wfn.org | Church exec voices concerns with school voucher decision

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

July 2, 2002       News media contact: Joretta Purdue7(202)
546-87227Washington     10-21-71B{284}

WASHINGTON (UMNS)-- In commenting upon the Supreme Court's decision
permitting the use of public funds to allow Cleveland schoolchildren to
attend private and parochial schools, an executive of the United Methodist
public action and advocacy agency stressed concern for the children who
remain in the public schools.

The Rev. Eliezer Valentin-Castanon of the denomination's Board of Church and
Society said the church agency is afraid that the use of vouchers, which was
upheld by the court's 5-4 decision on June 27 will drain limited resources
from the public schools. 

He noted that the church's highest legislative body, the General Conference,
has long supported public education as an expression of concern for all
people. A resolution on community life and public education first adopted in
1976 and revised in 2000 states:  "The continuation of a democratic and
pluralistic society in the United States requires a public education system
that produces quality education of every student, so that all might
contribute to the building of community."

Also without mentioning school vouchers, another resolution on public
education and the church acknowledges the problems faced by families
"trapped in failing urban schools."  Without some public support, the
possibility of sending their children to private or parochial schools may be
closed to them, the resolution notes. It does not suggest one course of
action but does caution that "public funds should be used for public
purposes."

Using vouchers to place children in non-public schools raises issues of
accountability, Valentin-Castanon said. Private and parochial schools are
not generally accountable to the same degree as the public systems are with
their local school boards and state education systems.

 "Private schools decide who they will admit. They can pick and choose. They
can pick the best and the brightest," he observed, adding that such schools
can refuse the special needs student or the student who is different,
racially or ethnically, or for whom English may not be their first language.
So inclusivity is another area of concern, he commented.

Separation of church and state is another position the United Methodist
Church has supported over the years, he noted, so there are issues related
to supporting religious instruction with public dollars.

The church and the larger society will register objections,
Valentine-Castanon predicted. This decision of the Supreme Court applies
only to the case from Cleveland, but it has implications as a precedent for
other states. Already, he noted, Rep. Richard Armey (R-Texas) has proposed a
bill to promote use of vouchers in the District of Columbia, in spite of
their repeated rejection by Washington voters.

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United Methodist News Service
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