School Board Discusses State Voucher Bill

Members of the Haverford Township Education Association filled up nearly every seat on Thursday night’s meeting as they listened to the Haverford School Board discuss the controversial Senate Bill 1.

The bill, which was recently passed by the state Senate Education Committee, would not have any accountability, Superintendent William S. Keilbaugh said during a presentation to board members and the attendants of the meeting. There is a PDF version of the presentation accompanying this article.

The purpose of the bill would allow underprivileged students in failing schools to be able to attend either public, private or religious schools. A certain amount of taxpayer money would be used to help pay for the child's new school.

Some of the points that Keilbaugh stressed to his audience regarding the bill are:

• Is there research that shows that students use vouchers improve their educational performance?
• Does the state Constitution allow public money to go towards nonpublic religious and private schools?
• There are no testing requirements to determine how voucher recipients are doing.
• An evaluation study is not required to be made public.
• The bill does not ask private/nonpublic religious schools to guarantee open admissions to those who are disabled, ESL, or those who are underachieving.

“How does are state with a $4 billion deficit come to grips with the cost of this bill over a three year period?” Keilbaugh asked. “The Pennsylvania School Boards Association rendered a guess based on reasonable percentages of those who might take advantage of it in terms of eligibility and they predict that by the third and fourth year we’re into a billion dollars or more.”

He also added that private and nonpublic religious schools are not subject to the regulatory review of the state’s Board of Education and will develop their own evaluation of their progress over a three-year period, but are not required to make that evaluation public.

However, co-creator of the bill state Sen. Anthony Williams, (D-8th, Philadelphia) told the Haverford-Havertown Patch on Friday afternoon that people should be able to see an evaluation of the voucher program and that he will be working to make sure the bill includes that before the state Senate votes on it.

Williams also stated that there is educational accountability with the voucher program in the form of the students, their parents and the various schools that they can attend, which can either be a private, nonpublic religious or even a public school.

He also stated that some private schools have their own methods of educational accountability, such as tests.

“A voucher gives a kid a chance for an education,” he said.

Williams added that he does not believe that there is a failing public school in Haverford Township and that the school board has nothing to worry about.

However, Keilbaugh told the board that the township’s potential cost if the bill is passed would be $1,144,000.00.

School board member Larry Feinberg reiterated on Thursday night that the bill contains no regulations regarding accountability of the voucher program.

“The best chance to stopping the bill is in the (state) House,” Feinberg said, but later added, “Truthfully, I don’t know if we can stop this thing.”

Many on the board echoed Keilbaugh’s concerns, with School Board President Denis Gray going so far as saying that he believed the state thinks all public schools fail and need the bill.

Some on the school board, including Russell Bilotta, said that money was involved in the creation of this bill.

“I say this many times, sometimes you follow the money tree. Where is this money going? Well, Sen. Williams has something to do with a charter school,” Bilotta told the board during the meeting.

Feinberg also told the Haverford-Havertown Patch after the meeting that the organization Students First Pac, which supports the voucher program, donated $5 million to Williams’ campaign in the past election.

Williams, however, said that he resents any suspicious implication regarding his role in the bill and added that he “wouldn’t support the bill for money. That is repugnant to me.”

He admitted that Students First Pac did contribute “millions of dollars” to his campaign, but said that he supported former Gov. Tom Ridge’s bid to push a similar bill.

“I didn’t get a penny,” Williams said of his support of Ridge.

A voucher program will help a student to get out of a failing school, Williams said, adding that he had a similar experience himself when he was younger and received a scholarship to attend Westtown School.

“I wouldn’t have gotten a good education without it,” he said.

Feinberg also told the Haverford-Havertown Patch after the meeting that the Senate Appropriations Committee needs to see the bill before the state Senate has a chance to vote on it.

The school board will meet Thursday, March 17, to discuss a draft of a resolution in response to Senate Bill 1, which the bill accompanies this article.