky enough to have one.

We can continue to cloak the problem with diversionary terms such as “school choice” and “opportunity scholarships” – aka vouchers – or we can recognize that, if we are to have a better future, we need to start insisting that our schools function better and that they are provided the funding to do so.

While conflicting studies debating the efficacy of vouchers will be cited by the pro and con camps, concern ought to be focused on why our elected leaders are further pitting Pennsylvanians against each other instead of summoning the courage to once and for all devise a system allocating funds to school districts and kids with the greatest need instead of by ZIP code. We need to reject policies – like vouchers – that will make things worse.

So when faced with a projected $5 billion budget deficit in an increasingly competitive, global world demanding a more educated populace, how will our intrepid elected officials resolve the condition of under-performing schools?

Citizens should hope they will not kick the can down the road yet again and give poor people false expectations, instead of making sure Pennsylvania will be poised and ready with a highly-educated workforce when the recovery eventually shifts into high gear.

That’s what we need to do. And now.

Sid Holmes, MPA, lives in the Drexel Hill section of Upper Darby.

Delaware County Daily Times – February 28, 2011 – Read article online